'Incredible scenes': Luke Metcalf dazzles as Warriors survive late scare from the Cowboys
A sensational try-saving effort by Luke Metcalf denied the Cowboys the opportunity to claim a heroic win at Magic Round as the Warriors survived in a thriller battle.
All things went the way of the New Zealand based club early in the match but the match quickly turned on its head courtesy of some inspiration from Robert Derby.
The Cowboys were trailing by 18 when Derby collected a chip from Jake Clifford to dart over the line in the 55th minute before Murray Taulagi added another four points with a sensational effort in the corner.
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"Put the seatbelt on and buckle up, this is getting serious," Michael Ennis said on Fox League.
Scott Drinkwater put a grubber through from 10 metres out but Taine Tuapiki dropped it on the bounce, with Jeremiah Nanai close by the sweep the ball up and score.
A chorus of boos were heard as a replay of the try was shown at Suncorp Stadium as Jaxon Purdue appeared to make contact with Tuaupiki's legs while in the air.
Despite the concerns of the crowd, the try was cleared and confirmed.
Jaxon Purdue makes contact with Tuaupiki's legs while in the air. Fox League
The Warriors were left stunned for the third time in a matter of minutes as Taulagi crashed over on the edge to score his second.
But the Bunker stepped in and confirmed the winger had gone into touch before grounding the ball, with Luke Metcalf the try-saving hero for the Warriors.
"The Warriors are just not handling the chaos at the moment," Ennis said.
"[Andrew Webster] he is nervous, he's not happy."
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The denied try proved to be the key to save the Warriors game as the clock ticked down and ignited a roar of cheers from the crowd.
"It's like you're at a home game in every away game," Metcalf told Fox League as the crowd was heard cheering behind him.
Luke Metcalf celebrates scoring a try. Getty
Earlier, Metcalf sent Kurt Capewell bursting through a hole in the Cowboys line, but the Warriors forward was left looking for support as he approached the 20 metre mark.
Metcalf was chasing alongside Capewell and received a perfectly timed pass to distract an incoming defender before darting under the posts to score.
The halfback engineered a try-scoring opportunity for Chanel Harris-Tavita, who opted to play the ball down the left edge and send Edward Kosi over.
Two converted tries for the Cowboys were overlooked by the Warriors as Harris-Tavita added his name to the list of try-scorers at Magic Round.
Metcalf's masterclass performance was only just heating up when he combined with Harris-Tavita to slide over his second try.
Tom Dearden runs the ball. Getty
The Cowboys continued to "self-destruct" in the final 40 as Adam Pompey crossed on the stroke of half time, snatching a pass by Jake Clifford and ran 60m to score.
"He was just looming up, looming up," Michael Ennis said on Fox League.
"He's sitting in their back line and just snatches it out of thin air.
"A great 40 minutes from the men from New Zealand."
Post-match, the Warriors fans went berserk after the 30-26 victory.
"Absolute incredible scenes, you'd think you're at Eden Park," Mick Ennis said on Fox.
The win positions the Warriors onto the premiership ladder equal with the Bulldogs, who are set to face the Titans on Sunday.
