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Cowboy winger Murray Toulagi has fulfilled his chances of making a State of Origin debut with Queensland in a thrilling victory over the West Tigers in the final of the Magic Round at the Suncorp Stadium.
Scott set up Toulagi in the first attempt of the match with an amazing final pass for Drinkwater and added two more of his own as North Queensland secured third place on the ladder with a massive win.
Their 7-3 record put them in third place alone after the Panthers beat the Storm on Saturday night, trailing Premier Penrith (9-1) and Melbourne (8-2).
In the seventh minute, Toulagi seemed to be about to bundle the line shortly after when Tigers halfback Jackson Hastings threw him over the sideline but almost horizontally when he crashed into the turf, he threw the ball back in gratitude. Drinkwater, untouched by those who collected it.
After the Tigers took a 12-8 lead through debutant winger Junior Tupau and interim center Luke Garner, Toulagi pushed after scoring the first of his two four-pointers.
However, just before halftime, the Cowboys doubled the lead for 20-12 advantage at break with the crossing of veteran winger Kyle Feld and utility forward Ruben Cutter.
When Toulagi scored in his second attempt at half-time at eight minutes, it looked like the Cowboys would start the kick and they did just that when center beat Hiku Barsad in the 57th minute.
The Tigers did not lie down and had a few chances to reduce the deficit but North Queensland forward Jeremiah Nanai gave a big win in the eighth attempt of the season.
Nanai and Cotter could also be in line for their debut in Queensland when new coach Billy Slater announces his squad for the opening match of the series against NSW at Acre Stadium on June 8.
The Tigers of Michael Maguire are just above Canterbury in the ladder for and against the same 2-8 record.