Johnathan Thurston’s last-minute field goal saw the North Queensland Cowboys extend their NRL winning streak to 11 matches on Saturday.

Thurston had the decisive impact in a thrilling 21-20 win over Canberra, just four days after featuring for Queensland in State of Origin II.

The Cowboys star had a hand in all three tries his side scored, while he added two conversions, two penalties and the winner.

• Origin star charged by police
• Foran, Stewart lead Manly
• Eels sign Gordon from Sharks for 2016

Second-half tries to Matthew Wright and Gavin Cooper restored North Queensland’s advantage that they held at the break.

But with Canberra winger Jordon Rapana taken out in the air, a successful Jarrod Croker penalty in the 78th minute levelled the score at 20-20.

Curtis Rona goes over to score for the Bulldogs. Photo: Getty

A golden-point finish seemed on the cards but the Cowboys won a scrum 35 metres out following a Raiders mistake.

And Thurston, who saw two field goal attempts charged down, finally potted the winner with just seconds remaining.

The Canterbury Bulldogs moved into the top eight with a 24-12 win over the Penrith Panthers that saw Sam Perrett score a double.

Early tries to Perrett and Curtis Rona put the Bulldogs in control and they never looked back, despite Penrith’s Bryce Cartwright crossing twice.

Both Greg Eastwood and Josh Jackson were put on report for lifting Penrith’s Jamie Soward in a tackle, though.

That will leave Jackson worried about any potential sanction that could rule him out of State of Origin III.

And a masterclass from Warriors playmaker Shaun Johnson helped New Zealand to a 36-14 win over Gold Coast.

The 2014 Golden Boot winner set up two tries and scored two himself as the Warriors clawed back from a 10-0 deficit.

All up, Johnson contributed 20 points as the Warriors halted Gold Coast’s two-match winning streak and removed them from the top eight.