The North Queensland Cowboys nine game winning streak at home in Townsville came to a close on Saturday night at the hands of a Melbourne Storm outfit that is firing on all cylinders.
Without skipper Johnathan Thurston on hand to navigate traffic, the Cowboys looked rudderless at several points in the 16-8 loss.
While grabbing a win against the Storm without their key playmaker on the field was always going to be a tough ask, it was still troubling to see the lack of direction in attack at times especially on fifth tackle options.
Things got off to a positive start for the northerners with Ethan Lowe nailing a penalty kick in the fifth minute, but moments later Kevin Proctor powered in to put the visitors up by four after the successful conversion.
The Storm continued to apply the pressure which paid dividends when Marika Koroibete bagged a highlight reel try next to the left post on the 13 minute mark to make it 10-2.
The best sequence of ball movement in the match from the Cowboys saw Antonio Winterstein cross in the corner with Lowe’s conversion putting the home side back in the match at nearly 30 minutes, but it would prove to be the sole try of the game for North Queensland as the Storm defence went into lockdown mode.
A late first half try to Tim Glasby would end up being the last points scored in the match with the second half amounting to a defensive grudge match.
Best on the field for the Cowboys were Ethan Lowe who led all players with 194 metres gained to go along with 34 tackles with just a single a miss; Jason Taumalolo who led the North Queensland tackle count with 41 to go along with several of his now customary wrecking ball charges up the middle and Kane Linnett was also impressive showing great determination in grinding out metres after initial contact while also notching up the Cowboys only try assist of the game.
The loss could prove costly for the Cowboys on the ladder as their buffer over the Bulldogs and Raiders has evaporated and they now find themselves in a dogfight for a top four finish with five rounds remaining before the finals commence.
With or without Thurston playing, the Cowboys will without a doubt be playing with a heightened sense of urgency when they travel to Leichhardt Oval to take on the Tigers on Sunday.
Meanwhile the Storm and Sharks are now sitting pretty in the top two spots and barring an epic collapse that is how the rankings will stand through Round 26.