North Queensland Cowboys skipper Johnathan Thurston is adamant his team can click sooner rather than later following their 27-10 defeat versus Canterbury on Saturday in Townsville.

The hosts never recovered from a poor start, as frustration and errors crept into their game.

Speaking at the post-game press conference, a sombre Thurston stressed the need for his team to remain composed. 

"We've got belief in our structures and certainly the playing group," he said.

"We were good in patches and bad in patches....we just haven't been able to put a consistent performance together."

Cowboys coach Paul Green, who is off contract at season's end, was tight-lipped when asked about a NewsCorp report that he had agreed to a three-year extension with the Cowboys: “At this stage I’m more focused on getting a team a win."

Despite the obvious frustration with their alarming 1-5 record in the Telstra Premiership, Thurston and Green were quick to point out there isn't any tension between the players.

"We've got a group that's working extremely hard to turn it around… we've got the belief that we can get ourselves out of this," Thurston said.

Green could only lament his side's poor start, which left the Cowboys unable to capitalise on the possession when it eventually swung their way.

"We're just putting ourselves under too much scoreboard pressure at the start of games," he said.

Cowboys press conference - Round 6