Cowboys survive late scare to get past Wests Tigers

A late goalkicking blunder from the Wests Tigers denied them a first NRLW win in 405 days on Saturday afternoon, with the 24-22 victory for the Cowboys ensuring they remain within touching distance of the top four. 

With scores tied at 18-all with 10 to play, a 60-metre kick return from North Queensland flyer Lavinia Tauhalaliku set up a go-ahead try from Jetaya Faifua which looked to have got the Cowboys home, but for some late individual brilliance from Losana Lutu which reduced the gap to two and left Pauline Piliae-Rasabale with a regulation conversion to tie scores. 

But on an unhappy day in which she converted just one of her side's five tries – while counterpart Kirra Dibb conversely turned all four of her side's tries into six points – Piliae-Rasabale pushed the attempt wide. 

Brett Kimmorley's side had a couple of chances to win it still late on, but couldn't find what would have been a drought-breaking four-pointer. 

It was a particularly important result for North Queensland given the fact that the third-placed Knights and fourth-placed Roosters play fellow top-four sides in Round 7, meaning there's every chance they'll head into next week tied on points with the teams currently in play-offs position. 

While they made a positive enough start, with a couple of early chances where they had the Cowboys camped on their line, things fell apart quickly for the Wests Tigers inside 10 minutes. 

Dual New Zealand-Tonga representative Tauhalaliku crossed for the first try of her NRLW career, before Jakiya Whitfeld got over against the club which she played for last season. 

What should have been a hit back try from Rebecca Pollard minutes later instead ended in the winger fumbling under pressure from Francesca Goldthorp. 

Ten minutes from the break errors at either end from Vitalina Naikore then gifted the Wests Tigers field position, which skipper Botille Vette-Welsh converted into points with a piercing run down the right side, before they dodged a bullet when Jasmine Peters dropped the ball over the line minutes later. 

Peters had to wait just seven minutes of the second half for another chance though, and this time she made no mistake as she went over for a try which it 18-4 after Dibb's third conversion of the day. 

But a calamitous kick defusal from Goldthorp gifted Evie McGrath with a try on debut and opened the door for a Wests Tigers comeback. 

They then went coast-to-coast to grab a third through Rikeya Horne before being denied an equaliser minutes later when Tara Reinke was ruled to have obstructed Shaniah Power in the lead up to what would have been McGrath's second try. 

That didn't halt the visitors' momentum though and within the next few sets they were over again, this time given the green light for a Pollard strike which came after they stripped North Queensland for numbers down the right. 

Despite North Queensland's return serve from Faifua – and a subsequent Lillian Yarrow effort ruled out by the Bunker for a knock on – Lutu's try with five to go should have been enough to equal scores at 24, but for Piliae-Rasabale's misfortune off the boot.