Stay updated with the latest beauty tips, trends, and news from our salon experts. Our blog is your go-to source for all things beauty.
The Warriors have defied another North Queensland second-half surge, Luke Metcalf's first-half clinic piloting the club to their equal-best start to an NRL season.
The Warriors led 30-12 with 24 minutes to play before the Cowboys rallied, Andrew Webster's side hanging on for dear life to win 30-26 on Saturday at Brisbane's Magic Round.
Luke Metcalf's first-half clinic had the Warriors on track for a cruisy win, the halfback scoring twice and running for 111 first-half metres.
Halves partner Chanel Harris-Tavita was equally as damaging with two try assists and a four-pointer of his own, before Adam Pompey's 80m intercept try from a regrettable Jake Clifford pass made it 28-12 at the break.
The Cowboys then scored three tries in seven minutes - and were denied another two minutes later - and looked destined to run the Warriors down with 18 minutes still to play.
The rain continued but the points dried up, the Warriors winning for a sixth time from their last seven games.
The victory improved Andrew Webster's side to 6-2 to equal their 2018 start as the best since the club's 1995 inception.
That's despite their off-colour start in a poor loss to Canberra in Las Vegas's opening round and Shaun Johnson's retirement after a 13th-placed finish last season left a gaping hole to fill.
Metcalf, the unheralded 26-year-old former Cronulla playmaker, has embraced the role, combining superbly with Harris-Tavita to threaten the line on both sides of the ball.
The Cowboys, in driving rain, tried to keep pace in the first half.
Jeremiah Nanai hitting a gap and putting Jaxon Purdue over, before Tom Dearden burrowed through to make it 22-12 approaching halftime.
But Clifford put the ball on Pompey's chest in a dagger blow as the siren sounded, before back-to-back Murray Taulagi knock-ons dug the Cowboys a bigger hole to begin the second half.
Clifford redeemed himself with a pinpoint chip to a flying Robert Derby, who caught his opposite marginally out of position.
Taulagi then did incredibly well to stay infield after collecting a bullet Scott Drinkwater pass and leaping over and the margin suddenly 10.
Nanai had the Cowboys' third-straight try, Taine Tuaupiki coughing up a grubber on his tryline as the Cowboys looked to repeat their surging second half efforts of a week earlier against Gold Coast.
They were denied a fourth try inside nine minutes, Taulagi unable to repeat his earlier contortion as he stretched for the line.
Metcalf was denied the match-sealing moment soon after, his grubber touching the dead ball line before he batted the ball back for a would-be try.
The Warriors hung on regardless and will move up to third at worst once the festivities conclude in Brisbane on Sunday.
