Arabic version: كاوبويز يعود إلى الثمانية الأوائل بفوز على تايتنز

According to ABC News, North Queensland rebounded from an 82-12 loss to the Sydney Roosters by defeating Gold Coast 30-8 at Robina on Thursday. The result was the Cowboys’ 12th win of the year and temporarily lifted them to seventh on the NRL ladder.

The Cowboys had entered the match under pressure after conceding the most points in a premiership match in 91 years in their previous outing. Coach Todd Payten had described that defeat as the club’s “darkest day”, but said he was proud of the response against the Titans.

Jason Taumalolo opened the scoring in the fifth minute after Scott Drinkwater produced his third 40/20 of the season. It was Taumalolo’s first try in 69 games, with his previous one coming in week one of the 2022 finals series. Jaxon Purdue then set up Jake Clifford for a 12-0 lead after 13 minutes.

Gold Coast responded through Phil Sami, whose first try left him one behind club record holder Anthony Don. Heilum Luki scored before halftime to make it 18-4, and Sami crossed again after Purdue was sin-binned for a professional foul, drawing level with Don as the Titans’ all-time leading tryscorer.

Purdue returned from the sin bin and soon ran 70 metres from dummy-half for a solo try, restoring North Queensland’s control. Luki later scored his second try after a Drinkwater short ball, while Drinkwater converted to complete the 30-8 result in front of 11,740 fans.