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North Queensland Cowboys captain Chad Townsend says his side's DNA shone through in a comeback 18-12 win against Canberra.

North Queensland Cowboys captain Chad Townsend has heaped praise on his teammates after a stirring second-half comeback got their season back on track in Canberra on Thursday night.

Down 12-0 against the Raiders and staring down the barrel of a third straight defeat, the visitors rattled off three straight tries and kept Canberra scoreless to take the 18-12 win.

After a disappointing golden-point loss to New Zealand last round where it was them who led by 12 points, Townsend said his team had made a statement.

"We were pretty disappointed with the loss last week, we did enough to win the game and to lose in golden point, we pretty much threw those two points in the bin," he said.

"We wanted to come out here and then have a reaction ... it's quite a big trip down here and it's not easy to come away with a win.

"Our character shone through, to be 12 points down after the hard work we've put into the preseason, the DNA of this group I thought shone through tonight."

The Cowboys routinely turned the ball over through a poor first half but were also brutalised by their own discipline, conceding eight penalties as they looked to lose touch with the Raiders.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten said his team knew it was lucky to get to the sheds only trailing by 12, and said they'd shown their heart to turn things around.

"It was pretty self-explanatory, I didn't have to elaborate too much," he said.

"There was a set at the 20-minute mark, which I thought was the game there and then, if we conceded a try then I reckon she's a long way back.

"We've worked hard on that over the preseason, throwing curveballs at the team at different stages, real surprises and some real mental challenges, not just physical.

"We've got some kids and they had to learn quick and they're still learning, but we try to put them under as much mental pressure as physical pressure during this off-season."

Payten saved special praise for boom youngster Jeremiah Nanai, who after giving away four penalties in the first half alone, found a way to get involved and score the game-winning try.

"He was the one player I was concerned about at halftime, everyone else was engaged and he was just inside his own head a little bit," he said.

"I asked Chad and Peta Hiku, who defend on either side of him, to try and draw him back into the game, just with some positive talk.

"At different times he looked really tired and he's gonna have some ups and downs as a kid but he played tough and that second half and did some really classy things."