NORTH Queensland have launched an official complaint with the NRL over a Melbourne tackle that left Ethan Lowe without feeling in his hands and feet.

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal irate Cowboys coach Paul Green emailed NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg and referees boss Tony Archer last week.

While Lowe has told members of the Queensland media he plans to be back training in three months, club medical staff initially feared the powerhouse backrower may never play again.

Lowe will have surgery this week in an ­attempt to take pressure off his spine.

The incident, during the Cowboys’ 16-10 loss to the Storm at AAMI Park last weekend, is believed to have occurred during Lowe’s second hit-up of the match.

Vision of the tackle, which was analysed by Fox Sports Stats, shows there is no obvious point of injury or moment of force, which could be deemed contrary to the NRL rules, however there is an ­element of momentary pressure on Lowe’s neck.

media_camera Ethan Lowe and James Tamou. Picture: Zak Simmonds

The incident failed to raise the ire of the NRL match review committee and wasn’t raised in their official review summary of the game.

Lowe played out the ­remainder of the match, ­carrying the football on of 14 occasions, despite the serious damage to his spine.

A spokesman confirmed the NRL had received correspondence from the Cowboys expressing concern at the tackle.

“We have reviewed the tackle and there is no apparent breach of the rules,” the spokesman said.

“But player safety is a priority and we are open to discussion with the coaches committee if they have any concerns.”

Bemused Storm CEO Dave Donaghy said the Cowboys’ complaint was merely an attempt to influence any future clashes ­between the two clubs.

media_camera Ethan Lowe leaves the Cowboys training after being ruled out for the year injured. Picture: Darren England. media_camera Ethan Lowe is expected to miss three months. Picture: Darren England

“The NRL match review committee cleared our players of any wrongdoing from every tackle in that game,” Donaghy said.

“You would think both teams would do better to be preparing for the preliminary final than trying to influence referees on the weekend.

“The entire rugby league community’s thoughts are with Ethan, who unfortunately sustained an injury in a game.”

Ironically, it was the Storm who made an official complaint to the NRL about Green’s pre-match press conference where he raised concerns over the Storm’s tackling techniques.

“Call it what you want, they’re very good at controlling the speed of the play-the-ball,’’ Green said.

“They’re very good at controlling the tempo of the game. Whether or not they get away with it is up to the refs.’’

Storm coach Craig Bellamy was clearly irritated by Green’s grievances, claiming his club was constantly forced to defend its defensive techniques.

“It was a very preconceived message from him and it’s all very predictable at this time of year, all very predictable,’’ Bellamy said.

“We played them five or six weeks ago and he didn’t mention the ruck then, we haven’t changed anything in the last five or six weeks or in 24 weeks.

“He’s just trying to get an advantage there from the referees, they will referee it how they see it.’’