The Cowboys will head into their first bye of the year on a high after a fast start set them up for a 34-16 win over the Raiders in Canberra on Friday night.
A season-best defensive effort headlined a dominant first half in which they ran in four unanswered tries, with the result lifting North Queensland to 16 competition points ahead of their week off.
Maroons forward Reuben Cotter and Kiwi big man Griffin Neame led the way as Todd Payten's men got the better of a representative-laden Raiders pack, while halves Tom Dearden and Chad Townsend pulled the strings beautifully when chances presented.
For the Raiders it marked a third-straight defeat at GIO Stadium, with the Green Machine having leaked a whopping 118 points through that period.
After absorbing a fast start from the home side, the Cowboys made a statement with their goal-line defence, holding Raiders up over the line on three occasions and seeing off promising attacking movements.
The Cowboys hold on
That, and their own at-times calamitous play with ball in hand, saw Canberra head to the sheds down 22-0, and despite showing some improvement in the second 40 the damage had well and truly been done.
North Queensland rode their luck for the opening try – a grubber which pinballed off the hands and feet of multiple Raiders before ending in the mitt of Kyle Feldt – ahead of constructing a handful of cracking four-pointers to extend their lead over the next half hour.
Kyle Feldt 1st Try
Dearden sent Heilum Luki through with a crisp pass from close range, before Townsend put boot to ball and watched Jeremiah Nanai win the race to it four minutes later.
Feldt grabbed his second with an acrobatic effort in the corner 12 from the break, before North Queensland produced a couple more impressive defensive stands to avoid giving Canberra a sniff.
Valentine Holmes then continued his impressive form at GIO Stadium with a try that means he has never played a game there without getting over for a four-pointer.
To their credit the Raiders finished the better of the two sides and threatened to make a game of it after crossing through Jordan Rapana, Xavier Savage and Elliott Whitehead in the final half hour, but the mountain they'd created for themselves was too high to climb at that point.
The Cowboys saved one of their best for last, with Blues hooker Reece Robson the beneficiary of a slicing run through the middle from Scott Drinkwater.
This article contains content that is only available on pan66.com
Match Snapshot
- The victory was the Cowboys' fifth in a row over the Raiders and third on the trot at GIO Stadium.
- The Raiders have now conceded 118 points in their last three games at GIO Stadium.
- Cowboys hooker Reece Robson celebrated his 100th NRL appearance with a try in the win.
- Tom Starling was ruled out in the second half after failing a HIA.
- Sebastian Kris went on report in the final minute.
- Raiders fullback Jordan Rapana has scored eight tries in his last five games against the Cowboys.
Jordan Rapana Try
Play of the Game
When you've done it 136 times before, you clearly start to become pretty good at knowing how to find the try-line. This one from Kyle Feldt used all of the spatial awareness and agility in the 32-year-old body and will have a place somewhere on the career highlight reel.
Kyle Feldt 2nd Try
What They Said
"I feel sorry for those fans who turned up when we put up performances like that, it seems like we are saving our worst games for home. We have to turn it around and make this a fortress again." – Raiders captain Elliott Whitehead.
Raiders: Round 15
"Very happy. We played with good control in that first half, I think it was 17 from 18 sets [we completed]. Because we held the ball we had so much energy defensively and showed some real desperation to stop a couple of tries. Scored some nice points... flow of possession really worked in our favour." – Cowboys coach Todd Payten.
Cowboys: Round 15
What's Next
The Cowboys have their first bye of the season next week which will give Todd Payten's men some much needed time to rest and recover, although several players will again be away with their respective state sides ahead of Origin II. The Raiders meanwhile have a long turnaround before facing the last-placed Wests Tigers next Sunday.