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North Queensland coach Todd Payten says his side's best form is still to come after a courageous 19-18 victory over rivals Brisbane in the Queensland derby.
It wasn't the 80 minute performance North Queensland coach Todd Payten had envisaged, but a close win in a classic Queensland NRL derby has left him optimistic for his side moving forward.
A Valentine Holmes field goal in the dying stages was the difference as the Cowboys yet again in 2021 overturned a second-half deficit to beat Brisbane 19-18.
Led by a heroic captain's knock from Jason Taumalolo, the Cowboys came back from a 12-8 at halftime to snatch victory in the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Todd Payten's men are quickly becoming the comeback kings of the NRL, starting slow and finishing hard, which is something he believes they need to improve.
"Yeah I was sweating a bit in that second half," Payten said following their last minute victory.
"We have our footy well in front of us, I still think our first halves are poor.
"The way that we covered and scrambled (on defence) kept us in the game. It's another step forward but our best footy is well ahead of us.
The Cowboys were lucky to be in the contest after giving up 22 missed tackles in the first half, 44 in total.
But second-half tries to Connelly Lemuelu and Taumalolo were the difference as the Broncos buckled before a 22,222-strong Townsville crowd willing the Cowboys to a gutsy victory.
Taumalolo was at his rampaging best, logging 223 metres, scoring a try and providing barnstorming runs, all while nursing pain to his heavily-strapped left hand.
A rare blight in Taumalolo's performance came when he knocked on with eight minutes left near the Broncos line but he made up for it shortly after.
A 40 metre break by halfback Jake Clifford got the home side great field position before Taumalolo split three defenders and crashed over under the posts off Jake Granville's pass.
Payten had high praise for his club veterans whose second-half leadership paved the way for a memorable derby win.
"Our leaders led from the front and our more experienced players really stood up," Payten said.
"They're working hard and finding a way, and that's what rugby league is all about.
"Jase (Taumalolo) played terrific... and Jake (Granville) upped the tempo with our line speed and ruck speed."
At 18-18 with four minutes to play, the Cowboys went the length of the field off their next set through Clifford's break before Holmes, who wasn't first choice for the field goal, slotted a shot from 25 metres out.
But it had been far from clear sailing for the Cowboys after stuttering their way through the opening stanza.
Although the home side opened the scoring through Kyle Feldt, after he miraculously twisted his arm free from two tacklers to plant down on an angle in the corner, the Broncos quickly hit back through Xavier Coates off a set play.
At 6-6 all after 20 minutes, the match became an arm wrestle, Brisbane unlucky not to be further ahead after having two tries disallowed.
Rhys Kennedy then scored off a Tyson Gamble short pass but the Broncos' 12-8 halftime lead wasn't enough as the Cowboys lifted late.
