Penrith winger Michael Gordon delivered the inspiration his team has been seeking to get their NRL campaign back on track on Friday night.

Locked 16-all with North Queensland at a damp CUA Stadium, Gordon scored a sensational 55-metre solo effort to snap the Panthers' losing streak and seal a dramatic 24-16 win.

The Panthers were made to scrap for every point against a resilient Cowboys team, but two breakaway efforts overhauled a 16-10 halftime deficit to secure the two points for Penrith.

And for a team that has been criticised for only being able to score off kicks, coach Matt Elliott will take plenty of satisfaction from his team's two second-half efforts.

First it was Nathan Smith's scoot that sent Kevin Kingston over with 18 minutes remaining to level the scores, before Gordon's electrifying effort from dummy-half had the fans on their feet and ended the Panthers' three-match losing run.

As the Cowboys lost the match they also lost their way, a sloppy penalty giving Gordon the chance to add two more points and complete the day's scoring.

Both tries came after the Panthers had a chance taken from them when the video referee ruled Luke Lewis offside after the NSW utility had put a grubber through to the electric Gordon in the 62nd minute.

It had loomed as a much better day for the visitors after they outscored their hosts by three tries to two at the break.

Matt Bowen had a hand in tries to wingers Will Tupou and Ashley Graham, while Johnathan Thurston's quick hands sent Queensland Origin teammate Willie Tonga over.

For the Panthers it was Gordon who cancelled out Tupou's opener while Brad Tighe scored the other first-half four-pointer.

The action wasn't just limited to the tryline, with prop Sam McKendry possibly facing a spell on the sidelines after being placed on report in the 34th minute for a trip on Thurston.

After the match Gordon, who has only just signed a new two-year deal with Panthers, said the try was possibly the most important of his first-grade career.

"Especially considering how the game was at the time," the NSW Origin representative told AAP.

"Any time I cross the stripe I'm always happy and I think I was little bit extra happy today, so it was good.

"We scored some good backline tries which we haven't scored in a while and that was something we tried to fix during the week so that was good to see it pay off."

One man who was less happy was Cowboys skipper Thurston, who said he wasn't sure if he was being targeted by referees after he beat a detrimental conduct charge earlier this year for an expletive laden tirade during a match against Manly.

The Maroons halfback said he was still unsure just why he'd been pinged for dissent.

"I can't remember (if I swore), it just happened so quick," Thurston said.

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