Eels secure victory over Cowboys in see-sawing affair

The Eels have wrestled their way to victory, with a threatening Cowboys’ side falling short — defeated 27-20 at CommBank Stadium on Saturday night.

Celebrating his 100th game, Scott Drinkwater set up the opening two tries for the Cowboys as Kyle Feldt broke through from his own 20, beating out Clint Gutherson to go nearly the whole way.

A quick playback through the ruck saw Feldt score out wide but was overturned by the bunker, with Jeremiah Nanai called for obstruction on Daejarn Asi.

EXCLUSIVE: Astonishing story behind weightlifter’s Aussie defection

Only minutes later, testing both sides of Parramatta’s ruck, Drinkwater and Cowboys captain Tom Dearden propelled the side back inside the Eels’ 20.

A short pass through to Jeremiah Nanai sent the second-rower over under the posts and was successfully converted by Valentine Holmes.

Some strong attacking play off the back of a penalty went through the ruck to Joe Ofahengaue, charging over the Cowboys’ defence to find the line.

The Eels found themselves leading the game, with a crusher tackle by Jason Taumalolo earning the side an extra two points from a penalty kick.

An error by Dylan Brown was utilised by the Cowboys, as Tom Chester broke down the line and topples over Morgan Harper to score North Queensland’s second of the night. Holmes was unable to bend the ball through the posts, but the side reclaimed their lead.

Despite having twice the errors and missed tackles, the Eels made strong field position as Brown ran through the ruck, offloading on the last tackle to Will Penisini who found Joey Lussick to dive over the line to take back their lead.

The Cowboys found themselves denied of a try by the bunker for a second time, with Murray Taulagi stepping on the sideline before diving into goal.

Bryce Cartwright joined teammate Brown on report for a dangerous tackle, with the halfback hitting Dearden high and Cartwright dropping an elbow onto him while on the ground.

North Queensland were penalised for taking out Brown in the air and Gutherson opted to take the two but missed as Eels took a narrow lead into halftime.

With a 10-point lead, the Eels continued to wrestle for control as Morgan Harper raced past North Queensland’s defence to get his hands on the ball in goal.

An error by Shaun Lane put a threatening Cowboys’ side back on to the attack and it was Holmes who powered past Dearden, crashing over the line and smashing a conversion from out wide.

Two sets later, Lussick looked to have scored his second of the game, chasing down the ball from Brown’s kick. The try was overruled by the Bunker, with the hooker found to be in front of the kicker.

Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.

A fatiguing Cowboy side could not stop Asi from charging past, with the five-eighth receiving a short ball from Gutherson before finding the line.

Playing through the line, a long ball to Drinkwater was tapped down to Dearden. Supported by his fullback, Dearden offloaded to Drinkwater who scored one of the best tries of the season.

With an error by the Cowboys removing all comeback hopes, a strong run by Brown was passed to Asi, who opted for a field goal to seal the match.