With a 7-12 win-loss record, a team labelled "stale" and a coach under pressure, Michael Morgan insists the club is under no illusions about their current situation.
Sitting four points outside the top eight leading into round 21, Morgan said “it really is up to us how far our season goes”.
In response to suggestions the team was stale and in need of a "change up", Morgan said injuries and combinations have cruelled their 2019 campaign.
“It’s sort of difficult, I guess. We've spoken about injuries throughout the year.
“Our middle forward have done a really good job for us all year, but we've had a number of different combinations [on the edges]. Whether it's defending and attacking beside each other, we haven't really had time to build many combinations or come up with a bit of variety between players.
“It's a bit of a different looking backline to what we thought it was going to be at the start of the year. Those things don't help, but we’ll continue to work to try and get better.”
Despite mounting pressure for Coach Green to step aside, Morgan said the buck stops with the playing group for his team’s lacklustre performance this season.
“We’ve never once tried to point the finger at anyone else," he said.
Match Highlights: Wests Tigers v Cowboys
“We do take responsibility for it, we by no means come here after a loss and think close enough is good enough, because it hasn't ever been the case. It hasn't been an ideal few weeks.”
After last week’s 28-4 loss against the West Tigers, the Cowboys can silence their critics by chalking up a win against the 10th placed Broncos on Thursday night in front of a home crowd.
“It's always as we know, a big game, a big occasion and it’s often a favourite for supporters to come to as well,” Morgan said.
“It's probably not ideal given it's a Thursday night, but hopefully we can have as many people there as possible.”
Morgan added extra motivation won’t be a factor heading into the Queensland derby.
“We’ll go into the game thinking the same thing. It’s normally a very exciting game, and given the recent history, the way they've gone, they've been pretty special games to play in.”
