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It was billed as Kalyn Ponga‘s return to Townsville after a concussion ruled the five-eighth out in round two, but it was fellow Queenslander Murray Taulagi who brought reaction from commentators and fans during the Cowboys‘ round eight fixture against the Knights.
In the 47th minute, the Cowboys winger was sin binned for a late hit on Newcastle Knights centre Dane Gagai which was described as ‘stupid’ by experts.
Thankfully for Taulagi, the Cowboys went on to win their third game of the season with a 18-16 victory.
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Former Sharks coach Shane Flanagan was scathing of the Australian representative after the sin bin.
“Add five minutes for stupidity because it’s a stupid tackle,” he said on Fox League’s coverage.
“We talk about hitting our halves late, big forwards are told to go and make them play early but that’s just a silly tackle, he’s earned his ten minutes in the sin bin.”
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Former Maroons star Brent Tate called Taulagi’s hit a “brain explosion”.
With the Cowboys down to 12-men, Newcastle went on a rampage with Dom Young scoring straight after the incident while Lachlan Fitzgibbon grabbed his own four-pointer just before Taulagi returned.
NRL Highlights: Cowboys v Knights – Round 8
North Queensland did the hard work early though with Reece Robson scoring first to make it 6-0 after 10 minutes.
New signing Greg Marzhew levelled up proceedings three minutes later but the Cowboys went into the sheds with a 12-6 lead thanks to a miracle Kyle Feldt try.
After Taulagi returned to the field, the Cowboys found their spark and a Tom Dearden try in the 64th minute gave the side an 18-16 lead that couldn’t be defeated.
North Queensland now move to 14th on the live ladder while the Knights stay in 11th.
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