After going down to the Cowboys 36-nil in Round 20 and halfback Jonathan Thurston playing a starring role in the win, Bulldogs Coach Des Hasler knows what the number seven brings to a side.
“It’s well documented about what kind of player JT (Thurston) is and how important he is to the Cowboys side,” Hasler said.
“He’s such a competitor and that’s what you’ve got to be aware of.
“It’s one of his greatest attributes, that he competes on every single play and he’s consistent at it. He does it year in and year out.”
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The Cowboys returned to the winners circle last weekend after three consecutive defeats and while a lot of the focus always surrounds Thurston, the Cowboys do possess a lot of strike across the park.
“Thurston has a lot of good helpers around him now which takes the pressure off him.
“They’re (Cowboys) are a good side and you have to be on your game for the whole 80 minutes.
“For the last month we haven’t been on our game for 80 minutes and that’s the issue we have at the moment.”
The Dogs are hoping to learn a few lessons not just from their last loss to the Cowboys but also from the two games North Queensland has lost since.
"The Roosters played probably their best game of the season against them and so did the Tigers. It's all about attack as well as defence," said Josh Morris earlier in the week.
"Thurston told his halves to step up I heard over the weekend and Morgan and Coote both did an outstanding job to help him so you can't just focus on Thurston because Morgan and Coote are both quality players as well. And you throw in Granville as well, he hurt us last time as well."
