The Warriors have beaten the Cowboys 18-6 in their final regular season match to momentarily sit in fifth position on the NRL ladder.
The win was especially sweet for coach Ivan Cleary and 181-game veteran Lance Hohaia, whose match against the sixth-placed Cowboys was their final home game for the Auckland club before they moved to Penrith and St Helens respectively.
The result lifted the Warriors to fifth place on 32 points, narrowly ahead of the Wests Tigers and Cowboys on goal difference, and means the Kiwi side can't finish lower than sixth.
After withstanding some early pressure from the visitors, the Warriors answered by scoring with one a lucky bounce.
Halfback Shaun Johnson's seemingly ineffective high ball on the last tackle was allowed to bounce from the visitors, a tactic that came back to bite them when Johnson batted the ball with one hand to the unmarked Krisnan Inu who slid through to score.
But just as the Warriors looked to have the ascendency, Matty Bowen showed his class with a perfect cut-out pass to find winger Kalifa Faifai Loa in the corner to bring the match back to level terms.
The momentum ebbed and flowed, but it was the Warriors who cashed in when a line break from Maloney found captain Simon Mannering, who in turn found Hohaia on his left to score his 46th try for the club, and the 12-6 scoreline remained until half-time.
The Warriors had to call upon some spirited defence early in the second half and they delivered, with Ben Matulino's heavy tackle on No.8 Matt Scott typifying their commitment.
Then in the final 20 minutes - known for the Cowboys' attack and the Warriors' defence - it was the attacking play from the hosts that extended their lead to 12.
It was the hard working Johnson who provided Inu with his second try courtesy of a cut out ball from the halfback.
Still, with 14 minutes to play the Cowboys attacked, and Faifai Loa almost had a double but his attempted grubber kick went dead in goal, a sign that spoke wonders for the luck of the visitors. The Townsville club had countless opportunities to score again, but simple errors ensured they were behind by 12 points with 10 minutes to go.
But every piece of attack resulted in a turnover to gift Cleary, Hohaia, their fellow outgoing Warriors and the club's alumni a special win for two particularly special contributors.
Warriors: 18
Tries: Inu 2, Hohaia
Cons: Maloney 3
Cowboys: 6
Try: Faifai Loa
Con: Thurston
HT: 12-6.