Cronulla's round three NRL mauling of North Queensland is of no benefit to Canberra, according to Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.
The Cowboys slumped to a 42-16 loss to the Sharks - including conceding 28 points in 20-minute period in the second half.
It left Paul Green's men 1-2 and with increasing question marks about their future in the post-Johnathan Thurston era, especially with rampaging forward Jason Taumalolo out for the next couple of months with a knee injury.
Stuart isn't too sure the defeat is what his team needs as they head north to face the Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday.
"They'll be a lot better this week. This is probably not the time to get them in regards to their last outing," he said.
"I know Paul Green will have them very much turned around and have a different defensive mindset this week. It'll be a tough game. We always have a tough game up there, this one will be no different."
Almost echoing his words, Green said his team's defence was the first thing the Cowboys need to fix up.
After a round one win over the Dragons, the Cowboys have been thrashed by Brisbane and the Sharks.
Green has stuck by the squad which fell to the Sharks and isn't pushing any panic button at this stage.
"You get caught up in the week-to-week wins and losses and that can add pressure that you don't need," he said.
"It's about getting consistency, some consistency with how we play. We were good in the first week, we were poor in the second week, poor in the third week for probably 20 minutes of a half but we were really poor for that 20 minutes.
"That's the problem ... the difference between our good and our bad is just too big at the moment."
The Raiders travel without Joe Tapine after the forward failed a late fitness test on his broken thumb.
STATS THAT MATTER
* A win in this match would see Canberra win three straight games against the Cowboys for the first time since 2004-05.
* In their two meetings last season, the Cowboys were held try-less in the second half, with the Raiders outscoring them 36-2, including 30-0 in the final 20 minutes of both games.
* Raiders fullback Jack Wighton has scored seven tries in nine games against the Cowboys, his best tally and strike rate against any team.
