The Warriors are preparing to defend their unbeaten start to the NRL season against the under-performing Cowboys who have yet to hit their stride in the competition - including their star second-rower Jason Taumalolo.
The Warriors dismantled the star-studded Roosters 30-6 without Shaun Johnson on Saturday to sit tied at the top of the table with four wins alongside the Dragons.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys fell hard to the Panthers at home losing 33-14, which saw them drop to 13th on the ladder with just one win from four outings this season.
And numbers show a big reason why the men from North Queensland appear to be struggling is due to the significantly lower output their Tongan superstar is offering in games so far this year.
According to a report by NRL.com Stats, Taumalolo's 2018 has been no where near as impactful on average as he was last year.
In contrast to his record-breaking performance last year, Taumalolo is averaging 153.8 metres so far in 2018 - 50m less than last year's average.
He's also making 22.4 metres less post-contact than last year as well.
But NRL legend Peter Sterling says the Cowboys' issues don't just lie with Taumalolo - he also feels their attack has become one-dimensional.
"I am a little bit concerned about the style of North Queensland," Sterling told Nine.
"I don't think their game has evolved. I think they look a little bit predictable, they look slow compared to some other sides."
Sterling said North Queensland continue to rely too heavily on their stars and in particular, playmaker Johnathan Thurston's ability to produce magic from nothing.
"I think they waste too many attacking tackles in a set inside the opposition 20 sort of looking for JT to come up with one or two big plays."
The Warriors host the Cowboys at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday in a special double-header at the Auckland Stadium where the Tigers and Storm will also be facing off.
The Tigers play the Storm at 5pm with Warriors and Cowboys clashing after at 7:30pm.
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