The rugby league world might be watching and waiting to see how the Cowboys respond to their 'darkest day in club history', but the Titans have just as much of a point to prove in Thursday night's Indigenous Round showdown.
With the Warriors putting the home side to the sword 42-6 on the same weekend, there is no one more displeased with the showing than Josh Hannay's squad themselves, who are hungry to continue their quest in turning the page on the Gold Coast.
"I was very disappointed in our performance [against the Warriors], especially with myself as I thought some of my defensive movements weren't up to my best," a candid Jayden Campbell admitted when reflecting on last Saturday's result.
"It wasn't a great feeling afterwards, but we've got a short turnaround and we don't want to dwell on it. We've just got to keep looking forward.
"I'm pretty thankful for the coaching staff for helping me with that.
"We now look onto the Cowboys this week."
'We’ve got to keep looking forward': Campbell
North Queensland head to Robina after being on the wrong side of history seven days ago - notching up the worst defeat of the NRL era in their 82-12 loss to the Roosters in Townsville.
The Titans are more than expecting a retort from the finals hopefuls, but the home side believe they have just as much to play for as they continue to become a more consistent and gritty side that delivers success under Hannay.
"It's a bit hard to watch a lot of [opposition] vision with a short turnaround after last week's game because we want to see where we can get better," Campbell said.
"The score for them wasn't great, but we know they will want to make up for that.
"Particularly at this time of year, they're just outside the eight and will be wanting to fight for a finals spot. They're going to be playing some of their best football and have some really good players in their team.
"They'll be coming out firing, but we've still got something to prove as well because last week's game wasn't our best performance.
"We want to scratch that and get back to playing our style of football. It's going to be a tough game, but one I'm looking forward to."
The clash against the Cowboys kickstarts a special fortnight for all First Nations people with the game celebrating Indigenous Round in both the NRL and NRLW competitions.
Match: Titans v Cowboys
Round 23 -
home Team
Titans
14th Position
away Team
Cowboys
9th Position
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
Campbell - a proud Kamilaroi man - will be front and centre of Thursday's tussle as one of the Titans' best this season, eager to get back to his best with his much-improved defence - a characteristic the playmaker is starting to become renowned for.
"Especially over the last two to three years, defence is what I've been working really hard to get better at. This year has been a really good year for me around that," he said.
"That's why I was so disappointed [last week] because that's what I've improved on the last few years. I think that's mainly why I was pretty disappointed in myself.
"What also hurt was we're trying to change how people perceive and look at us. We put in two good performances [before playing the Warriors] and we want to put to keep being a consistent football team.
"We weren't able to be that last weekend, but we've got another chance to be this week."
