Three weeks ago the Queenslanders’ season was over.

The only reason they played finals football was because the Bulldogs garnered an unlikely Round 26 win against the Dragons which elevated the Cowboys into eighth position.

Spirited semi-final wins against defending premiers Cronulla, Parramatta and now the Roosters have made North Queensland the first team to come from eighth place to face the minor premiers in the big dance.

And it didn’t come easy for the visitors who trailed twice throughout the match to fight back to earn a place in their second grand final in three seasons.

Losing Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott early in the year led many experts to put a line through the northerner’s season.

But this Cowboys team has proved to be arguably the most resilient in the NRL built on a never say die attitude.

Halfback Michael Morgan has shown there will be life after Thurston as evidenced in another stunning display which silenced the parochial Sydney crowd and break the bleeding hearts of Bondi.

Having only made the finals after relying on other results, Morgan said he did not believe his side would be challenging for a title a few weeks ago.

“No, I’ll be honest,” Morgan told Channel Nine.

“It’s an unreal feeling and very satisfying for one. You wouldn’t read about it.”

The Roosters scored two lucky tries either side of half-time which Morgan said instilled a lot of confidence in his troops.

“We are always confident and their tries came off a bit of luck at times so it was important that we didn’t fall apart," he said.

“We hang in there and keep competing good things will eventually happen and it’s a great group to be a part of and I am very proud to be a part of the group.

“We have been very relaxed all week and the last two weeks. It’s a very relaxed mood around the place and we are just enjoying it.”

Departing Rooster Aiden Guerra said he was disappointed to be heading to the Knights on a sour note adding the Cowboys will be tough to beat at the Olympic Stadium next Sunday against Melbourne.

“We did some things to put ourselves in a position to win but we did too many things that put us in a position to lose," he said.

“The Cowboys are rolling. They have got some players there that are really top quality footballers and have a good nucleus around them. There are a lot of premiership players in that side that knows what it takes to win a grand final.

“We wish them all the best and we would have loved to have been there, but, I am sure we will be in for a good game.”