The door to the finals is ajar for North Queensland and they have individual and team reasons to bash it down against the Dolphins.
Prop Jordan McLean and centre Peta Hiku will mark their 200th NRL games on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium.
The Cowboys, on 28 points and in ninth position on the NRL ladder, must win both of their remaining games against the Dolphins and Penrith (away) to be a chance of playing finals footy.
"It's do or die," hooker Jeff Robson said.
North Queensland have had a rollercoaster year. They were 16th after 13 rounds and then won six in a row. Now they have lost their last three, with the latest a 32-12 defeat at the hands of Cronulla.
Fullback Scott Drinkwater said the side's issues were fixable.
"It is probably a mindset thing ... and being willing to chase the collision," he said.
"I feel like on the weekend we worried about the result a lot ... rather than just trusting the process and backing our footy for the 80 minutes.
"It is pretty much elimination finals for us right now. Every game is a must-win. It is a big game against the Dolphins. They got us early in the year and are a gritty team. It is exciting and I can't wait."
Hiku spoke to media on Tuesday and reflected on a career where he's overcome hurdles to get to game 200.
"It has taken ten years to get here and I am grateful," he said.
Fighting back from a ruptured ACL in 2016 showed his mental and physical fortitude.
"My mindset around that changed the way I played in what was one of the toughest times of my career. I'm glad I got over that," he said.
That made Hiku realise that his career could end at any moment. When he suffered a serious shoulder injury at the Warriors in 2021 it was expected he would miss the season, but he got back to full fitness early.
"That was because from that first injury I knew it could all be taken away from me," he said.
The Cowboys will be without suspended centre Valentine Holmes until the finals and have had a new left edge the past fortnight with Murray Taulagi moving from wing to centre and veteran winger Kyle Feldt back in the side.
"I think they are going pretty well. Feldty has come back into the team and is one of our best players. He is running hard and getting a lot of quick play the balls," Drinkwater said.
"Murray was really good on the weekend defensively and with the ball he was running hard and breaking tackles. Those guys are playing well and we need them to."
