North Queensland Cowboys shift focus to dreaded Canterbury Bulldogs

AFTER finally snapping their horror away record last week, the Cowboys will look to improve on another damning statistic against the Bulldogs.

NRL round 1, Canterbury Bulldogs v North Queensland Cowboys at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford. Johnathan Thurston tackled by Michael Ennis.

AFTER finally snapping their horror away record with last week’s win over the Cronulla Sharks, the Cowboys will look to improve on another damning statistic this Saturday against the Canterbury Bulldogs.

Canterbury have proven to be a bogey team for the North Queensland side in recent years, with the Dogs boasting a healthy six wins from the past seven encounters between the clubs.

The Cowboys’ most recent win over the club was a 24-12 triumph in their season-opener last year, but the Bulldogs got their revenge a few months later with a 36-26 win in round 13.

Previous to last year’s two match-ups, the Sydneysiders had won five straight against the Cowboys dating back to 2008, a statistic not lost on club captain and former Bulldog Johnathan Thurston.

Johnathan Thurston tackled by Josh Reynolds.

“They’ve had a lot of success against us over the last four or five years and our record down there isn’t great, so the challenge is for us to back up what we did last week,” he said.

“They are obviously well led by their coach Dessy (Des Hasler) and have some great personnel in their team, and that’s why they’re sitting up around the top of the ladder.”

The Cowboys will bring momentum into this week’s clash after their morale-boosting 36-18 win over the Sharks last Friday, while the Bulldogs head in on the back of a shock 46-18 drubbing at the hands of the West Tigers.

“No doubt they will bounce back, when you have performance like that the next game can’t come quick enough,” Thurston said.

“They’re not sitting up at the top of the ladder for no reason, they’re a quality side and have a very smart coach in Des and there is no doubt we need to go to another level to match it with them.”

Johnathan Thurston tackled by Michael Ennis.

Thurston will not get the chance to reignite his State of Origin rivalry with Blues and Bulldogs five-eighth Josh Reynolds, with the New South Wales playmaker still suspended after putting an illegal shoulder charge on Queensland enforcer Nate Myles in Origin III.

“It’s obviously a massive blow for them, he’s a big part of their team and is playing with a lot of confidence from the Origin series, but they still have a lot of options,” Thurston said.

A win this weekend could see the Cowboys move into the top eight and would also fill the side with confidence as they head into home games against the Gold Coast and West Tigers in the next two rounds.