Cowboys coach Paul Green will have to wait until early next week before knowing the fate of Tariq Sims and Kyle Feldt as North Queensland set up a mouth-watering showdown with the Roosters next Friday night.
The Cowboys were forced to fight off a spirited comeback from the Broncos in the second half before wrapping up a 32-20 victory to advance to the second week of the finals for the second time since 2007.
Sims is likely to come under the scrutiny of the match review committee for a hit on Broncos fullback Justin Hodges after he had passed the ball while Feldt will be monitored for a potential ankle injury he incurred late in the game.
While neither Green nor co-captain Johnathan Thurston wanted to comment on the Sims tackle, the attention that Feldt received on the ground from Ben Barba led to a scuffle breaking out with the suggestion that it was a deliberate twist of the lower leg.
"Bit of an ugly incident really," said Green. "A bit of a twist on the ankle so he's got the ice on it and we'll see how he pulls up tomorrow."
Added Thurston: "It was a one-on-one tackle and our boy's found his front which I think earns the right for a quick play-the-ball and obviously he's just twisted his leg there. That was it."
Although his side gave up 20 points in the second half having taken a 24-point lead in to half-time, Green was content to focus on the positives of another week added to their season as opposed to lamenting some lapses in defence.
"We've won ourselves an opportunity to play another week which a lot of other clubs haven't so we're still alive in this comp," Green said.
"We were playing a pretty committed side there who is chock full of very good players so I was very happy with the performance . Obviously we can be better but they were playing for their season and I'm happy to get the win.
"They've showed all year that they've been able to hang in there and they're a very tough side that doesn't give up. We knew they'd start well and got a bit of momentum early in that second half and they got their tails up; they were a very hard team to defend."
Off to Newcastle next season, if Sims was to incur a suspension he will be relying on his teammates to progress further in the competition in order to play for the Cowboys again and Green said it is clear he and elder brother Ashton – who will play with Warrington in 2015 – are determined to go out on the highest note possible.
"Both [Tariq] and Ashton realise that their time at the club, there is not long to go for them, so I'm sure they'll want to do everything they can to make sure that our season goes as long as possible."
