The sigh of relief could be heard from Brisbane all the way to Townsville as the Cowboys defended their way to a morale-boosting win over the Roosters in Magic Round.
The sigh of relief could be heard from Brisbane all the way to Townsville as the Cowboys defended their way to a morale-boosting win over the Roosters in Magic Round.
To their credit they dug deep to restrict the Roosters to just one try and also rediscovered some of their attacking flair with Murray Taulagi, Val Holmes and Scott Drinkwater all featuring prominently.
Just before the Cowboys pocketed the much-needed two competition points the Dragons found another way to surrender two points of their own, going down 18-16 to Wests Tigers in a game they had ample opportunity to put to bed long before Mikaele Ravalawa's desperate lunge for the corner in the closing seconds.
After Jayden Sullivan's second try gave them the lead in the 53rd minute the Dragons surrendered the advantage in the 65th minute and were unable to get past a determined Tigers outfit who came up with some huge defensive plays in a frantic finish.
The Dragons' seventh loss of the season leaves them languishing in 16th position and although the Cowboys sit just two spots above them in 14th it's Todd Payten's men who have the confidence and belief the Red V are craving.
Team News
Cowboys: Coach Todd Payten has named the same 17 that downed the Roosters on Sunday. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown was hit with a high tackle charge for his shot on Jared Waerea-Hargreaves but is free to play after receiving a fine. Riley Price is 18th Man. No changes in Friday's 24-hour update.
Dragons: Coach Anthony Griffin sticks with the same 17-man squad that suffered a two-point loss to Wests Tigers and there are no changes in Friday's 24-hour update. Skipper Ben Hunt starts at halfback in his 300th NRL game with Moses Mbye remaining at hooker and Jayden Sullivan on the bench. Toby Couchman came off the bench in seven of the first eight games but has again been named 18th Man as he was in Round 10.
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Story first published by: NRL.com