NRL Match Report: North Queensland Cowboys vs Wests Tigers

FULL-TIME: Cowboys close it out with a 24-10 victory over the Tigers

North Queensland is safely in the top eight, ending the dreams of the Manly Sea Eagles and the Canterbury Bulldogs with this win.

Look, it wasn't good and Todd Payten won't be impressed with that performance, but they've stayed alive, and now we just wait and see what order the final eight will end up in.

Chester seals it for the Cowboys

It's just simple short side stuff from the Cowboys and Tom Chester barges over Solomone Saukuru to crash in for his second.

That seals it.

76' Jarome Luai is off

He was monstered in a tackle by Braidon Burns and got up hobbling. Now he's straight off the field.

74' Tom Mikaele can't hold the ball

Seemingly every run is a crap shoot with Tom Mikaele and he comes up with another error here. He NEEDS to stop trying to offload.

In the meantime, Heath Mason pulls off a lifting tackle on Tom Dearden well after the ball is gone but Grant Atkins completely missed it.

72' Tigers piling on the pressure, but the dropout releases it

They're making easy metres here as they chase points and Jarome Luai's grubber forces a dropout.

But Jake Clifford surprises the Tigers by belting it long and finds touch despite Jock Madden's desperate attempt to save it.

65' Really tough call for the bunker and the Tigers

Fonua Pole flattens Scott Drinkwater on a lead run before Terrell May crosses for a try, and even though the idea of Drinkwater even making a slight impact on May from that far out is laughable, the bunker has no choice but to rule that an obstruction.

65' Back to back penalties for the Tigers

They're right on the Cowboys' tryline too.

I can't back the North Queensland defence to hold the line here. Not the way they've been playing.

Jaxon Purdue has a try off the post!

Scott Drinkwater's kick is into no man's land, clips the left upright as the pack goes tumbling through and the ball ends up in the hands of Jaxon Purdue to score a simple try.

I genuinely believe Drinkwater was aiming at the post there.

57' Cowboys go close but miss out

Ethan King comes within a whisker of latching onto a beautifully improvised grubber by Jake Clifford but he's just knocked on on the line.

Big Heilum Luki is over for the Cowboys

The Cowboys get a little momentum thanks to Jaxon Purdue down the left and then, on the right, Tom Dearden sends his back rower striding through a hole, fending off Jarome Luai and Jahream Bula en route to the line.

50' Another wasted opportunity for the Cows

The Cowboys are working into a set on the Tigers' line, but Reed Mahoney throws a forward pass to Tom Mikaele on the second tackle.

That's just not good enough.

47' Costly mistake by Jarome Luai

The Tigers manufacture a surprisingly good set after starting 2 metres out from their own tryline, and Jarome Luai finds the grass with his long kick, but it rolls dead.

43' Cowboys straight back under the pump

Braidon Burns fails to contest a high ball and Tom Dearden ends up being dumped back into the in-goal.

Jahream Bula reels in the dropout, and the Tigers go straight on the attack.

41' The Cowboys get first use

Coach Todd Payten has surely given them an all-time rev-up, so let's see if they can remember how to play football.

Syndesmosis fears for Sam Walker

Trent Robinson has confirmed to the media that there are fears for Sam Walker's season, with the star halfback now awaiting scans after hobbling from the field with an ankle injury in the Roosters' loss to the Dolphins earlier tonight.

"Possibly, yeah we're thinking that," Robinson replied when asked if he believed it to be a high ankle, or syndesmosis injury.

"I only saw him briefly there before he went for scans, we'll deal with that when we get to it."

HALF-TIME: Tigers lead the Cowboys 10-8

It's been a frustrating half for the Cowboys and their fans in Townsville, with the struggling Tigers leading the way courtesy of a shocking 72 per cent completion rate by the eighth-placed Cowboys.

36' Cowboys can't stop inviting the Tigers back into the game

North Queensland is fighting for their finals lives against a struggling side and just isn't focused enough on holding on to the ball.

This time it's Braidon Burns fumbling in the play the ball 20 metres out.

The Tigers are in and this one won't be taken off them

The cross-field kick yields rewards for the Tigers as Samuela Fainu bats it back to Jarome Luai, who fires a long ball out to Junior Tupou to score their second and retake the lead.