Sloppy Cowboys snatch late victory at home

North Queensland have kept Manly at the bottom of the NRL ladder tonight with a last-gasp 18-14 victory at 1300SMILES Stadium in front of just over 14,000 fans.

Despite the win, it was an unusual and untidy Cowboys side that managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after trailing 14-12 inside the final ten minutes. Handling errors and poor discipline plagued the hosts as Manly looked to capitalise on a recent run of positive performances.

The Cowboys were the first on the board through Maroons' Origin forward and LeagueUnlimited man of the match Matt Scott, with Johnathan Thurston's conversion ensuring his side got off to the best possible start. Manly posted next points after they finally wrangled some field position in the 19th minute, with a brilliant Brett Stewart cut-out pass finding Jorge Taufua in the left corner.

Both sides traded blows for the remainder of the half with Steve Matai leaving the field for a concussion test before returning later. The Cowboys held onto a slender two-point lead until right on the break, when a similar movement to the first Manly try saw Taufua bag a double. Lyon's difficult conversion position again saw him miss the extras, so Manly went into the break ahead by only two.

The lead changed hands twice more over the first 30 minutes of the second half, with Matt Scott finding space and crossing for his second try after 54 minutes, before Tom Trbojevic leapt high in the 63rd minute to put the visitors on level terms at 12-all. Lyon then converted from the near touchline to put Manly in the lead by two.

For the remaining ten minutes the Cowboys looked unlikely as errors on both edges kept cruelling their chances. Eventually in the 79th minute Jake Granville found Lachlan Coote in space up the middle, who was dragged to ground just short of the line before the hosts spread it wide to Gavin Cooper for the last-minute matchwinner. Thurston's goal gave the Cowboys a four-point victory which seems them now in 2nd place, behind Brisbane on for-and-against.

The win sends the Cowboys to Parramatta on Monday-week with a real chance to cement their place at the top, while for Manly it gets no easier as they continue their tour of the Sunshine State when they visit Suncorp Stadium on Friday night against the Broncos.

Match Details

North Queensland Cowboys 18 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 14
Venue: 1300SMILES Stadium
Crowd: 14196
Halftime Score: North Queensland Cowboys 6 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 8

NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS (18)
Tries: Matthew Scott (2), Gavin Cooper
Field Goals:
Conversions: Johnathan Thurston (3/3)
Penalty Goals:

MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES (14)
Tries: Jorge Taufua (2), Tom Trbojevic
Field Goals:
Conversions: Jamie Lyon (1/3)
Penalty Goals:

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:

3 points - Matthew Scott
2 points - Jake Trbojevic
1 point - Gavin Cooper

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary

After losing their opening three matches, who'd have thought we'd be here in Round 12 awaiting the Cowboys' ninth straight victory? It's a big one for them as they can go alone at the top, albeit only for 24 to 48 hours, if they record a win here. Manly on the other hand have been relegated back to the bottom after the Eels' surprise win overnight, and will want to capitalise on their strong form prior to last week's bye.

In team news, the Cowboys have all their Origin stars available, meaning the side will lineup 1-13. On the bench, the omissions are Spina, Kostjasyn & Kaufusi, meaning John Asiata survives the chop. Manly have made a multitude of changes on the back of an injury to Feleti Mateo. The bench forward drops out, prompting a switch between Willie Mason (prop) and Jake Trbojevic (to bench), while Tom Symonds is benched in favour of young-gun Tom Trbojevic at five-eighth. Kickoff is 7:30pm AEST, with Holden Cup currently headed for a big Cowboys win.

Update to our earlier team news - Tom Trbojevic will play on the WING - Hiku goes to the centres and Jamie Lyon will play 5/8th.

2: We are underway at 1300SMILES Stadium. Cowboys with an early chance but a reckless Thurston flick pass ends up with Jamie Lyon and the maroon-and-whites will come away with possession.

4: TRY NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Scored by Matthew Scott. Kick to come.
Origin win? CHECK. First tryscorer for your club four days later? CHECK. Scott just charges over the line and some feeble Manly defence after a Tom Trbojevic error gave the Cowboys possession near their line.

5: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston successful.
Too easy for JT from near the posts. Early NQ lead of six.

7: A couple of settling sets for each side after the Cowboys fired the first salvo, but a late-set penalty to the Cowboys cruels Manly's chances and they'll be forced to defend again.

8: Last tackle for the Cowboys - Thurston with a cross-field kick but Hiku cleans up the messy contest and Manly will work it off their own line.

12: All Cowboys up to now, they get a penalty before coughing it up and then conceding a penalty to Manly. Now the Eagles finally get a chance in opposition territory.

13: Last tackle option from Foran to run the ball is a failure, handover Cowboys. INJURY NEWS: Steve Matai seems to have sustained an injury, with Tom Symonds now on the park for him.

16: Manly now having little trouble making metres up the middle, just their finish of sets lacks a little finesse. A high ball at the end of the latest set bounces before being claimed by Thurston.

16: Update on Matai - looks to be a possible concussion after he copped a head knock.

18: A Cowboys error just short of halfway now has Manly bearing down on the Cowboys tryline...

19: TRY MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Scored by Jorge Taufua. Kick to come.
Superb ball on the edge from Brett Stewart and Taufua powers his way over in the corner!

20: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Conversion attempt by Jamie Lyon unsuccessful.
No luck for Lyon from the near touchline, Manly trail by two.

23: VIDEO REF | Spectacular length-of-the-field run from Tom Trbojevic may have come to nothing as the ball is dislodged just before touching down. Checking upstairs... NO TRY. Cowboys 20m restart.

24: Manly compound the bad luck with a penalty at the end of the Cowboys' set. Matai is back out on the park after passing the earlier concussion test.

27: Manly get the ball and then a relieving penalty. Still just the one apiece as we near the half-hour mark.

30: Gavin Cooper with big metres up the middle off a Thurston offload, he's brought down before they spread it to the right and eventually Matt Wright is shut down on the last. Manly get the ball back from a handover.

35: Peta Hiku is down after a heavy tackle. He got up and fumbled the ball so it will be a Cowboys scrum.

35: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Kane Linnett makes an unforced error.
Linnett spills it on the first tackle after Hiku's error, and now Manly get a penalty on the back of it. Big chance to take the lead here.

36: Foran puts a cheeky grubber through the line which the home side is forced to bat dead. Drop-out Cowboys.

38: Manly's attack breaks down and the Cowboys come away with it, before the Cowboys make their own error just inside Manly territory. DCE with a scrum to feed.

39: One last big chance for Manly before the break...

40: VIDEO REF | Checking a second try for Taufua. Stewart's been delivered a ball out the back before shooting it on to Jorge... we're checking possible obstruction by Justin Horo.

40: TRY MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Scored by Jorge Taufua. Kick to come.
Green lights and amazingly the visitors will be leading at halftime! Taufua try in the near corner.

40: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Conversion attempt by Jamie Lyon unsuccessful.
Zero from two for the Manly captain today, both from just inside the near touchline.

HALFTIME and it was all Cowboys early before Manly wrestled their way back into it, ultimately with a lead at the change of ends! Unpredictable game this one, stay tuned after the break.

44: Back underway at 1300SMILES, end to end stuff early.

46: INJURY: Antonio Winterstein coming off the field groggy after copping a knock. Can't see him making his way back on the park tonight.

48: A long-range kick from JT almost creates trouble for Tom Trbojevic but the last bounce does take it dead, Manly 20m restart instead.

50: VIDEO REF | Checking a NO TRY for Manly. Plenty to look at here off a Foran kick on the last.

50: Onside is fine. First few passes are fine but then a Horo grubber has come off a seemingly offside Ligi Sao. Eventually Jamie Lyon soccers it ahead but doesn't get a hand to it and isn't held back. Should be a Cowboys 20m restart, if not a penalty...

50: NO TRY (Obviously). The ruling is a 20m restart for the Cowboys.

54: TRY NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Scored by Matthew Scott. Kick to come.
Big metres from the Cowboys, Coote takes them close to the line... then SCOTT GETS A DOUBLE! What a try!

56: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston successful.
Goalkicking could be the difference tonight - two tries apiece at the moment but it's the Cowboys leading by those two conversions.

57: Matt Scott clutching his arm after stumbling on a hit-up, but after being assessed he gets up and plays the ball without too much trouble.

61: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Johnathan Thurston makes an unforced error.
Ooh dear. JT kicks it out on the full. Not good - gives Manly a full set inside the Cowboys' 30.

63: TRY MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Scored by Tom Trbojevic. Kick to come.
Tommy T bags a try! A high ball to his wing, he takes it perfectly and gets it down despite the attention of two Cowboy defenders.

64: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Conversion attempt by Jamie Lyon successful.
Finally Lyon nails a conversion - and Manly are back in front!

66: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Michael Morgan makes an unforced error.
Morgan replicates Thurston's error just a few minutes back, kicking it out on the full! Manly attack again...

68: Tom Symonds loses it and the Cowboys get the scrum and power up field... then lose it out wide through Kane Linnett.

70: Turning into a real physical showdown as we enter the last ten minutes of this one. Big hits.

71: Kane Linnett having a horror day with the hands, this time he's crunched in a Jake Trbojevic tackle. Manly scrum just inside Cowboys' territory.

73: Foran and Hiku look to link up but the ball ends up with a ball boy. Cowboys handover.

73: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Justin O'Neill makes an unforced error.
Dropsies now on the other side of the park for the Cowboys, O'Neill gets some space down the right, is brought down on halfway but looks to have lost it going to ground. Manly scrum.

75: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Kane Linnett makes an unforced error.
JT finds a gap up the middle, then it goes out to the left wing and again Kane Linnett has cost the Cowboys a chance with an error.

75: Manly complete the set, put it high, and Coote is able to collect the bomb. They work it away from their own 10m line.

76: Morgan and O'Neill create space on the right edge and the Cowboys now have a couple of tackles inside Manly's 20m...

76: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Michael Morgan makes an unforced error.
Forward pass from Morgan after the ball went side to side on the park. Atrocious execution and set completion from the home side this evening.

78: Manly feed the scrum and it's BEEN WON AGAINST THE FEED WOW.... nope, referee calls it back. Manly re-pack and re-feed and march up the park.

78: Tired legs. Foran pushes it all the way to 3m out for a handover. Cowboys now with it all to do, two minutes left, 97m away.

79: COOTE'S AWAY! NO! STEWART TACKLES HIM! WAIT! IT GOES WIDE NEXT TACKLE AND.....

79: TRY NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Scored by Gavin Cooper. Kick to come.
WOW! THE COWBOYS STEAL IT AT THE DEATH! COOPER CROSSES OUT WIDE!

80: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston successful.
The kick is purely academic, JT adds the extras to the Cowboys' matchwinner. Granville found the space for Coote to break away before the quick play the ball enabled hands to take it wide to Cooper who crossed near the sideline. Thurston nails the extras around 5m in from touch.