It was a smile North Queensland Cowboys fans had been seeking for far too long.

But the cheeky smirk North Queensland co-captain Johnathan Thurston flashed after the Cowboys' 16-14 NRL season-opening upset of Brisbane on Friday night may become a common sight.

The classy halfback could not help but grin after his dangerous combination with No.1 Matt Bowen returned with a vengeance at a packed Suncorp Stadium.

The pair tore up the Broncos in a stunning first half counter-attack before the Cowboys held on in a slippery arm wrestle after the heavens opened.

"It brings a smile to my face that he is getting back to his best - I am glad to see it," Thurston said of Bowen, who had been plagued by knee problems.

Broncos captain Darren Lockyer confirmed what many NRL rivals had feared - the old firm of Thurston and Bowen are back.

"I have not seen Bowen play like that in a long time," he said.

"Those two together playing with confidence, they are hard to stop.

"If you make a mistake they can go 100m on you."

It was surely music to the ears of besieged Cowboys coach Neil Henry.

Perhaps the only coach more under the pump than Henry ahead of the 2011 kick-off was his opposite number Anthony Griffin - a surprise starter as Broncos mentor after Ivan Henjak's sacking just weeks ago.

"It's the start of the season and we obviously would like to get off on the right foot," Henry said.

"But I think it was the way we did it (that was most pleasing).

"Just the way players like Dallas (Johnson) was cramping up in the 80th minute but still turning up for his teammates, the way we defended for repeat sets.

"(But) we might feel warm and fuzzy right now but we are not getting carried away."

Thurston admitted the Cowboys of 2010 - who only missed the wooden spoon because of the salary cheating Storm - would not have won such an arm wrestle.

"I don't think so. The amount of work in the pre-season that we have done and our attitude (paid off)," he said.

The Cowboys' victory was soured somewhat by a calf injury to backrower Scott Bolton.

He will undergo scans on Monday but medical staff said he would be sidelined for "at least two weeks".

Still coach Henry had plenty to smile about.

"It's no secret that last year we had very poor defence - so I am very proud of the effort tonight, the way they kept turning up for each other," he said.

Griffin said the Broncos only had themselves to blame.

"We beat ourselves," he said.

"But credit to the Cowboys - they had to do a lot of defending on their line.

"I feel for the players. They played their butts off you would like to see them get a reward but they didn't deserve it."

The win was the Cowboys' first over Brisbane since 2007 - snapping a horror run of seven defeats.

It also equalled the Cowboys' total of away wins for 2010.

The visitors led 16-4 at halftime after Thurston and Bowen weaved their magic.

But Bowen went from hero to villain in the 46th minute when he inexplicably left a Lockyer kick and flying winger Jharal Yow Yeh pounced to cross for the simplest of tries.

Broncos backrower Matt Gillett was denied in the 55th minute due to a double movement.

Bowen also got the thumbs down after he failed to ground the ball in the 70th minute after again combining with Thurston.

Slippery conditions ensured plenty of turnover and the Cowboys tried to hold on but finally cracked in the 75th minute as they defended a fourth straight set.

Brisbane spun it wide to Dane Gagai down the left sideline as the 45,119-strong crowd rose to their feet.

But Corey Parker missed the conversion metres in from the sideline that would have locked up the scores.

The Broncos drew first blood through redheaded rookie Jack Reed in the fifth minute off a Lockyer pass.

Lockyer suffered a nasty head cut after colliding with team-mate Parker but returned to the action soon afterwards.

The Cowboys turned the match on its head when James Tamou (20th minute), Michael Bani (27th) and Will Tupou (38th) crossed in a stunning blitz that ultimately sealed the result.

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