Not content with remaining a "middle of the road" team, North Queensland coach Todd Payten has challenged his side to iron out their kinks and become regular challengers deep into the NRL finals.
Payten's side crashed out of the premiership race on Friday, recovering from a 24-0 halftime deficit but still losing 26-18 in a semi-final against Cronulla in Sydney.
The Cowboys coach has made finals two out of the four seasons he has been in Townsville but an impressive finish to their 2024 campaign papered over the cracks of a year when North Queensland flattered to deceive.
At times this season, the Cowboys have blown hot and cold but struggled to maintain the same weekly level through 80 minutes.
"That's where we've got to evolve and I was talking to (captain) Reuben (Cotter) on the way in and he was saying the same things," he said.
"Otherwise, we are a middle of the road team.
"We show some flashiness but we've got to bite down on the mouthguard a little harder in the tough parts of the game for longer periods.
"We've got some ability but you can't pick and choose when you're doing the hard stuff of the game."
Cotter said: "We've showed what we've got in us at different periods. But as Todd said you can't give away starts like that, not in the big games, so we have plenty to work on."
Payten is losing some of his most experienced players over the off-season with Kyle Feldt moving to the Super League, Valentine Holmes bound for St George Illawarra and Chad Townsend set to join the Roosters.
Payten refused to use the Cowboys' travel itinerary dramas as a reason for his side's below-par start against the Sharks.
With the assistance of the NRL, the Cowboys were forced to order a charter plane to Sydney after a shortage of commercial flights leaving Townsville.
"It's not an excuse," Payten said.
"We started okay and started physically but it had nothing to do with what happened yesterday.
"Mentally we were ready to go we just put ourselves under too much pressure in the first half."
