Wests Tigers saw their NRL Finals dreams take a hit at ANZ Stadium on Friday as they were beaten 16-4 by Canterbury Bulldogs.

Back-to-back wins over South Sydney Rabbitohs and St George Illawarra Dragons had put the Tigers within touching distance of the top eight, however defeat in Canterbury halted their momentum.

It took the Tigers over an hour to get going and Canterbury capitalised, taking a 6-0 lead into half-time thanks to Kerrod Holland's converted try.

A penalty from Rhyse Martin was followed by another Holland score, the Bulldogs opening up an 14-point advantage after 57 minutes.

Esan Marsters gave the Tigers some hope but it was not to be as the Bulldogs ended a three-game losing streak.

Canterbury's win kept North Queensland Cowboys in the wooden-spoon battle despite a late 20-18 victory over Newcastle Knights, both sides sitting two points above bottom club Parramatta Eels.

A dramatic second-half comeback was completed by the Cowboys in the final minute when Gavin Cooper dotted down, the hosts having been 18-6 behind at the break.

The Knights dominated the opening 40 but failed to score after the restart as Johnathan Thurston took control, scoring and converting a try to put the Cowboys within a score of victory.

And his efforts were rewarded when Te Maire Martin released Cooper to score, giving the Cowboys just their fifth win of the season.