Luke Burt's record-breaking converted late try sealed a 22-20 win for Parramatta over North Queensland in a pulsating NRL clash at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday.

Burt scurried over four minutes from time to break Brett Kenny's record of 110 tries in Eels colours, then coolly slotted home the sideline conversion to prevent his side from slipping to a third successive defeat.

Willie Tonga's 69th-minute try looked to have won the game for North Queensland in a bruising affair, but Burt sent the partisan home crowd wild with his 111th four-pointer for the club, putting the finishing touches to Jeff Robson's hopeful fifth-tackle bomb.

The Cowboys, who beat Melbourne 34-6 on Monday and were looking to record back-to-back wins for the first time since round 13, 2009, took the lead after five minutes through Ashley Graham and extended their advantage when Kalifa Faifai-Loa scored his first try for the club.

The signs looked ominous for Parramatta in the early stages with Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen causing plenty of problems for Stephen Kearney's side.

However, the hosts fought back well and Burt equalled Kenny's long-standing record after 19 minutes following some good work from Daniel Mortimer.

The veteran winger was unable to add the extras, but his milestone appeared to galvanise his side, who went close to adding a second try on three occasions before young centre Ryan Morgan raced over just before the interval.

Faifai-Loa scored his second of the game early in the second period with a 60-metre run following a well-timed pass from Tonga, but Thurston's missed conversion ultimately proved to be costly.

Etu Uaisele's simple try midway through the second stanza hauled the Eels back into the game after Jarryd Hayne and Robson linked up well, with Burt converting.

But the Cowboys hit back furiously and were denied three tries thanks to some desperate defending from the home side, with Nathan Hindmarsh making the play of the night when he hauled down Glenn Hall centimetres from the line and somehow came up with the ball.

Tupou's try was just reward for his side's pressure, but the Queenslanders were unable to hold on as the Eels secured their second win of the season.

Kearney paid tribute to his side's fighting spirit after chalking up his first home win since taking over at the start of the year.

"What was pleasing was that we got ourselves from behind three times and over the last couple of weeks, when we have found ourselves in that position, we haven't responded well," he said.

"But tonight we jumped straight back into it after being scored against."

Kearney also hailed Burt's achievement and lavished praise on his skipper Hindmarsh for his play against Hall.

"He hasn't trained all week, but that play is what he is all about, he has showed it so many times in the past," he said.

"There were a couple of things Nathan did that stand out, but for Burty it is a remarkable effort, he is not the biggest winger around but he always comes up with the clutch plays."

Cowboys coach Henry rued his side's inability to hold on for victory, but questioned the video referee's decision to award Burt's decisive try.

"I don't think he had a long enough look at it, (Joel) Reddy jumped, worked out he was short and dragged his arm over Ash Graham and effectively took his catching arm away ... there was nothing wrong with the try, but the contest in the air wasn't fair," Henry said.

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