As far as David Murdoch is concerned, it's do or die for the Dragons in their Monday night NRL clash with the North Queensland Cowboys at WIN Stadium.

While the Red V looks to stay alive in the finals race, the Cowboys are desperate to keep stacking the numbers to secure an all-important top four berth.

In other words, there's plenty to play for.

The Dragons have won their last three, and 10 of their last 12, at Win Stadium, yet will start underdogs against a Cowboys side that, at least on paper, has the capacity to blow them off the park.

The last time they met in round nine this year it was a pretty comfortable victory for the Cowboys, but this was at Dairy Farmers.

With Jonothan Thurston and Matt Bowen scheming around the ruck, it's hard to go past them, but their away record in recent times urges caution; they've lost four of their last five away-matches.

Recent form suggests the Cowboys are a little hit and miss, with back-to-back losses preceding a sparkling win last week against the Warriors.

But those two losses were against Manly and the Bulldogs and the same form suggests they are a class above Saint George Illawarra.

If the Cowboys want to consider themselves a top four side, they need to take care of a team like the Dragons, and do it in style.

Expect Matt Scott and James Tamou to lead the way for the visitors, they rank first for metres gained in 2012, with Thurston and 'Mango' to take advantage of the space provided by their big men's go forward.

The Dragons may have won three of their last four matches against the Cowboys, but I expect the North Queensland outfit to have far too much firepower for the Dragons.

Best Bet @ Betfair

Cowboys by 8, trading @ Betfair odds of (1.65)