North Queensland Cowboys beat Melbourne Storm, stats, results, highlights, breaking news, Ryan Papenhuyzen injury

Melbourne decided to rest 11 players on Thursday and one of the new faces – Lazarus Vaalepu – scored the first try of the game in just the third minute.

Vaalepu found space near the Cowboys' line and stormed in for his first NRL try, giving the struggling Storm an early boost.

However, their lead would not last long as Cowboys great Kyle Feldt, in his last home game, scored a try in the 10th minute.

The Cowboys attacked the Storm line, shifted the ball to the right and found fullback Scott Drinkwater, who broke between the Storm defenders and then slammed the ball into Feldt's hands with a beautiful pass.

Murray Taulagi scored the lead for the home team two minutes later.

Melbourne suffered a scare when fullback Papenhuyzen was carried off the field, but it was later confirmed that the fullback had only suffered a cork and did not return.

The visitors got back into the game thanks to determination from Alec MacDonald in the 26th minute, before Tyran Wishart scored from a superb scrum in the 34th minute.

A bomb throw from Drinkwater forced a late error from Sualauvi Faalogo, who stepped in at fullback for Papenhuyzen and gave the Cowboys a chance to get back into the game just before halftime.

The hosts were successful and Feldt scored his second goal of the game shortly before half-time, putting his team back in the lead.

Four minutes into the second half, Valentine Holmes fired in a cross for the home team, extending their lead.

However, a short dropout from the Cowboys fortunately bounced off and landed on the Storm's side, and Wishart was the quickest to grab the loose ball for his second try of the evening.

Wishart converted a penalty to equalise in the 49th minute before a try from Reece Robson extended the Cowboys' lead just before the hour mark.

Cowboys backrower Jeremiah Nani and the Storm debutant both scored in the final 12 minutes.

“It was a really chaotic game to be honest, not a pretty spectacle from either team,” said Payten.

“In the end, we had some bigger moments than them and that got us across the finish line.

“At the start of the game, one team was ready to roll up their sleeves and another wasn't. That was the message I gave at half-time and I thought we were much better in the second half.

“There were too many missed tackles across the team and we need to improve that quickly.”

Here are some of the game's key talking points from Newswire's Patrick Woods

BELLAMY'S UPDATE

Craig Bellamy confirmed after the game that club officials were not worried about Papenhuzen's injury and also praised all-round talent Tyran Wishart.

“The medical staff doesn’t seem to think it’s that bad,” Bellamy said.

“He will be scanned tomorrow and then we’ll see what happens.”

Papenhuyzen had his pants down in the early stages, but it was the Cowboys' defense that was exposed by a lack of intent and weak efforts in the first half.

North Queensland missed 28 tackles before half-time compared to Melbourne's four and a better team would have contained the lackluster Cowboys.

Melbourne fans got a glimpse of an exciting future as Wishart and Sua Fa'alogo shone with the ball in hand, combining for three linebreaks and 13 tackle busts.

“You can play (Wishart) pretty much anywhere, he’s proven that,” Bellamy said.

“He sees himself as a midfielder or a full-back. He's just so valuable to us at the moment. He's a really good athlete, he finds space and when he finds it, he can exploit it.”

Feldt flies at farewell

Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt scored two tries in the first half and set a new personal best with his 20th four-pointer of the season.

It was the first time the legendary finisher reached 20 tries in a season and was only the fourth Cowboy to do so, alongside Matt Bowen, Matt Sing and Ashley Graham.

North Queensland's top tryscorer has scored nine tries in his last five games, including at least one in each.

Feldt was celebrated along with Jake Granville as it was the last guaranteed home game for the two championship winners.

DOUBLE BLOW OF INJURY FOR STORM

Melbourne suffered a double injury blow within the first 15 minutes, with both superstar fullback Papenhuyzen and right centre Seve helping from the field.

Papenhuyzen suffered a lower leg injury and did not return, while Seve suffered a syndesmosis injury during an attempt to score.

The disruption allowed dynamic newcomer Sua Fa'alogo to take up his preferred position in defence, while Tyran Wishart moved to the halves and Grant Anderson returned to the wing.

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