Wests Tigers centre Justin Olam has been sent off in a 48-30 loss to North Queensland that caps a dramatic week at the joint venture club and moves a third-straight wooden spoon within reach.
Looking to shake off news of Stefano Utoikamanu's impending exit, Wests trailed by only six points when an airborne Olam hit Heilum Luki high during the second half on Thursday night.
The centre's dismissal in the 49th minute opened the door for top-four hopefuls North Queensland, who threatened to botch certain victory as Wests provided late resistance.
Kyle Feldt's try in the final two minutes finally put paid to the Tigers' comeback and sealed a surprisingly hard-fought win at Leichhardt Oval.
The home crowd gave Olam a standing ovation as he was sent from the pitch, not long after some had booed Utoikamanu during the team announcement and his first hit-up of the night.
The star prop's decision to leave at the season's end is a big blow to long-term plans.
But it's the immediate future that is of most pressing concern for the 17th-placed Tigers, who were hoping to parlay a return to their spiritual home into a drought-busting win.
Instead, they were set further adrift at the bottom of the ladder with a sixth-straight loss, despite two runaway tries from Jahream Bula and a first career double from Samuela Fainu.
Fainu's second try came after Solomon Alaimalo and Solomona Faataape also crossed despite the Tigers being down a man.
Valentine Holmes would have been forgiven for reconsidering his request to test the market after six of the of the Cowboys' eight tries came down his left edge.
The big-money centre threw the last pass for Murray Taulagi's second try as the Cowboys exploited the Tigers for failing to adapt to the restructure prompted by Latu Fainu's head knock.
With the numerical advantage, he got his name on the score sheet, and threw a ball down the short-side that confirmed Taulagi's hat-trick.
A mid-game pectoral injury threw Jake Granville's NRL future into doubt. The premiership-winning Cowboys veteran is out of contract at the end of this season and will be 36 by the start of the next one.
AAP