1 Apr 2017

NRL wins for Cowboys and Sea Eagles

5:34 am on 1 April 2017

North Queensland's good start to the NRL season continued in Townsville as they beat South Sydney 20-6.

Ben Spina celebrates his try for The Cowboys during the NRL Rugby League match against the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland. 22 August 2015.

Photo: Photosport

The Sydney Roosters' unbeaten start to the NRL season is over after Dylan Walker bagged a late double to gift Manly an 18-12 victory in Sydney.

Three weeks ago a club in turmoil, the Sea Eagles claimed their third successive scalp to announce themselves as a side to watch early in the competition.

The Roosters are second in the standings and Manly fourth.

The battle between the 2014 and 2015 premiers never reached any great heights but North Queensland were by far the better side and improved to 4-1 for the season.

Souths went toe-for-toe with the Cowboys early but were unable to match it with Johnathan Thurston's side and they never seriously threatened after trailing 14-0 at the break.

Cowboys coach Paul Green was impressed with how his team handled the physically demanding conditions.

"It was really physical, particularly in that first half, and both teams completed really well considering the conditions," Green said.

"It made it a real arm-wrestle there so I'm proud of the way we hung in there.

The Cowboys are third on the table with four wins and a loss, while Souths are 10th with a 2 and 3 record.