North Queensland coach Paul Green said defensive consistency and the steadying influence of Michael Morgan were the hallmarks of the Cowboys' second win on the trot, the first time the club has won two in a row in 2019.
The away side took a stranglehold of the game in the first 20 minutes off the back of a glut of possession thanks to an ill-disciplined Canberra Raiders side, with Green's men coming away with a 22-16 victory.
A try to Canberra's Siliva Havili in the 59th minute did narrow the margin to just four, but Morgan's excellent kicking game forced the Raiders to come out of their own half for much of the last quarter of the game.
"We have to take some momentum out of it, it’s the first time we've backed up wins this year so we've just about put ourselves back in the hunt, so it's really important we capitalise on that," Green said
"At different times in other games this season he (Morgan) has been pretty good, but I think his composure and his control was pretty good tonight.
"His kicking game in particular was pretty good, he got our game on when it had to and was a threat at other times and laid on a nice try for Justin O'Neill, but he controlled the game well.
Match Highlights: Raiders v Cowboys
"Defence is an area of our game that has really improved the last few weeks, we've been a lot more consistent in our effort so that was an example of what we'd been lacking earlier in the year."
Cowboys prop Matt Scott came off in the 18th minute with a shoulder injury and failed to return, which was a blow for the club and also the veteran's chances of being called up to the Queensland State of Origin side for game one.
Kyle Feldt was outstanding for the Cowboys, running for 205 metres with a try and four tackle breaks, and is an outside chance of lining up against the Blues.
"He's been in the conversation in relation to Origin as well so he wouldn't let anybody down if he was picked and I don't think he did his chances any harm tonight, " Green said of Feldt
"Origin is a great experience for whoever is lucky to be involved, I'm not going to single out anyone in particular.
"All of the guys who have been mentioned in the conversation have been playing some of their best footy in recent weeks."
Green said he was confident of his side's chances when facing the Gold Coast Titans next week, regardless of who may be missing from the side due to representative duty.