It was all the Cowboys when the two teams met in Round 16 last season, North Queensland dominating the 80 minutes to emerge 40-18 winners.
The seven-tries-to-two loss was hard enough for the visitors to take, but it was further soured by the loss of star fullback Josh Dugan during the match with an acute ankle injury.
The Cowboys dominated all the major statistical categories in the 22-point win, including possession (53 to 47 per cent), completion rate (68 per cent opposed to 56 per cent) and, perhaps most tellingly, line-breaks (12-4).
Matt Bowen starred for the hosts, even though surprisingly his name was absent from the scorer’s sheet – he threw the final pass for the Cowboys’ first three four-pointers and set up another after half-time.
North Queensland forward Glenn Hall enjoyed perhaps his most memorable outing in Cowboys colours, scoring a double in his side’s triumph as well as making two line-breaks.
For the Raiders, outside backs Reece Robinson and Blake Ferguson were most dangerous, running for a combined 238 metres and breaking 16 tackles in the process.
