The return of halves Daly Cherry-Evans and Jamie Lyon could not stop Manly slumping to a four-point defeat to North Queensland in Townsville on Monday night – their seventh straight NRL loss.
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Cowboys hold on in thriller
The North Queensland Cowboys have overcome the Manly Sea Eagles on the back of a two-try performance by Jason Taumalolo.
A try-scoring double to Kiwi back-rower Jason Taumalolo helped the Cowboys (3rd, 10-5) remain in touch with the top two. It was the home side's 10th straight home win, a record stretching back to the end of last season.
While it was an impressive return from Cherry-Evans, which included a first half try, he also had a 73rd-minute effort disallowed before his clever kick set up a Lewis Brown four-pointer in the dying minutes to reduce the deficit to 30-26. Sea Eagles forward Addin Fonua-Blake bagged a second half double in five minutes (54th, 59th) after fellow reserve Siosaia Vave (46th) crossed and suddenly Manly led 22-18 with 20 minutes left.Â
But the luckless Eagles couldn't hang on. NSW prop James Tamou (65th) bulldozed over and Taumalolo bagged his double (68th) to give the hosts a 30-22 lead.
Manly — boasting a nine-strong injury list — had plenty of new faces in their side, and it showed early. The Sea Eagles looked out of sorts with unfamiliar combinations, leading to unforced errors and plenty of frustration as North Queensland stormed to an 18-4 half-time lead.
North Queensland scored two tries in seven minutes to finish the first half strongly. Along the way North Queensland's Johnathan Thurston overtook Manly's Graham Eadie (1917pts) at sixth in the all-time pointscorers.
It was the Cowboys' fifth straight win over Manly, who have all but let their finals hopes slip.
Cowboys centre Kane Linnett (calf) left the field in the 53rd minute and will undergo scans on Tuesday.
North Queensland are already without five-eighth Michael Morgan (knee) for a month.
Cherry-Evans' display would have appealed to sideline TV commentator Kevin Walters who is mulling over Morgan's replacement in his Queensland side before the July 13 Origin III.
"Manly had their strongest team on the paddock for a while and they were desperate, their season was on the line," Cowboys coach Paul Green said. "We showed a bit of ticker to come back.
"It's a tough part of the year so I will take any win."
Taumalolo was inspirational for North Queensland on a humid Monday night, amassing 143m by halftime and finishing with 199m from 16 hit-ups plus five tackle breaks.
"He was outstanding for us especially in the first half," co-captain Thurston said.
Manly coach Trent Barrett described the match as a step in the right direction.
"I am very proud of their effort. We set a standard for ourselves - we look forward to the final six games," he said.
Manly lost winger Brayden Wiliame (concussion) at halftime.
AAP
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