A late three-try blitz has seen the North Queensland Cowboys come back from a huge deficit to knock over the Manly Sea Eagles in a modern-day classic at Brookvale Oval.
With just seven minutes to go, the Cowboys trailed the Sea Eagles by 14 points, before a simply stunning three-minute burst.
North Queensland scored tries in the 73rd, 75th and 76th minute, snatching a famous 28-26 victory in front of a stunned crowd at 4 Pines Park.
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The Cowboys’ incredible blitz came after Manly looked to have put the game beyond doubt following two quick tries courtesy of Lachlan Croker.
The Sea Eagles led for most of the night, with both Croker and Christian Tuipulotu picking up doubles.
Manly’s No.9 had a blinding ten minutes in the second half, kicking a key 40-20, and then scoring two tries off his own kicks.
But his teammates seemed to then fall asleep, leading to tries for Reece Robson and Connelly Lemuelu, before Val Holmes ran 90m off a bobbled Daly Cherry-Evans pass to score and put the Cowboys in front.
A professional foul on full time saw Coen Hess binned, which gave Manly one play to kick a two-point field goal to send the match into golden point.
However, Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans’ attempt to send the game into Golden Point sailed wide, sealing the Cowboys’ win for the ages.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten said his side were able to rely on the experience of senior players to keep calm and take the late opportunities.
Manly coach Des Hasler said his side had sat a harsh lesson.
“For 72 minutes we looked the better side,” he said.
“I thought we played with a really good tempo tonight, but make no excuses … we should not have lost their game tonight.
“And that’s the harsh reality. That’s the lesson here tonight.”
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