Gold Coast Titans lose nail-biter over North Queensland Cowboys in NRL round 12
Updated
A last-gasp tackle in the corner by Kyle Feldt has secured an undermanned North Queensland a hard-fought NRL win over Gold Coast.
The winger flung himself at Brian Kelly as the Titans' centre dived for the left corner on the fulltime siren, denying him the try and ensuring a 6-4 win for the Cowboys on Sunday at Robina Stadium.
Already going into the match without State of Origin players Michael Morgan and Josh McGuire, as well as injured pair Justin O'Neill and Matt Scott, the Cowboys played the second half with just two fit players on the bench after Gideon Gela-Mosby (shoulder) and Corey Jensen (concussion) succumbed to injury.
The loss is heartbreaking for the Titans, who had missed penalty goal shots through Ash Taylor and Tyrone Roberts to level at 6-6 and failed to register a point in the second half against their 15-man opponents.
Dale Copley opened the scoring midway through the first half to set up a 4-0 halftime lead for the hosts, before Jason Taumalolo's burrowing effort in the second term put the Cowboys in front.
The Titans kept coming at their flagging opponents, and had their first chance to tie up the scores when Feldt was penalised for blocking Copley when he was attempting to get under a high ball.
Taylor shanked his kick well wide.
With six minutes to go, the Titans believed they'd broken the Cowboys' resistance when Kevin Proctor gathered a Roberts kick but the try was disallowed for a knock-on.
Despite the four-pointer being ruled out, the Titans were given a penalty for Kurt Baptiste attacking the legs of Roberts, with the Cowboys' utility being placed on report.
Taylor passed up the opportunity to take the resulting penalty goal, with Roberts steering his kick just wide.
There was still time for one last Titans' charge with Tyrone Peachey's grubber and regather allowing him to fling the ball wide to Kelly with the try line beckoning.
Just as the home fans rose to their feet, however, Feldt came across to knock Kelly into touch and seal the Cowboys' third win in a row.
The defeat leaves the Titans second last on the competition ladder with six points, while North Queensland move up to one of five teams around the top eight with 12 points.
AAP
NRL ladder
Topics: sport, rugby-league, nrl, robina-4226, townsville-4810
First posted
