Eels’ late comeback falls short as Cowboys power into top eight

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North Queensland have claimed a sixth straight win, continuing their surge up the ladder with a 24-16 home defeat of Parramatta.

On Saturday night, fullback Scott Drinkwater again starred and continued his purple patch of form, moving to six tries and 11 try assists in his last six games.

The Cowboys punished an error-strewn Eels side that struggled until the final 15 minutes, when they turned on two quick tries and flirted with a miraculous comeback.

Mitchell Moses and Clint Gutherson combined twice in the final minutes to narrow the deficit to eight, and a penalty with three minutes to go had the Eels poised.

But as had been the trend, errors let Brad Arthur’s side down and the Cowboys held on.

In front of a 20,710 crowd that cried for revenge following last year’s preliminary final loss to the Eels at home, the Cowboys ran in four tries to three and handed much-loved utility Jake Granville a win in his milestone 200th NRL game.

The win moves North Queensland to seventh on the ladder, two points clear of South Sydney in ninth and the Eels in eighth.

Eels forward Andrew Davey braces for contact on Saturday night.Credit: Getty

Parramatta face a tough run home to round 27 and, making matters worse, Shaun Lane departed the field in the second half with a suspected dislocated elbow. The Eels were already missing Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Maika Sivo and Dylan Brown to suspension.

The Cowboys began in hot form with early tries via a scampering run by Tom Dearden and another piece of magic by Drinkwater.

Dearden scuttled across field until he found a hole in the line and found Peta Hiku for the opener.

Drinkwater floated a pass out to Semi Valemei six minutes later for their second before Eels winger Sean Russell dived over in the corner to narrow the deficit to 12-4.

Both teams traded sets, errors and penalties through the midpoint of the half and a Drinkwater run from behind his own goal line seemed to swing momentum.

Off the back of a penalty, a simple hands play to the right edge put Valemei over to complete a first-half double, his seventh try in six games this season.

And when faced with a barrage of yellow and blue attack to end the first half, the Cowboys held their nerve even whilst a man down to take a 16-4 lead into the break.

The Cowboys were without Jeremiah Nanai (shoulder) and Griffin Neame (HIA) in the second half.

AAP

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