Icon's alarming question for 'pathetic' Cowboys

Rugby league Immortal Wally Lewis has lamented the Cowboys' nonaccomplishment to rotation retired their crippled program erstwhile it mattered during their clash with Wests Tigers connected Saturday.

While the Cowboys plummeted to a 24-6 shortage implicit the archetypal 66 minutes of the Townsville fixture, they ran successful 2 tries successful the last 10 minutes en way to a 24-16 loss.

The past 10 minutes saw Cowboys halfback Tom Dearden, five-eighth Scott Drinkwater and fullback Valentine Holmes wrestle backmost greater power of the team's onslaught and North Queensland play with much flare.

It's prompted Lewis to statement the Cowboys "pathetic" and near him puzzled arsenic to wherefore they couldn't play successful that manner erstwhile it counted.

Cowboys fullback Valentine Holmes successful enactment against Wests Tigers. (Getty)

"It conscionable appeared arsenic though their crippled program wasn't being enactment into effect astatine all. They conscionable appeared confused, the thought process of was it going to beryllium the halfback that came up with the crippled program oregon the five-eighth, the adjacent receiver, and it didn't look arsenic though they were immoderate the wiser successful coming up with that," Lewis said connected Wide World of Sports' QLDER.

"Surely you've got to, successful first-grade football, person a modular crippled program which you instrumentality to. If it doesn't enactment we'll effort to change it to a second, and past possibly a third.

"If that doesn't enactment past you effort to crook the absorption astir arsenic often arsenic imaginable to marque beingness uncomfortable for them coming distant from their line.

"No substance what the Cowboys enactment into play it seemed that determination was full disorder and an inability to enactment that into effect."

The Cowboys scored a 74th-minute effort successful which Drinkwater threw a important cut-out shot to Jake Granville and Dearden loomed up connected the wrong to implicit the four-pointer.

North Queensland past snared a effort successful the 78th infinitesimal connected the backmost of a beauteous concatenation of passes from the close helping to the left, successful which Drinkwater and Holmes played captious roles.

QLDER: When volition we spot a 17th NRL team? - Round 23

"The unusual portion was erstwhile they looked retired of it astatine the extremity they came backmost to enactment immoderate points on," Lewis said.

"It looked similar they were going to travel back, and it inspired everybody that was watching it.

"But you conscionable had to inquire yourself the question, 'Why the hellhole did it instrumentality truthful agelong to enactment into effect?'

"It evidently created much distress and discomfort for the coach. You could spot the humor unit going done the extortion there.

"It was conscionable confusing arsenic to wherefore it took truthful agelong to summation immoderate benignant of power implicit the opposition."

The Cowboys are present retired of finals contention successful manager Todd Payten's archetypal play successful complaint and are acceptable to conscionable the Eels, Dragons and Sea Eagles successful their remaining games.

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!