Coach praises Warriors' win in adversity Coach Matthew Elliott has expressed pride in the Warriors' ability to overcome adversity after they ended their long NRL drought with a come-from-behind 20-18 win over North Queensland. The Warriors had to overturn a 12-0 deficit in Auckland on Sunday, then hold out for the last two minutes after the Cowboys scored a late try. They also played out the last half-dozen minutes a man down after running out of interchanges when losing a third outside back. It was their first win in four matches under Elliott and ended an 11-match losing streak that went back to last July. "I'm just really happy for the players," Elliott said. I think the word pride is sometimes overused, but the adversity that we encountered in that game, losing three outside backs and having to finish the game with 12 men - it was probably the best way we could eke out a result. The Warriors lost Dane Nielsen late in the first half to a rib problem, and Kevin Locke and Ben Henry in the second to concussion. Elliott said the initial prognosis concerning Nielsen was "not looking good," while Locke and Henry would have to go through the standard testing after a head knock. The three join a lengthy Warriors injury list, although centre Jerome Ropati, winger Manu Vatuvei and possibly prop Russell Packer are set to be available against South Sydney on Sunday. For North Queensland, the result meant a third defeat in a row. Skipper Johnathan Thurston said the Cowboys simply made too many errors after the break. "Second half, they just controlled the ball," he said. They were a lot better than us and that's where we lost the game. Nine errors against any side in 40 minutes of football - you just can't compete with that. Halfback Shaun Johnson's penalty three minutes from time took the Warriors out to a 20-12 lead. But winger Antonio Winterstein hit back for the Cowboys, leading to some anxious final moments for the home fans in the 10,572 crowd. It continued early in the second half after an attack started by a Locke offload in his own in-goal. The Warriors then hit the front for the first time when a well-structured attack was finished by centre Konrad Hurrell, with Johnson adding his third conversion. Earlier, the Warriors made a spirited start, but it was the Cowboys who got on the board first. Thurston's kick ahead was blocked but the Cowboys regathered and worked the ball to Kalifa Faifai Loa, who produced a superb one-handed diving finish. After getting five successive sets, they eventually converted their flood of possession by putting centre Brent Tate over. The Warriors finally hit back to score their first first-half points of the year when Johnson popped up to deliver the pass for Taylor to force his way over.