Thurston remains in doubt for next month's mid-season Test after injuring his calf in a surprise loss to the Tigers last week. He joins veteran forwards leader Matt Scott, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the Cowboys round two victory over Brisbane, on the injured list.

It won't be the first time the Dragons have faced a depleted Cowboys outfit in Wollongong, having hosted the 2015 premiers during the State of Origin period the past two seasons, splitting the clashes.

The Dragons had their pants pulled down by the Eels in their first game in Wollongong in round two, their only loss this season, and McGregor scoffed at claims the Cowboys were vulnerable without the game’s best player.

“I think any team that is without star players, they lift,” McGregor said. 

“It can’t be one, it’s got to be collectively, so [Paul Green] will expect a little bit more off everyone, not just one or two guys.

“The last three years they [finished] first, third and fifth in the competition so they’re a hardened side with good systems in place.

“Jason [Taumalolo’s] a strong ball-runner, Cohen Hess is a strong ball-runner, [Michael] Morgan’s a good running five-eighth and [Kalyn] Ponga’s a very special kid so they’ve got some talent there and they’ve got some hardened edge back-rowers as well.

“You don’t finish in the position they have, year after year, if they don’t know what’s needed to win games. They’re well coached and they’ll certainly be coming with a good attitude after getting beaten by the Tigers last week.”

Even with Thurston on deck, there’s every chance the Dragons would have started favourites against the Cowboys for the first time in a number of seasons, given their impressive start to 2017.

They’ll have the chance to prove they are the real deal over the next month, with games against the Roosters, Storm and Sharks to follow Saturday’s clash.

They’ll have their first bye in round 11 but, in contrast to last season, McGregor says his side aren’t focused on anything more than their next game.

“We wanted that opportunity last week [against Manly] to show that our character and certainly our attitude was real and we did that,” McGregor said.

“There’s no blocks talked about, there’s no half-season [benchmark] talked about, there’s no byes talked about there’s nothing but the game that’s coming up that’s been talked about.

“There’s no guarantees, it doesn’t matter who you play, you’ve got to bring your standards and that’s something we’ll bring on Saturday.

“It’s really important we drive our standards, our efforts and certainly our attitude that’s been with us for the opening six rounds.”

The Dragons will again be without fullback Josh Dugan who missed last week’s victory over Manly with a hamstring strain, but Tyson Frizell looks set to take his place against the Cowboys after leaving the field with a rib injury midway through the win over the Sea Eagles. 

He ran with the team on Friday and will play provided he feel no ill-effects. Jacob Host looms as the likely replacement should he pull up lame Saturday morning.