Three late tries in seven minutes has secured North Queensland a shock 28-24 win over the Melbourne Storm.

Will Warbrick’s fourth try in the 65th minute looked to have sealed the deal for Melbourne at 24-12, but the Cowboys remained unperturbed and stuck to their guns down the straight.

Cowboys back-rower Sam McIntyre’s crash ball try from the hands of Scott Drinkwater four minutes later brought the game back within a try, before Tom Dearden shrugged off his quiet year to date to send Helium Luki over to even the ledger with eight minutes remaining.

WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.

Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

MATCH CENTRE: Cowboys vs Storm teams, scores, videos, updates

The game was sealed with three minutes to spare thanks to a one-on-one effort from Braidon Burns – his second try of the game leaving Storm counterpart Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown in his wake.

It didn’t come without a nervous finish as the bunker was called upon twice for challenges from either team, but it would be the Cowboys who finished with the last laugh.

The Cowboys’ second-straight win has helped relieve some of the pressure on coach Todd Payten who was sure to come under greater scrutiny as the game’s most under-pressure coach following Friday’s sacking of former Sea Eagles mentor Anthony Seibold.

Meanwhile, it was the sixth time since the start of last season that the Storm had bombed a double figure lead – the most of any team. Between 2020 and 2024, they bombed just four in total.

The best on ground from tonight.Source: FOX SPORTS

YOU’RE A WIZARD, HARRY

It didn’t result in a win, but Storm skipper Harry Grant has made a late claim to star in HBO’s reboot of his wizarding namesake given the piece of magic he pulled off against the Cowboys.

Grant’s three-man dummy half cut-out pass to send over Warbrick for his fourth try of proceedings was as good as it got for the Storm. It’s just a shame he couldn’t work some of his magic into his goal kicking (two from five attempts).

Between Grant and halfback Jahrome Hughes, the Storm did enough to quell any thought of a Cowboys comeback over the opening hour but are now left to pick up the pieces after back-to-back second half fades.

Cowboys STUN Storm with epic comeback | 03:11

C’MON SIR

Despite the win, two questionable referee calls will come under the microscope in the postmortem for the Cowboys.

Tries to Burns and Jake Clifford within the first 10 minutes held the Cowboys in good stead but it all began to unravel midway through the first half.

A dominant Zac Laybutt try-saving tackle on Storm back-rower Alec Macdonald, deserving of referee Gerard Sutton’s greater grace, was instead pinged and immediately resulted in Warbrick’s second try.

In the shadows of the break the Cowboys soon found themselves at the mercy of the bunker. Instead of being lauded for their desperate defence, they were punished for a dubious tackle-in-the-air penalty.

Not even rugby league great Greg Alexander concluding the decision was a result of a “stupid rule” could save North Queensland as Sua Faalogo sliced through seconds later to make the Cowboys’ successful comeback task all the more difficult.

Brandy & Vossy rage over ‘STUPID’ rule | 00:44

FOX SPORTS LAB STATS

– Cowboys won four of last five games against Storm at QCB Stadium.

– First time since the first three rounds last season the Cowboys have completed 80% of their sets in consecutive matches.

– 10 penalties (Five-All) and nine set restarts in the match (Storm 6-3).

– Zach Laybutt was placed on report for a hip drop tackle on Harry Grant. Hey was suspended for two matches in the pre season for a dangerous throw

– William Warbrick scored four tries for the second time in his career. Fourth player in as many seasons to score four tries in a match and lose (Johnston 2025, Talau 2024, Ravalawa 2023)

– Braidon Burns scored the third try double of his career including the match winner four minutes from full time.

– Sua Fa’alogo scored a try to take his streak to five games. He ran for 183 metres and busted 10 tackles.

– Fox Lab POTM – Scott Drinkwater had a hand in five of the Cowboys six tries. 14 runs for 133 metres.

FOLLOW THE ACTION IN OUR LIVE BLOG BELOW. CAN’T SEE IT? CLICK HERE.