North Queensland coach Graham Murray was asked where his side was heading after its surprise 27-20 win over South Sydney at Aussie Stadium.

His response - up the National Rugby League table.

The Cowboys find themselves in unfamiliar territory after three weeks of the premiership - in the top eight.

And they got there last night courtesy of some poor discipline from the uninspired Rabbitohs and the accurate left boot of Josh Hannay.

Hannay kicked seven goals from eight attempts to pilot his side to victory despite Souths scoring four tries to North Queensland's three, the win setting up a mouth-watering Queensland derby against Brisbane next weekend in Townsville.

"We have (won) two (games)," Murray said.

"We struggled pretty hard in both games but we came away with the two points. The goalkicking helps us and Josh will get another rap for that.

"Last week we scored one less than the opposition and we did this week as well, but you can't apologise for kicking goals."

If anyone owed an apology it was the out-of sorts Rabbitohs.

More than 9,000 of their loyal fans turned out in miserable wet conditions, but they were witness to a disappointing performance, with the home side conceding two early tries and a host of unforced errors.

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