Manly fans were hoping their loss to the Eels last week was just a glitch in the Foz-ball system.

But as Scott Drinkwater nailed a field goal from 32 metres out in golden point to hand the Cowboys a 19-18 victory and a place in the top eight on Sunday, he also handed Kieran Foran his first loss at home as Sea Eagles head coach.

It was a sobering moment for Foran and his Sea Eagles, who led only five minutes earlier before Reuben Cotter barged across for the equaliser.

The Sea Eagles were let off the hook as Jake Clifford missed the conversion to send the match into golden point. However, with the Cowboys carving their way through Manly’s middle, Drinkwater was served his field goal opportunity on a platter and the Dragons-bound fullback drilled it straight to claim victory.

The defeat marks Foran’s first back-to-back losses as head coach and sends the Sea Eagles tumbling outside the top eight.

The Manly coach said that much like the week before his team struggled with consistency.

“They were gutsy throughout the contest, [we] just had to manage periods of the game better,” Foran said.

“I thought, despite sort of being on the back foot for a fair bit of the first half – we came in 14-6 – I thought the boys showed a fair bit of resilience to do that, and then just should have managed the game better in the second half.

“A bit like what I touched on last week, sort of one positive play was quickly followed by one negative play. There’s no real genuine consistency about how we manage that second half, so that’s disappointing.”

Captain Tom Trbojevic said he believes his team can still play finals football, but they can’t have such varying performances from week to week.

“Definitely confident in this footy side. When we play well, we compete with the best, [but we’re] just not managing 80 minutes of football, and it’s disappointing,” Trbojevic said.

“We put ourselves in a position to win at home, and I just thought we let it go. It’s a tough one to take.”

For a time, it looked like Manly had done enough to limp to victory, after a Jamal Fogarty grubber was grounded by Jason Saab in the 65th minute for his second try.

But it was North Queensland who had the momentum in the second half, with Braidon Burns also getting a double – his outstretched arm getting the better of Koula and Lehi Hopoate to make the difference four points with 12 minutes left.

The Cowboys had also dominated the early parts of the contest, Tom Chester slipping between Jake Trbojevic and Simione Laifi to score the opener, before the visitors were denied a second three minutes later when Burns’ foot went into touch while trying to score.

But the Sea Eagles controlled the middle part of the game, and with Reed Mahoney also controversially denied before half-time – his try was deemed a double movement, despite momentum carrying him towards the line – it looked like the Sea Eagles would keep momentum.

That shift was thanks to Tom Trbojevic, who cut through the middle of the field before passing out to a supporting Jason Saab on the right edge to score Manly’s first in the 16th minute.

The Sea Eagles then went left to find their second, with a beautiful cut-out pass from Joey Walsh to Koula, who found Hopate waiting on the edge to score.

Next, it was Olakau’atu’s turn to flatten the North Queensland defence, as he dragged Clifford, Mahoney, Zac Laybutt and Jeremiah Nanai with him as he muscled his way through and reached out to score one-handed.

But the Sea Eagles tired in the second half, and Saab’s second was Manly’s only try in the final 40 minutes.

Things worsened when Ben Trbojevic was forced off in the 11th minute following a head clash with Thomas Mikaele, and he subsequently failed his head injury assessment. The Sea Eagles also lost Corey Waddell to an ankle injury in the first half, which could see him spend an extended stint on the sideline with Foran confirming it’s likely a syndesmosis injury.

It all caught up with them in the end, as the Cowboys had more creativity and speed in the dying minutes of the match.

Foran’s next challenge will be taking on his former club – the Titans – again, but this time on the Gold Coast on Sunday. It’s a challenge Foran has already had to overcome, with Manly narrowly winning 12-10 when they last met the Titans in May.

Billie Eder is a sports reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.