North Queensland veteran Kyle Feldt starred in one of his side's best performances of the season as the Cowboys ran out to a dominant 34-16 NRL win over the Raiders in Canberra.
Feldt crossed for two tries as the Cowboys took a 22-0 lead to halftime and from there the visitors never looked like losing.
Fed up by a third embarrassing loss in a row at GIO Stadium, the Canberra faithful booed their side off at the break in a rare display of frustration.
"I feel sorry for those fans that turned up when we put in performances like that," lamented Canberra captain Elliott Whitehead.
"It seems like we're saving our worst games for home but we have to turn it around and make this a fortress again."
The crowd weren't alone in turning on the Raiders on Friday night. Coach Ricky Stuart was ropeable with his side's lack of discipline.
"It was the first thing I spoke about at halftime," he said.
"The ill-discipline that we got pinged for - and I totally agree with some of those penalties - that was happening right throughout the game."
Canberra started brightly, testing the Cowboys' tryline repeatedly in the opening minutes, but from then on were their own worst enemies.
The Cowboys dominated possession in the first half, partly because of their exemplary completions and partly because the Raiders were lousy with theirs.
"We played with good control in that first half. I think we were 17 from 18 sets or something like that just prior to halftime," said North Queensland coach Todd Payten.
"Because we held the ball, we had so much energy defensively and showed some desperation to stop a couple of tries."
Feldt drew first blood after Jordan Rapana, attempting to clean up a grubber kick, spilled the ball on his own line.
As ugly as his first four-pointer was, Feldt’s second was sensational.
After a looping pass from fullback Scott Drinkwater, the Cowboys’ all-time leading try-scorer leaped through the air to plant the ball in the right corner despite the best efforts of Xavier Savage.
Each try seemed to further take the wind out of the Raiders’ sails.
Young halfback Kaeo Weekes kicked a restart dead on the full and Rapana botched two short drop-outs in a row.
All up, the hosts were guilty of 10 errors and seven penalties, managing a measly 77 per cent completion rate.
Hudson Young failed to push his case for an Origin recall after an anonymous performance in game one. The NSW backrower conceded two penalties and two knock-ons in a lacklustre display.
North Queensland halfback Chad Townsend had a superb game with the boot, setting up tries for Valentine Holmes and Jeremiah Nanai with deft grubber kicks. Nanai’s try was his 11th of the season, putting him joint-top of the NRL try-scoring list - an impressive feat for the second-rower.
Late tries to Savage and Whitehead added some respectability to the scoreline but the Raiders never looked likely.
Hooker Tom Starling is in doubt for Canberra's next game against Wests Tigers after he was taken off the field in the second half with a head knock.
The Raiders remain in the top eight for now, while North Queensland jumped to ninth with their eighth win.
Despite a patchy start to the season, the Cowboys now have a welcome bye after 15 games with no break.
