Manly have secured fourth place for the NRL's finals series after a second-half whitewash delivered them a 46-18 win over North Queensland.
The victory sees the Sea Eagles set up a tantalising matchup with minor premiers Melbourne in the opening week of the finals and a second chance in the postseason.
Manly were heavily favoured to run amok in their trip to Townsville but were made to work hard before running away with the win in the final 15 minutes.
The Sea Eagles scored five tries in the final quarter of the match as a gassed Cowboys outfit were cut to shreds by Tom Trbojevic.
Manly's fullback had his fingerprints all over the contest, finishing with a hat-trick of tries, two try assists, 14 tackle busts, three linebreaks and 246 running metres.
Brother Jake also featured heavily in the scoring, bagging two tries of his own.
Reuben Garrick became the first player ever to score 300 points in the regular season, kicking seven of his eight conversions and scoring a try of his own on the night.
The talismanic Trbojevic continued his scintillating 2021 form in front of the Townsville crowd, much like he did in NSW's State of Origin game one thumping in the city.
He shrugged off nine would-be defenders in the 72nd minute, stepping, jinking and breaking tackles before diving over to silence the home crowd.
He then dotted down on the full-time siren off a Daly Cherry-Evans kick, as his side went the length of the field to ice a forgettable season for the 15th-placed Cowboys.
Manly's five second-half tries flipped the switch on an opening stanza where they struggled to complete their sets.
They found themselves tested in the opening half-hour of the contest in Townsville, unable to click into the gear that's seen them run rampant through the NRL.
After the Cowboys opened the scoring through Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Manly hit back when Cherry-Evans' kick found Jason Saab in the air.
A Dylan Walker break sparked life into the visitors, then a set play around the ruck from their skipper found Kieran Foran, passing inside to Tom Trbojevic who drew the fullback and passed to brother Jake for his first try.
Manly then went from cold to white-hot as Tom Trbojevic scored on halftime after he was put through a hole by Foran, creating the perfect platform to further their 18-6 lead.
