The Cowboys have beaten the Knights 26-24 at Hunter Stadium
IF THE best revenge is happiness, the Cowboys have paid Newcastle back handsomely as they surged to their fifth consecutive win.
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IF THE best revenge is happiness, the Cowboys have paid Newcastle back handsomely to surge to their fifth consecutive win.
However, the victory came at a hefty cost.
Jason Taumalolo, the NRL’s best backrower, is expected to miss up to eight weeks from a suspected grade three medial ligament strain.
In just the second minute, Taumalolo limped off with a left knee injury that could rule the barnstorming backrower out until June.
Cowboys players made good on their promise to stand up to the Knights in Newcastle, outclassing them just six weeks after they were bashed in their own backyard.
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Reduced to 15 men at the third minute, the Cowboys conceded the first try but rebounded to hold on 26-24 in a thrilling Anzac Day contest.
Taumalolo’s injury just after kick off was a crushing blow to North Queensland.
It was just the start of their bad news.
Just 90 seconds later, hooker Jake Granville was dazed by a head clash with Akuila Uate and after collapsing to the ground was taken from the field and ruled out of the contest under the NRL’s new concussion laws.
“It was a courageous effort by all our blokes,” coach Paul Green said.
“Ray Thompson nearly played 70 minutes in the middle.
“Our boys kept turning up for each other.
“I know Jason has a medial ligament strain. I don’t know how bad it is but we will find out over the next few days.”
Granville’s early exit is the best case yet for the introduction of an 18th man for NRL games.
Just last month, Granville would have likely returned to the action as his concussion was minor but the Cowboys were down a player for almost the entire game when he stumbled to the turf.
The Cowboys lost a guaranteed 150 metres of running when Taumalolo left the field while Granville had scored four tries in their past two games.
To make matters worse, Knights backrower Chris Houston scored the game’s first points.
It was the seventh time this season the Cowboys conceded the opening try.
Yet somehow North Queensland fought back, as they have done ever since the Broncos thrashed them in round three.
The victory was the Cowboys’ third away win this season.
Last season the Cowboys managed just three wins in total from their 13 matches outside of Townsville.
The Cowboys credit their round two loss to the Knights in Townsville as the reason for their new-found resolve.
In that defeat, Thurston was bashed from minute one through 80.
Relentlessly targeted by Beau Scott and Jeremy Smith, Thurston led his team in missed tackles with six.
On Saturday afternoon, there was no Scott and while the Knights defence tried to rush the champion playmaker they were unable to thump him before he passed or ducked inside the oncoming traffic.
It was his partner in crime that ultimately sealed the result in the 60th minute.
Michael Morgan beat five defenders in 20 metres to give the Cowboys a 14 point lead.
However Newcastle rebounded through tries to BJ Leilua and Sione Mata’utia to reduce the lead to two points with eight minutes remaining.
The Knights had a final chance to win, given one tackle in the opposition half as the siren sounded.
Yet in an effort that summed up their day, Newcastle half Tyrone Roberts dropped the ball cold as they tried to conjure a miracle.
Captain Kurt Gidley had a poor game and coach Rick Stone will surely have to drop players for their next game.
NORTH QUEENSLAND 26 (J O’Neill 2 S Bolton L Coote M Morgan tries J Thurston 3 goals) bt NEWCASTLE 24 (C Houston J Leilua S Mata’utia A Uate tries T Roberts 4 goals) at Hunter Stadium. Referee: Chris Sutton, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 15,518
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