NORTH Queensland survived the scare of a lifetime as a Johnathan Thurston field goal in extra time saved the Cowboys embarrassment against wooden spooners Cronulla.

The Cowboys had been rated $1.03 favourites with bookies pre-game and by kick off the Sharks were given 32.5 points start in line betting, but what transpired was anything but the expected massacre.

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The Sharks were bold and certainly didn’t play like a team ready to collect the wooden spoon.

North Queensland appeared home when Thurston nailed his first field goal in the 75th minute for a 19-12 lead, only for the second-string Sharks to answer back.

Sosaia Feki hit the line like a cannonball to complete his double in the 76th minute and then a miraculous 45m field goal by Daniel Holdsworth with 26 seconds to play send the game into golden point.

The Cowboys however ended the game with their first and only chance in golden point, when Thurston calmly nailed a 20m field goal just 105 seconds into extra-time.

The win guaranteed North Queensland a position in this year’s final, lifting them to fifth on the NRL ladder and still a chance at securing a top four spot if they beat Manly at home on Saturday night and Penrith lose to the Warriors.

But if ever there was a team that needed to fly under the radar and keep the pressure off it is the Cowboys, expectation does not agree with them.

Last year they combusted under the hype of title favouritism and the bubble almost burst in spectacular style as they just struggled to beat wooden spooners Cronulla.

For almost an hour the greatest upset in rugby league this century was genuinely on the cards.

Everybody expected to witness a massacre and when Taumalolo barged over after just 95 seconds the blowout predictions looked ominous.

But then expectation hit and attitudes dropped among the Cowboys.

Far north Queensland usually gets fair warning for cyclone season, but nothing could prepare for the Sharknado that was about to hit.

The Sharks struck twice and led 12-6 before Thurston took matters into his own hands to dart across himself and level scores on the half-hour.

The Sharks were committed in defence, punching holes in attack and playing like a team fighting for the finals not a second-string outfit who’ve already secured the 2014 wooden spoon.

The Cowboys were not far off their game but made some poor defensive errors that would’ve had coach Paul Green fuming.

If there is a positive for Green it is that two weeks out from the finals his men have received a lesson that should serve them well in the finals.

Nothing can be as valuable as a lesson learned and for Green he has some ammunition to hit his team square between the eyes at video review.

COWBOYS FANS: RATE YOUR PLAYERS

Cowboys centre Kane Linnett could face scrutiny by the match review panel, after being penalised for a single leg lift of Blake Ayshford in the 67th minute that forced the Sharks centre to arrow head-first into the turf.

NORTH QUEENSLAND 20 (J Taumalolo 2 J Thurston tries J Thurston 3 goals J Thurston 2 field goals) bt CRONULLA 19 (S Feki 2 P Politoni tries M Gordon 3 goals D Holdsworth field goal) in golden-point extra time at 1300SMILES Stadium. Referee: Chris Sutton, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 11,712.