The Cowboys finished in 5th place in 2014, with a rocky start to the season and a string of injuries to key players including internationals Brent Tate and Matt Scott, The Cowboys made a late charge to the finals winning the majority of their games and cementing a spot in the finals where they defeated the Brisbane Broncos 32–20 at their home ground in Townsville. They then travelled to Sydney to face the 2013 premiers the Sydney Roosters in the second week of the finals where they were defeated 31–30. After coming back from an early 30-point deficit Jonathan Thurston appeared to score with 56 seconds remaining before being ruled a no try by the officials ending their charge to the grand final – the third consecutive year that the Cowboys had been eliminated from the finals in controversial fashion.