A horror run of injuries continued for Brent Tate in the North Queensland Cowboys’ 36-28 NRL trial loss to Gold Coast Titans in Mackay.

Keen to make an impact after overcoming his third knee reconstruction, Tate, 29, lasted just three minutes before being taken off with a rib complaint following heavy contact while collecting a high ball on Saturday night.

Tate was taken to Mackay Hospital for X-rays and was expected to face yet another extended period on the sidelines.

“We thought it was a hip at first, but it is ribs, we don’t know how long he’ll be out,” Cowboys coach Neil Henry told reporters.

“Thankfully it’s not his knee, so we’ll just see how he pulls up.”

The Titans also didn’t emerge unscathed – prized signing Beau Champion suffered what was believed to be a dislocated finger.

But it appears the Titans have one less headache after William Zillman shone at five-eighth with a two-try performance.

Appearing in his first trial after overcoming a back complaint, Zillman appears to have nailed down the troublesome pivot role at the Titans.

Clearly skipper Scott Prince looked forward to forming a halves partnership with Zillman after the win.

“It was good to get a game under my belt with Zilly,” Prince told reporters.

“He played really well, particularly for his first trial.”

The Titans revelled in the absence of Cowboys Dallas Johnson (back), Ashley Graham (groin) and James Tamou (foot) to jump to an 18-6 halftime lead.

However, 110kg Moses Pangai kept the Titans honest with a two-try performance after slotting onto the wing following a backline reshuffle caused by Tate’s early departure.