KEY POINTS:
Last weekend Sonny Bill Williams, this week Johnathan Thurston.
The Warriors contained the Bulldogs' chief playmaker and beat them in Auckland and now the task is to stop Thurston and so contain the Cowboys.
Trouble is the Warriors have a bad history of travelling to Townsville and losing. Their last victory there was in 2002 and the most recent visit was the playoff defeat in September, with an ugly second half resulting in a 49-12 thrashing.
Thurston, the travel and the hot and humid playing conditions were all issues on coach Ivan Cleary's mind this week as he prepared the side.
It's no secret Thurston dominates the Cowboys' play, Cleary said, but the Warriors' defence was a highlight last weekend and if they maintained that they would give themselves every chance.
Jerome Ropati is back at left centre this week after missing three games with an ankle problem. He adds significant punch in attack. Otherwise the team is unchanged after the Dogs game and it's clear there is a growing cohesion from the halves outwards.
The winner tonight will be the team that makes better ground up front; the team that gives the halves room to move.
Shutting down Thurston will be a major role for former Cowboy Micheal Luck, who tonight plays his 56th consecutive game for the Auckland club since transferring in 2006.
"I've been pretty lucky, I've had a good run without any major injuries," he said. But it's also consistent form that again has him in Queensland coach Mal Meninga's thinking for State of Origin.
"That would be great but if we're [Warriors] not winning that won't help so I'm concentrating on my job here." Luck admitted the Warriors' confidence took a hit in Townsville last year and another knock in the big loss in Manly this season.
"The last two weeks we've been getting confidence back. The defence especially is working better."
It's something he focuses on, usually topping the Warriors tackle count.
"I take it personally, I look at the stats after the game and see how the other team did in the middle. If they got quick play-the-balls and made line-breaks there then I probably haven't done my job."
He admits he hasn't made the impact in attack that he'd like to. "I haven't been passing it much but I am trying to work on getting more off-loads away."
Cleary on the travel factor: "There's definitely something about the trip, it's a hard trip and you spend a lot of time flying or sitting around airports, two flights, then it's tough conditions when you get there - and they're a good team."
The Warriors tried a new routine this time, flying to Brisbane and training there on Thursday, then completing the trip yesterday.
He was satisfied with the six competition points they have from three home wins after five rounds he said, but they realised they had to keep improving and to win away. He was especially pleased with how they were tracking, without skipper Steve Price.
Prior to the season they had worked on the backs carrying the ball more, especially from dummy-half, to help the forwards.
"With Pricey missing they've had to do it and that's been working well." He felt the team was coping well with the reduced interchange, the flow of replacements adjusted according to each games' momentum.
The Cowboys have listed the same side for three consecutive weeks and are regaining their form after three losses to start the season.
There is a suggestion that fullback Matt Bowen, who has been out with a knee tear, will return tonight after he completed training on Thursday. Cleary said they had factored Bowen in. But then he said that whoever took on the Cowboys' number one played much the same role as Bowen, picking up breaks off their halfback.
Thurston meanwhile has admitted to seeking help to overcome "mental demons" that had damaged his confidence.
He has visited the Cowboys' psychologist after a summer that saw him dragged into a string of off-field dramas and undergo a shoulder reconstruction.
The Cowboys' two former Kiwis players are not playing, with hooker David Faiumu dropped to the Queensland Cup competition and former Warrior Sione Faumuina out for six weeks with a hernia injury.
The teams will wear old jerseys as part of the NRL's programme to mark the centenary of league - the Warriors in the red away strip of 1999 and 2000 and the Cowboys in the colours worn by the North Queensland side that beat the touring Great Britain Lions 19-17 in 1963.
* In Auckland today the Warriors feeder side the Vulcans play the Cronulla Cobras in the New South Wales Premier League. The match is at the home of the Glenora Bears in Glen Eden at 2.30pm. Warriors Aidan Kirk, Michael Crockett and Ryan Shortland and former Warriors Jeremiah Pai and Wayne McDade are included in a strong line-up.
