A 78th-minute field goal by former Cowboy Kyle Laybutt has secured the Newcastle Yowies a dramatic one-point over the Bourke Warriors in a pulsating Koori Knockout final at Tamworth.

The Townsville-based Papua New Guinea international - who played two NRL games for the Cowboys in 2017 and was playing in his debut Koori Knockout - sweetly struck a 35-metre kick to deliver the Yowies their fourth Knockout title and their first since 2017.

Newcastle then withstood a desperate surge by the Warriors, who were chasing their first title since 1995, with fullback Jeremy Thurston going agonisingly close to scoring.

It was an extra special day for the Yowies, with their women beating Wiradjuri Aboriginal Rivers 14-0 in the earlier women's final.

"It's a pretty surreal feeling," Laybutt said of h

See Full Page