NRL: Bulldogs march to comeback over North Queensland as Corey Harawira-Naera stars

Corey Harawira-Naera has emerged as a surprise star in Canterbury's 24-12 NRL win over North Queensland to pile the pain on the struggling Cowboys.

The 23-year-old crossed for two second-half tries and pulled off a try-saver on opposing back-rower Gavin Cooper at ANZ Stadium on Friday to help provisionally lift his side off the bottom of the table.

Outgoing Penrith supremo Phil Gould was reduced to tears at Harawira-Naera's decision to leave the foot of the mountains, and the New Zealander showed the Bulldogs had invested in a player of significant promise.

After Jayden Okunbor scored to level things up at 6-6 at halftime, Harawira-Naera gave his side the lead for the first time when he ran a beautiful line off Nick Meaney to score his first try for the club.

Skipper Josh Jackson extended his side's lead to 12 before man-of-the-match Harawira-Naera sailed into a hole off Adam Elliott to effectively seal the contest.

The Cowboys were threatening to force their way back into it when Ben Hampton crossed.

And Cooper looked set to score in the dying minutes but Harawira-Naera managed to get his hand under the ball and roll the Queensland Origin forward onto his back.

For the first six rounds, the Bulldogs struggled for spark and coming into the round were bottom of the league for points scored and linebreaks.

However, they looked to have found something in attack against the Cowboys who now have just two wins and five losses after being pegged as premiership contenders during the pre-season.

It was Paul Green's side's first appearance at ANZ Stadium since the 2017 grand final and the side has fallen dramatically in the last 18 months, despite their top 17 oozing class through the likes of Michael Morgan, Matt Scott, Jordan McLean and Josh McGuire.

The Cowboys were diabolical in the second-half, coming up with 10 errors as they handed the game to Dean Pay's team on a platter.