Jonathon Thurston was once again, the man, after he put in a clinical performance with fullback Matthew Bowen, as the Cowboys held on 22-20 against Manly at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
It was the Thurston and Bowen show once again, with Thurston scoring 1 try and kicking 3 conversions, and Bowen scoring a double.
In another move that is sure to please Thurston, he leads the NRL in line break assists and added another one to his season tally this year.
Manly refused to give for the entire match though, and when Anthony Watmough went over in the 79th minute, there were some anxious nerves were had by the Cowboys.
The try that was disallowed was a hot topic at the press conferences, with Manly coach Des Hasler believing that the benefit of the doubt should have been given in this case.
“I thought it was a weak decision,” the Manly coach said.
“It looked as if he knocked the ball back but it was the angle of the body that made it look as if it was a knock on.”
Manly captain, Jamie Lyon agreed with the sentiments, saying that the ball “went back”.
Cowboys coach Neil Henry thought otherwise however, believing that the ball was indeed a knock-on.
“It’s a dangerous tackle in so far as he was upended, he got into a dangerous position, so I hope that a penalty is sufficient.”
Hasler also believes that the loss may be something his side looks back on later in the year.
“We were just guilty of too many unforced errors and our execution wasn’t polished enough.”
Despite their win, the Cowboys suffered an injury to hooker Aaron Payne, who is set to undergo scans on a torn or strained elbow.
“He was in a bit of discomfort at halftime so we thought it best to be cautious there,” Henry said.
3 Jonathon Thurston
2 Matthew Bowen
1 Tariq Sims