North Queensland winger Murray Taulagi says a wake-up call loss to the Sydney Roosters is exactly what the Cowboys needed ahead of the final rounds of the NRL season.
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With just three rounds remaining, the Cowboys have all-but locked in a top-four finish just one year after finishing in the bottom four for a fourth-straight season.
The Cowboys face the Warriors, South Sydney and ladder-leading Penrith to close out the regular season and are in a tight tussle for second with Cronulla, who they lead only on points differential.
After an emotionally-charged few days following the death of 2015 premiership-winning coach Paul Green, Taulagi said his side needed to address slow starts which have hindered them in recent matches.
The Cowboys have conceded first points in five of their past eight matches with losses coming in that span at the hands of the Sharks and then the Roosters last Saturday.
"On the weekend the Roosters really came out physically and the first set really set the tone for them and put us on the backfoot," Taulagi said on Tuesday.
"We sort of have to try and be aggressive with other teams now and try not get bullied.
"It's probably a good thing for us with that kind of loss. It sort of kicked us in the butt a bit.
"This will definitely be a good wake up call for us and something that we really need to heading into the end of the year."
The 13th-placed Warriors will be seeking another upset against the Cowboys on Friday at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, having dismantled Canterbury at home 42-18 last start.
With the talk of North Queensland's slow starts, it was the Cowboys' finishing that let them down the last time they met in round five, when Shaun Johnson kicked a drop-goal to win it for the Warriors in extra time.
Johnson wound back the clock on Friday with a stellar solo try, steering the Warriors to just their sixth win of the season and the one-time world player of the year has racked up seven try assists in his past six games.
If history is any indicator, Friday's contest is shaping to be close with the last two fixtures between the Warriors and Cowboys decided by one point each.
An all-important top-two finish would leave the Cowboys potentially two home finals victories in Townsville away from their first premiership decider since Green coached the side to two in three seasons in 2015 and 2017.
Australian Associated Press
