North Queensland have snatched a 20-16 golden-point NRL win over Canberra with a freakish Gavin Cooper try in Townsville on Saturday night.

The evergreen Cowboys second-rower ensured North Queensland got the last laugh in a spiteful season-opener after a Johnathan Thurston field-goal attempt cannoned into the crossbar then sat up perfectly in the in-goal area for Cooper to swoop and score.

An undermanned Raiders battled through a mountain of defence and were on the wrong side of a 60-40 possession count but they forced extra time when Joey Leilua crossed in the 77th minute.

The incredible ending capped a dogged but entertaining clash between last year’s two beaten preliminary finalists and there was plenty of feeling in a heated second half.

They were no early fireworks in this one as both sides played it fairly safe in the opening minutes before the Raiders got on the board through North Queensland junior Zac Santo.

Maroons enforcer Josh Papalii cut his way through some poor Cowboys defence and before handing off to Santo who sprinted 40 metres for the Raiders’ first try of 2017.

A Kyle Feldt error on the very next set put the Raiders in prime attacking position and they looked certain to double their advantage before Thurston halted a rampaging Sia Soliola metres out from the tryline.

The Cowboys co-captain’s big hit seemed to energise the 2015 premiers and after a period of sustained pressure Lachlan Coote latched on to a Matt Scott offload and scooted over after 29 minutes for the Cowboys’ opening try.

The Raiders struck first in the second half through Leilua before the Cowboys finally made their glut of possession count when Coen Hess and Javid Bowen crossed in quick succession to put the home side up six.

A Bowen error gifted Leilua his double in the dying minutes before Cooper’s once-in-a-lifetime match winner ensured the crowd at 1300SMILES Stadium went home with smiles on their faces.