COWBOYS players have credited a savage spray from coach Paul Green for reigniting the hunger of a squad now gunning for the top four after their Souths boilover.

With Green confronting his first genuine test, the rookie coach turned up the heat on his misfiring group in the lead-up to Saturday night’s clash against the title heavyweights.

The result was one of the finest defensive efforts in the club’s 20-year history – the Cowboys’ starting pack missed just two tackles in a stunning 20-18 upset.

Remarkably, five starting forwards – James Tamou, Scott Bolton, Rory Kostjasyn, Glenn Hall and Tariq Sims – made a collective 154 tackles without a single blemish.

Backrower Jason Taumalolo was the only culprit, erring twice.

Overall, the Cowboys missed 12 tackles in 80 minutes, a remarkable improvement on the 30 they leaked in last week’s horror show in Newcastle.

It was a turnaround orchestrated by Green, who underlined his coaching mettle by demanding players take responsibility for the club’s spluttering campaign.

“The truth is, all week we copped a revving,” Test prop Tamou said. “Greeny basically asked questions about us – he questioned our desire.

“He got stuck into us and said: ‘You blokes don’t look like you want to be there’.

“We all took that to heart and that’s why we started red-hot this time (bolting to a 14-0 lead against Souths). That was the first test if we want to be a chance in this competition.”

Now the ultimate challenge awaits – breaking their woeful0-7 away record as the Cowboys prepare for three consecutive road trips against the Dragons, Sharks and Canterbury.

Despite sitting 10th, the Cowboys are just two wins adrift of the top four.

Fullback Michael Morgan says the Cowboys are ready to surge, starting against the Dragons on Saturday night.

“Hopefully we can use this win as a stepping stone to build on our season and try and get to the top four,” he said.