Manly have suffered their first home defeat under Kieran Foran after North Queensland pulled off a golden-point heist to claim a 19-18 win over their top-eight rivals at Brookvale Oval.
Drinkwater seals victory with clutch field goal
Fullback Scott Drinkwater was the hero for the Cowboys, nailing a 32-metre field goal in the 82nd minute to seal the win. His calmness under pressure was in stark contrast to the Sea Eagles, who led for most of the match but let a valuable victory slip from their grasp.
The result gives the Cowboys a leg-up over one of their fellow finals hopefuls, lifting Todd Payten's men into the top eight.
Cowboys fight back to force extra time
Reuben Cotter scored a 78th-minute try for North Queensland to tie the game at 18-18, but Jake Clifford's missed conversion meant golden point was needed. Drinkwater then delivered the decisive blow, sparing Clifford's blushes.
“We did it the hard way and showed a fair bit of fight and ticker and probably could have won it a couple of times,” Payten said. “Our next four or five weeks are against teams that are in and around us. You win, you jump up, so it’s a very important win within the context of the season.”
Manly's home dominance ends
Undefeated in their previous five home games under Foran, Manly were once again clunky in attack and had to contend with injuries to Ben Trbojevic (concussion) and Corey Waddell (ankle), who both failed to finish the match.
Manly led 14-6 at halftime after tries from Jason Saab, Lehi Hopoate and Haumole Olakau'atu cancelled out Tom Chester's opener for North Queensland. The Cowboys also had a Reed Mahoney try chalked off by the bunker for a questionable double movement.
Second-half collapse costs Sea Eagles
After halftime, things turned south for the Sea Eagles. Braidon Burns grabbed a double for North Queensland, and while Saab added his second, Manly only led by four points with 10 minutes to go. Cotter then finished a spellbinding move to draw his side level, but Clifford failed to ice the conversion, sending the game to golden point.
Drinkwater's field goal condemned Foran to the first back-to-back losses of his NRL coaching career.
“We should have managed the game better in the second half, and it’s a bit like what I touched on last week,” Foran said. “It’s one positive play, quickly followed up by one negative play. There’s no real genuine consistency about how we manage that second half, so that’s disappointing.”
