Injury-plagued North Queensland centre Brent Tate has been named in the Cowboys squad to play St George Illawarra in Saturday night's NRL trial in Perth.

Tate, who has undergone three knee reconstructions, hyperextended his knee playing for the NRL All Stars on the weekend and feared the worst.

But the joint has recovered quickly and the representative centre made the trip to Perth on Monday.

Cowboys coach Neil Henry was highly confident Tate would take on the Dragons.

However, star backline duo Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen are not expected to play following their efforts for the Indigenous All Stars.