TWO HALVES DON'T MAKE A WHOLE

If five-eighth Jack Wighton and halfback Brad Schneider showed some promising signs last week against the Sharks, Wighton and Matt Frawley provided all the spark of a rusted battery. The pair didn't have all too many opportunities to put together any meaningful play, but when they did get their hands on the ball, there wasn't any direction or creativity. Wighton tried in flashes, though it was clear the halves together were not quite in sync.

Frawley had a pass intercepted early which led to the Cowboys pushing downfield and setting themselves up to take two points following a penalty against Semi Valemei. The halfback also lost a shoe later in the first half after taking an almighty hit from North Queensland's Murray Taulagi.

Canberra's rudderless attack was disjointed throughout the night and their last-tackle options left much to be desired.

"The Cowboys played well. They had a lot of football and we were very ill-disciplined in regards to our completions, finishing sets off," coach Ricky Stuart said in his press conference.

"Frustration creeps into it - I could see that very clearly."

The spine shake-up appeared to also rattle Tom Starling, filling in for the injured Josh Hodgson as the starting hooker. At times Starling looked uncertain where to go, rushed, and his service wasn't up to his usual standards.

Schneider will be a welcome addition to the team when he returns from COVID-19 isolation next week to face the Titans in Canberra. While Corey Harawira-Naera did well to convert his own try for his first goal in the NRL, Schneider is likely to take back the kicking duties too.

ERRORS GALORE

Maybe it was the tropical humidity making the ball a greasy chip and the rare long interstate travel sucking out some energy, but Stuart won't be copping many excuses for that error-filled display from the team.

"It's pretty simple... when you have less football, complete less sets and make more errors than your opposition, it makes it very hard to win. We made it very, very difficult for ourselves tonight," the Raiders coach said post-match.

Knock-ons, interceptions and sloppy, ill-disciplined play saw the Raiders record a woeful 57 per cent completion rate.

They just couldn't put together a set of six to challenge the Cowboys, and especially struggled to deal with the rarely-called-offside Cowboys, who were constantly rushing off the line and getting in their faces.

Hudson Young - the hero from last week - highlighted how out of sorts the Raiders looked with his brain-fade half-tackle on Jeremiah Nanai chasing a grubber to the try-line, earning Young 10 minutes in the bin.

RAPANA TO REJUVENATE RAIDERS

Jordan Rapana will be back in round three for the Green Machine after serving out his suspension from the All Stars match. He'll be a huge boost for the Raiders for the Gold Coast clash, especially under the high ball where they were a bit vulnerable against North Queensland.

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad had a night to forget with a knock-on taking a bomb early in the game, he had a Chad Townsend kick snatched from him by Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and then didn't challenge Nanai who went up for a Tom Dearden bomb and scored.

The fullback was also put on report for a late, swinging arm on Valentine Holmes in a tackle.

Stuart defended the team's defence overall and backed the ability of his team under high kicks.

"Those boys are very good in the air. It's just one of those games," he said.

"Have a look at the defensive statistics... it just sounds stupid when the score is 26-6."

COTRIC SIDELINED

Raiders winger Nick Cotric was a late scratching, suffering a quad strain which thrust reserve Sebastian Kris into the lineup in Townsville.

According to NRL Physio, depending on the injury severity, minor quad strains can sideline players for a few weeks.

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