It meant they came away with one win and one loss from day one, having beaten South Sydney 15-12 earlier in the day to open their tournament at Eden Park.

Ponga scored three tries, including two bonus ones, as the Raiders struggled to contain his quick feet.

Cowboy Gideon Gela-Mosby showed off his finishing skills with a brilliant dive for the corner.

Raider Thomas Cronan scored a consolation try just before the siren after a nice flick pass from Nick Cotric.

Earlier in the day, former Mounties player Scott Sorensen started his Canberra Raiders career perfectly, scoring the winning try as the siren sounded in their Auckland Nines opener.

Sorensen wasn't the only former Mounties player to impress, with Brent Naden scoring the opener after just three minutes.

The pair are hoping to follow the path prop Clay Priest blazed last year when he went from NSW Cup side Mounties to his NRL debut.

Fellow Raiders new boy Jordan Turner also crossed for a try to make it a one-point game in the second half, following tries to Cody Walker and Zane Musgrove.

There's been plenty of hype surrounding Green Machine youngster Cotric and he showed a couple of glimpses, getting out of the in-goal area nicely when he appeared to be hemmed in by several Rabbitohs players.

The Raiders' next game is against the Sydney Roosters on Sunday at 11.30am.

AT A GLANCE

Raiders 15 (Brent Naden bonus try; Jordan Turner, Scott Sorensen tries; Paul Roache goal) bt Rabbitohs 12 (Cody Walker, Zane Musgrove bonus tries; Cody Walker goal) at Eden Park.

Cowboys 35 (Kalyn Ponga 2, Gideon Gela-Mosby bonus tries; Kyle Feldt, Javid Bowen, Gideon Gela-Mosby tries; Javid Bowen, Kalyn Ponga, Johnathan Thurston, Michael Morgan goals) bt Raiders 6 (Thomas Cronan try; Jordan Turner goal)