St George Illawarra play their next two games in Wollongong, against South Sydney and Canberra, with a Sunday State of Origin game bye in between and plenty of soul-searching to come.

Ben Hunt backed up, Tariq Sims was ruled out, but it hardly mattered, North Queensland were in another class in the 31-12 win in Townsville.

There were three slick tries from the Cowboys in the first half, but the shift may well be defined by one play in defence.

At 29, Dragons debutant Jonathan Reuben had plucked an intercept near his own line and put the foot down.

Reuben had clear space and is a noted try scorer from his time in the Queensland Cup, but by the halfway line, he was suffocated.

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Seven Cowboys had flooded back to reel him in, another arriving on the scene as Reuben was tackled.

In contrast, Reuben received precious little support.

The Cowboys advantage was established through Tom Dearden's pass allowing Coen Hess to roll over Jack Bird, then sling a pass back inside for Scott Drinkwater to score.

The next shot came in the 11^th minute, when Drinkwater's grubber allowed Cowboys centre Peta Hiku to beat Moses Suli to the ball to score.

After a Valentine Holmes penalty goal, bustling Jason Taumalolo turned provider when he put Griffin Neame in the clear, passing to ex-Dragons back-up hooker Reece Robson to streak away for a 20-point advantage.

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Suli responded on the left edge before half-time to keep hope alive for the Dragons at 20-6, but the frustration lingered as Cody Ramsay was denied a try for a Suli obstruction, Jaydn Su'a lost the ball attacking on the right and Josh McGuire was caught in possession on the last play.

When the Cowboys short goalline dropout fails to make the distance, but the ball rolls forward to allow Chad Townsend to flick it back, then the Dragons were penalised for going on with the tackle after it was called held, you know it's probably not your night.

The first-half six-again calls mounted, as did the missed tackles.

Zac Lomax looked anything like the potential Origin star NSW coach Brad Fittler once declared him to be.

The pain continued five minutes upon resumption, when Lomax's ridiculous loose pass merely allowed Cowboys winger Murray Taulagi to tip-toe down the sideline and score, making it 24-6.

The Dragons bumbled on and eventually found a second try through Su'a five minutes from time, after Townsend put an exclamation point on the night with a field goal.

Hunt, who was probably the Dragons best after an impressive performance for Queensland, took the final insult when Connelly Lumuelu delivered a don't argue and raced away in the final seconds.

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