Cowboys give Brookvale faithful a
shake

Fulltime score: Round 21 Manly Sea Eagles 24 v North Queensland 26

Match summary: The Cowboys have hung on to an absolute thriller at Brookvale Oval this afternoon, defeating a gallant Manly side by 26-24.

In a game which saw a sensational final three minutes from both sides, two tries were scored to give the final result, which was a disappointment to a vocal Brookvale home ground. Ty Williams managed a total of three tries for the visitors, including the final remarkable try which brought them back into the lead with only 70 seconds left.

Manly dominated a very slow first half, allowing the Cowboys to start the scoreboard attendants task before scoring three tries in the second 20 minutes of the game, taking an 18-6 lead in. The Cowboys fought back after the break, scoring 16 unanswered points, which took them to a 22-18 lead after 65 minutes.

The visitors held this lead until the 78th minute, when Chris Hicks scored a superb Manly try to seemingly steal the game from the Cowboys. The men from the bush didn't give up however, going from the short kick-off, and eventually getting the ball to Ty Williams for the QLD representative to rack up a hat-trick and deny Manly two competition points.

All in all a sensational game, too hard to call who deserved to win, but at the end of the day, North Queensland walked away with the points, and as such crept into third position once again. Manly now languish with Cronulla at the base of the eight, threatened by Canterbury and Canberra for their spot.

Sea Eagles v Cowboys match photos: Click here to see the photo gallery for this game

Scorers: MANLY SEA EAGLES 24 Tries: T Hill, P Stephenson, K Leuluai, B Stewart, C Hicks Goals: L Williamson 1/4, C Hicks 1/1 NTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 26 Tries: T Williams 3, A Payne, R Jensen Goals: J Hannay 3/5

Venue: Brookvale Oval Referee: Stephen Clark Half time: Sea Eagles 18-6

Live commentary:

A sunny afternoon at Brookvale for what should be a cracker of a clash. The Cowboys recaptured some magic last week by trouncing Penrith, while the Manly side have been faltering over the past month. The Eagles will be looking to turn this around while the Cowboys will want to move closer to ironing down that top 4 berth.

0 min: KICKOFF. Cowboys with the first set.

5 min: NEWS- Cowboys dominating early play. Close to scoring on more than one occasion but unable to get over. 0-all

10 min: NEWS- North Queensland bomb yet another chance. Score still 0-all.

12 min: TRY- Cowboys Their first points end up being easy ones under the posts. The Cowboys turned defence into attack very quickly - and as a result a try was scored by Ty Williams. Hannay converts. Cowboys 6 Sea Eagles 0.

22 min: VIDEO REF Doubt as to whether Terry Hill got the ball down. Decision Pending... TRY- Sea Eagles An easy overlap try out wide for Terry Hill. Williamson misses. Cowboys 6 Sea Eagles 4

27 min: TRY- Sea Eagles Stephenson scores under the high ball for Manly. Williamson fails once again. Sea Eagles 8 Cowboys 6

32 min: TRY- Sea Eagles 3 tries in 10 minutes, this one to Leuluai, gives Manly an 8 point lead. Williamson finally converts. Sea Eagles 14 Cowboys 6.

40 min: TRY- Sea Eagles A break is made from a dubious pass and Stewart skips away from his opponents to put Manly in front by a lot at the break. Williamson fails to convert and Manly are really troubling NQ at the moment. Sea Eagles 18 Cowboys 6.

HALFTIME: Manly Warringah 18 North Queensland 6. A thoroughly disappointing half of football from the Cowboys, who started on a small high but ultimately fell in a heap, allowing Manly 4 tries in the second quarter of the game. Manly look primed to continue their excellent football into the second half.

41 min: Second half begins.

45 min: TRY- Cowboys. Second half starts in much the same way, a simple under the posts try to Payne for the Cowboys. Conversion from Hannay good. Sea Eagles 18 Cowboys 12

52 min: VIDEO REFEREE Checking for a Cowboys try as Monaghan blows up at the referee. TRY- Cowboys Jensen crosses after a beautiful ball from Faiumu. Hannay's conversion attempt is terrible. Sea Eagles 18 Cowboys 16

63 min: TRY- Cowboys The North Queenslanders pull in front with a try to Ty Williams. Hannay converts. Cowboys 22 Sea Eagles 18

78 min: TRY- Sea Eagles Chris Hicks finishes off one of the best tries of the weekend and now Manly are moments away from winning this thrilling game at Brookvale. Sea Eagles 24 Cowboys 22

79 min: VIDEO REFEREE Cowboys try, Ty Williams? Decision pending.. TRY- Cowboys! Unbelievable stuff here at Brookvale. Ty Williams is in - in the corner, and Manly are shellshocked. With a minute to go, Hannay's kick will eat up the clock. It misses. Cowboys 26 Sea Eagles 24

FULLTIME. Cowboys unbelievably stole the game from Manly after Manly had only just got it for their own themselves. An edgy game in the end and really puts the dampener on Manly's finals crusade.

North Queensland 26 Manly Warringah 24.

----------------------------------------- Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - T Williams (Cowboys) 2 - J Thurston (Cowboys) 1 - C Hicks (Sea Eagles) -----------------------------------------