North Queensland farewelled a trio of club greats with a 22-8 NRL victory over Parramatta at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Friday night.

Cowboys fullback Matt Bowen scored two tries, including the match-winner, to secure a dream farewell for stalwarts Travis Norton, Josh Hannay and Matt Sing.

The hard-fought win added much needed gloss to the Cowboys' dismal season that included denials of a sex scandal, public player dissent over training techniques and prop Mitchell Sargent sacked for testing positive to cocaine.

North Queensland, last year's grand finalists, will miss the finals for the first time since 2003.

Parramatta, meanwhile, will enter this year's finals series on the back of successive losses to Brisbane and the Cowboys.

The Eels had ridden a nine-game winning streak to put themselves in the finals mix but have scored just two tries and eight points in the past 160 minutes of football after being held scoreless by the Broncos last weekend.

The seventh-placed Eels could fall to eighth on Saturday, setting up a showdown with the Storm in Melbourne, should Canberra beat Cronulla at Toyota Park.

The Storm have lost just one match at home this season.

Two tries to rookie sensation Jarryd Hayne provided Parramatta with a narrow 8-6 halftime lead.

Hayne scored the opening try of the evening in the 15th minute before his second - and 17th in 15 games this season - allowed the Eels to reclaim the lead nine minutes before halftime.

The momentum swung North Queensland's way after halftime when winger Neil Sweeney found himself on the end of a spectacular one-handed off-load by Ashley Graham.

Graham, put through a gaping hole by returning halfback Johnathan Thurston, made a 50 metre break before defying the clutches of Hayne to flick the ball to Sweeney.

Bowen's second in the 52nd minute made it 18-8 before Aaron Payne scored a brilliant solo try five minutes from fulltime.

Bowen's match-turning performance saw his try-scoring tally move to five for the season.

Departing North Queensland trio Norton, Hannay and Sing received a standing ovation from the crowd of 18,351 after leading the Cowboys onto ground prior to kick-off and after fulltime.

Norton is set for retirement after an 11-season career while Sing (Hull) and Hannay (Cronulla) will link with other clubs next year.

It was Hannay's 150th game for the club.

Australian halfback candidate Thurston made a successful return from a knee injury during the rain-affected clash.

Thurston, who dislocated his kneecap and strained his medial ligament in round 20, is battling Cooper Cronk, Matt Orford and Craig Gower in a four-horse race to replace Andrew Johns in the Kangaroos No.7 jersey.

Thurston, Luke O'Donnell, Matt Bowen and Carl Webb, who suffered a slight medial ligament strain on Friday night, are likely to be included in the initial Kangaroos train-on squad to be named on Monday.

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