Veteran winger Kyle Feldt grabbed a slice of Cowboys history with his 131st career try as North Queensland downed the Titans 35-22 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Sunday.
The man who scored the Cowboys' most famous try in the 2015 grand final surpassed Matt Bowen's record of 130 tries with a runaway intercept in the 69th minute.
After both sides made a bright start in attack it was the Titans who cracked first, leaving space on their left edge for Zac Laybutt to cross in the sixth minute. Val Holmes converted for a 6-0 lead.
Cowboys halfback Chad Townsend then spilled the kick-off but the home side went for a short dropout and got the ball back after Harley Smith-Shields put it down.
The Cowboys added a second try in the 15th minute when Tom Dearden went left to Scott Drinkwater and then Holmes who tapped the ball on superbly for Murray Taulagi to score.
Zac Laybutt Try
Titans fullback Jayden Campbell sent the kick-off sailing over the dead ball line to hand the Cowboys another opportunity but a Dearden grubber was cleaned up by Tanah Boyd and the danger was averted.
With 16 minutes left in the half the Cowboys mounted more pressure an earned a repeat set from a grubber but a mistake by Griffin Neame let the Titans off the hook.
A mistake by Fifita with eight minutes left in the half proved a hammer blow for the Titans as Drinkwater strolled over from close range and the score was out to 16-0.
Murray Taulagi Try
The Titans looked to have opened their account in the 40th minute when Harley Smith-Shields crossed off a Brian Kelly grubber but replays showed Jayden Campbell had stopped in the line and obstructed the defence.
The Titans hit back through milestone man Kelly in the 46th minute but a long range break by Taulagi and Holmes put the Cowboys in position for Drinkwater to grab a second and the lead was out to 18.
Cowboys hooker Reece Robson added his name to the score sheet in the 54th minute when Drinkwater turned provider before AJ Brimson laid on a try for Campbell and the Titans had pulled it back to 28-10.
The Cowboys lost Townsend to the sin bin with 20 minutes to play after Campbell was bent over awkwardly in a tackle and the bunker deemed it a hip drop.
With the Cowboys down to 12 men the Titans struck twice in the space of three minutes through Klese Haas and then Beau Fermor, the second of those featuring brilliant work by Fifita who delivered the final pass.
Ahead 28-22 and with the Titans coming at them it was Feldt who steadied the ship for the Cowboys with a 45-metre intercept try that made him the club's greatest ever tryscorer.
Back from the bin it was Townsend who iced the win for the Cowboys with a field goal to make it 35-22.
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Match Snapshot
- Cowboys centre Zac Laybutt left the field in the 20th minute with a suspected ACL injury.
- Cowboys halfback Chad Townsend was sin binned in the 61st minute for a hip drop tackle.
- The Cowboys lost their captain's challenge in the 27th minute when they claimed David Fifita had got a touch to kick before it rolled out but replays showed no touch by the Titans forward.
- The Titans lost five-eighth Kieran Foran to a leg injury in the 27th minute.
- David Fifita had a powerful first half for the Titans in his second game of the season, making 70 metres from eight runs to go with 20 tackles. He finished the day with 132 run metres.
- The Cowboys have won eight of their past 10 games at QCB Stadium.
- Titans centre Brian Kelly played his 150th career game and celebrated with a try.
The Cowboys honour Granville in his 200th appearance
- Titans forward Josiah Pahulu made his NRL debut off the interchange bench, entering the game in the 27th minute.
- Cowboys forward Sam McIntyre and Titans prop Moeaki Fotuaika left the field in the 59th minute for HIAs after a head clash. Both players passed their HIA and returned to the match.
- Utility Jake Granville played his 200th game for the Cowboys and 210th overall for his career.
- The temperature at kick-off in Townsville was 31 degrees.
- Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater bounced back from a tough night in Round 4 with 188 metres from 23 runs and four tackle breaks.
- The Titans have become the first club in premiership history to concede 28 points or more in nine consecutive matches.
- Val Holmes ran for 216 metres for the Cowboys while Murray Taulagi chalked up 176 metres.
Scott Drinkwater Try
Play of the Game
Kyle Feldt grabbed a slice of Cowboys history with his 131st career try, surpassing Matt Bowen as the club's greatest ever tryscorer. Feldt pounced on an AJ Brimson pass in the 69th minute and raced 45 metres to etch his name in the record books.
Kyle Feldt breaks Bowen's Cowboys try-scoring record
What They Said
"The game turned on its head with the sin binning [of Chad Townsend] and we were on the back foot and Feldty comes up with a big play and got us back out to a two-try lead and we were able to go on with it. I thought the tackle [by Chad] was pretty innocuous to be fair. I thought he was already on the ground so it wasn't a proper hip drop, the kid got up and played on, no dramas. I'm not sure around it but I think the sin binning was harsh. Playing with 12 men in 32 degrees is not an easy thing to do and I have to give our lads credit for hanging in there and getting the job done." - Cowboys coach Todd Payten
Cowboys: Round 5
"We came here expecting a tough game, I rate the Cowboys, they've tot some strike about them. Our focus has been all about reducing our negative play as much as we possibly can but I thought we again allowed them access to field position too easily and setting them up. Given the way they had dominated field position we didn't think 16-0 at half-time wasn't impossible for us to chase and we competed pretty well with the ball in the second half but we couldn't pull the trigger well enough to make it a contest." - Titans coach Des Hasler
Titans: Round 5
What's Next
The Cowboys travel to Sydney in Round 6 to meet the Eels at CommBank Stadium while the Titans are on the road again, heading to Canberra to face the Raiders on Sunday.