The Northern Pride have held out a challenge from the Sunshine Coast Falcons to claim win number four of the season.
They claimed the 28-24 victory after outscoring their opponent five-tries-to-four in what was a seesawing match.
Interest was also piqued at the sight of former NRL star Todd Carney making the switch to play at fullback; despite having spent most of this season so far at five-eighth.
Carney – who is pushing for a recall to the NRL via the Cowboys – crossed for a try in the 22nd minute; his first of the season.
However, it was a poor start from the home side who were looking to bounce back following last weekend’s loss to the Capras in Emerald as they let young Storm-contracted winger Jake Ainsworth cross in just the third minute.
Fellow young gun Murray Taulagi however got the Pride on the board, and it was two tries apiece at the halftime break, with a Cooper Johns penalty goal giving the Falcons the lead 12-10 as the teams headed to the sheds.
Fresh from re-signing with the Cowboys last week, young halfback Jake Clifford made it try number seven for the year when he opened the second half scoring in the 44th minute.
Having claimed the lead, Enari Tuala extended it out even further, but the home side were never comfortable as the Falcons pushed them all the way, even scoring the last try of the match via centre Justin Olam.
While it was an important win for the Pride who had struggled to close out some tight matches, it was another close loss for the Falcons who went down by one point last weekend, following a late field goal snap by Jets interchange Sam Caslick.
Next week, the Pride will have the bye; while the Sunshine Coast will host a CQ Capras side who let a healthy lead slip tonight in falling to the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.
See the final team line-ups and full scoring details for this game via QRL Live
NORTHERN PRIDE 28 (Murray Taulagi, Todd Carney, Jake Clifford, Enari Tuala, David Murphy tries; Jake Clifford 4 goals) def SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS 24 (Jake Ainsworth, Harry Grant, Matt Soper-Lawler, Justin Olam tries; Cooper Johns 3, Matt Soper-Lawler goals) at Barlow Park.
Photo: Todd Carney in action for the Pride in Round 8. PHOTO: Gordon Greaves
