Raiders coach Ricky Stuart insists it is not all "doom and gloom" and wants his team to learn from their mistakes to keep their finals' dream alive.

The Raiders had a golden chance to march inside the top eight after storming out to an 18-0 lead against the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday night.

But several crucial errors from the Raiders and a Johnathan Thurston master class helped the Cowboys charge home for a 32-24 victory.

The Raiders (8-11) need to win four of their remaining five games, starting with Monday week's encounter with the Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium, to make the finals.

Stuart said there was plenty to take out of his side's impressive first half before the discrepancy in possession took its toll in the second 40 minutes.

"I don't want our fans and supporters to think it's all doom and gloom after I thought was a wonderful first half and a very, tough hard game of football," Stuart said. "I can take something out of (Saturday night's) game.

"I thought our defence in the first half was outstanding, then the weight of possession wore down on us.

"I have a very good football team that's developing into a strong squad."

Two crucial errors gave the Cowboys the opportunity to get themselves back into the game.

Raiders centre Joey Leilua​ knocked the ball on a minute before halftime with the Cowboys scoring through Michael Morgan from the next set.

In the second half, veteran prop David Shillington​ had his off-load pass knocked down, leading to Cowboys winger Antonio Winterstein​ finding the try-line.

Raiders premiership-winning fullback Gary Belcher said the side needed to show more composure in those situations.

"The thing that stood out for me last night was that the Raiders got impatient when the Cowboys were putting them under pressure," Belcher said. "Shillo will be filthy on himself for that one, it wasn't on.

"I'm not blaming him for the loss, but they are the sort of things that the best sides don't do when you're under the pump.

"More often than not they come unstuck at the moment, so you've got to be winning those tight games."

The Raiders have a favourable draw, not playing a team inside the top eight in their final five games.

However, they have to face a resurgent Manly side which upset the top of the table Brisbane Broncos on Saturday night.

Stuart played a straight bat when asked if finals remained on the horizon.

"(The loss to the Cowboys) is disappointing because it makes it harder, but we don't go out there counting numbers about what we have to do," Stuart said. "We just worry about next week then the week after."