3 minute read

North Queensland's NRL form turnaround has been based on toughening up a defence which came through a major test against Gold Coast on Sunday.

When Cowboy Kyle Feldt bundled Brian Kelly into touch in the dying seconds of Sunday's NRL clash between North Queensland and Gold Coast, the philosophy was simple.

He must not score.

"Just make the play, get to wherever the ball is," Feldt told AAP about what went through his head in the match-winning play.

"That's the biggest threat. I was very lucky I got in the right position and got over the sideline."

Feldt's effort made sure the Cowboys left Cbus Super Stadium with a 6-4 win, lifting them firmly into finals contention despite a 1-4 start to the season.

The winger was far from the only hero for the visitors in a game where they held their opponent scoreless in the second half despite having just two fit players on the bench.

Fullback Jordan Kahu put in his best effort since joining the Cowboys, while front-rower turned five-eighth John Asiata was everywhere.

Rampaging No.13 Jason Taumalolo played a full 80 minutes, running over 200 metres and scoring the match-winning try in the second half.

It's a far cry from the team which slumped to a four-match losing run earlier this season.

Feldt said the poor run had sparked a change in mindset regarding the team's defensive attitude.

"We'd been leaking an average of 18-20 points a game. That's something we wanted try and bring down," he said.

"It's all on the back of our defence and everyone's buying into it for once ... everyone's trusting our game plan now.

"Three in a row is outstanding, we've just got to keep building on it now."