A final blitz of three attempts has seen the North Queensland Cowboys come back from a big deficit to knock down the Manly Sea Eagles in a modern classic at Brookvale Oval.
With just seven minutes to go, the Cowboys outscored the Sea Eagles by 14 points, before an impressive three-minute blast.
North Queensland scored in the 73rd, 75th and 76th minutes, snatching a famous 28-26 victory over a stunned crowd at 4 Pines Park.
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The Cowboys ’incredible blitz came after Manly seemed to have put the game in doubt after two quick attempts courtesy of Lachlan Croker.
Val Holmes is congratulated by his North Queensland Cowboys teammates. (Getty)
The Sea Eagles led most of the night, with Croker and Christian Tuipulotu grabbing doubles.
Manly’s No. 9 had ten blinding minutes in the second half, throwing a 40-20 key, and then scoring two tries with his own throws.
But his teammates seemed to fall asleep afterwards, leading to rehearsals for Reece Robson and Connelly Lemuelu, before Val Holmes ran 90m from a pass from Daly Cherry-Evans to score and put the Cowboys ahead.
A foul called during a Coen Hess penalty gave Manly a free kick that would have resulted in a goal for FC.
However, Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans ‘attempt to send the game to Golden Point was deflected, sealing the Cowboys’ victory over the centuries.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten said his team was able to rely on the experience of senior players to stay calm and take advantage of the last few opportunities.
Manly coach Des Hasler said his team had learned a hard lesson.
“For 72 minutes we looked on the better side,” he said.
“I thought we played at a very good pace tonight, but don’t apologize … we shouldn’t have lost tonight’s game.
“And that’s the harsh reality. That’s the lesson here tonight.”
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