North Queensland 18 Newcastle 30

NSW halfback hopeful Jarrod Mullen duffed a simple field-goal attempt but scored the winning try a minute later for Newcastle to escape with a 30-18 victory over North Queensland at Dairy Farmers Stadium last night.

The Knights led 18-4 early in the second half but the Cowboys rallied to level the scores at 18-18 with 10 minutes to go, setting up a nail-biting finale.

Mullen's close-range attempt in the 74th minute squirted off the side of his boot and only just made the Cowboys' in-goal area but fullback Anthony Watts could not work the ball back into play and Newcastle regained possession from a line drop-out.

Instead of shaping for another attempt at the end of the set, Mullen ran the ball and crossed close to the posts.

Kurt Gidley, another contender for the NSW No.7 jersey in the Origin decider, converted Mullen's try then wrestled out of a tackle to score his second try in the 79th minute.

Gidley had a chance to break the deadlock in the 73rd minute but was off target with his 35-metre penalty goal attempt from in front of the posts.

Former Knights juniors Ben Farrar (two) and Matt Bartlett scored North Queensland's three tries and Thurston kicked three goals from four attempts.

The win took Newcastle to 16 points and into eighth on the ladder, leapfrogging Parramatta on points difference.

It was North Queensland's seventh straight loss - their longest losing streak since 1999.

Tries by Matt Hilder and Gidley either side of half-time extended Newcastle's lead to 18-4 but the Knights could not kill the Cowboys off.

The Knights led 12-4 at the break after a scrappy but entertaining first 40 minutes, during which both teams created several scoring opportunities.

Newcastle skipper Danny Buderus burrowed over and claimed a try in the 37th minute, begging referee Shayne Hayne to check with video referee Tim Mander, and replays showed Buderus had a fair case.

But Hayne had already awarded Newcastle a penalty and denied Buderus's request.

It mattered little as Matt Hilder took a pass from Buderus a minute later then stepped around Shane Tronc and through an inexplicable gap in North Queensland's goal-line defence to score.

Newcastle looked like being the first scorers when centre Wes Naiqama burst into the clear down the left wing in the second minute.

But that honour went to the Cowboys two minutes later after they used two second-man plays to work the ball to their left, and Ben Farrar wrestled out of a three-man tackle to score in the corner.

The Knights hit back in the 14th minute through back-rower Chris Houston, who twice backed up in the lead-up after Adam MacDougall then Buderus broke out of tackles and went again to keep the play alive.

Former Cowboys and Dragons playmaker Chris Sheppard, who made his first NRL appearance for North Queensland since 2004, found space in the 25th minute but he was left stranded with no support close to the line.

At the end of the set, Watts trickled a grubber kick for Mark Henry but the winger brushed the touch-in-goal line before grounding the ball and video referee Mander ruled no try.

NEWCASTLE 30 (K Gidley 2 M Hilder C Houston J Mullen tries K Gidley 5 goals) bt NORTH QUEENSLAND 18 (B Farrar 2 M Bartlett tries J Thurston 3 goals) at Dairy Farmers Stadium. Referee: S Hayne. Crowd: 14,234.