LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
In a scathing review of his team's performance, North Queensland Cowboys coach Todd Payten has likened their horror Good Friday showing against the Brisbane Broncos to a hypothetical match against the Temora Dragons.
The Cowboys, who had been riding high on a three-game winning streak, were left reeling after a lackluster display in the wet conditions.
Payten expressed his frustration at the Cowboys' sloppy execution, pointing out their woeful 56 per cent completion rate and staggering 17 errors against the Broncos.
The Queensland rivalry game was expected to be a fiery showdown, but instead, the Cowboys found themselves struggling to contain a fired-up Broncos side missing key players like Payne Haas and Brendan Piakura.
After tasting defeat for the first time this season, Payten pulled no punches in his assessment of the Cowboys' performance.
"We just gave the opposition too many shots inside the own half," he lamented during the post-match press conference.
The loss serves as a reality check for the Cowboys, who now must regroup and refocus after falling back to Earth.
Despite their recent success, they know they must tighten up their game and show more discipline if they want to compete with the top teams in the league.
The Broncos may have had their day, but the Cowboys are determined to bounce back stronger than ever.