An ill-disciplined first half display put the Warriors in a hole they couldn't climb out of on Sunday as they went down to the Cowboys 32-22 at Ericsson.

An improved second half effort saw the Warriors take a two point lead with twenty minutes to go but the Auckland-based side could not hold on as Cowboys five-eighth Jonathan Thurston engineered a last quarter revival to steal the points.

Bench player Rod Jensen grabbed a try in each half to help the Townsville outfit to five tries and with Josh Hannay kicking five from seven goal attempts, it was enough to repell a spirited Warriors side.

Warrior Sione Faumuina will face an anxious wait next week after an ugly looking, late stiff-arm hit has the rangy centre on report.

The penalty-ridden first half effort from the Warriors eventually proved costly and in the end they were on the wrong end of an 11-6 penalty count that could not be overcome.

As the match began, coach Tony Kemp was forced to reshuffle his backline with fullback Brent Webb and centre Tony Martin ruled out through injury.

Jerome Ropati moved to fullback, Faumuina came into the centres and Lance Hohaia got a reprieve at five-eighth.

International Paul Rauhihi was looking to impress Kiwi coach Daniel Anderson ahead of the Anzac test and the Cowboys skipper will have been encouraged when, in a sign of things to come, the Warriors conceded two penalties on the first set of the match and Hannay kicked the Cowboys to a 2-0 lead inside two minutes.

After more Warriors ill-discipline, Faumuina committing a high-shot that connected only with Hohaia, the Cowboys moved onto attack.

Following a Thurston break on the right, the Townsville side grabbed the first try with Ty Williams dotting down in the left corner a tackle later for a 6-0 lead.

It took the Warriors seven and a half minutes to get their first touch when winger Francis Meli fielded a Cowboys kick.

Rauhihi and Carl Webb were leading the Cowboys with strong hit-ups pushing the Warriors backwards and it was Webb who drew a penalty from Monty Betham after another good charge.

Two tackles later Steve Southern barged over under the bar and when Hannay added the extras the Cowboys led 12-0 after 20 minutes.

However, Betham made amends straight away.

After a good carry from the base of the scrum down the left, the Warriors switched to the right and Betham doubled around Faumuina who stood and passed for Betham to crash over. Stacey Jones missed the kick for a 12-4 deficit.

Both sides traded possession for the next ten minutes without threatening, the Cowboys losing some of their early momentum with Rauhihi and Webb on the bench.

After more Warriors ill-discipline from Faumuina, who could face a suspension for a late stiff-arm hit, and Tevita Latu, Hannay added a penalty before it seemed the Cowboys would cross the line again before halftime.

Ropati fielded a kick inside his own in-goal and burst through the Cowboys chasers to return it 40 metres down the right touch-line.

Three tackles later Iafeta Palea'asina charged over to the right of the posts. Jones added to the conversion for a 14-10 Cowboys lead three minutes out.

With coach Tony Kemp preparing his halftime speech, Ropati carted the ball back for the last play of the half.

Ropati lost the ball in the tackle as he submitted, and then watched super-sub Rod Jensen scamper 20 metres to score to boost the Cowboys lead to 20-10 after Hannay added the extras.

It didn't take seven minutes for the Warriors to get the ball in the second spell and they duly opened the scoring after a barnstorming charge from Palea'asina pushed the Cowboys back into their 20 metre zone.

Winger Todd Byrne opened his Warriors account, again chiming into the backline off the shoulder of Jones.

The Warriors tied the scores when former Cowboy Nathan Fien crossed with a huge smile on face after Faumuina kept the ball alive when it seemed he would be dumped into touch.

Both sides traded penalties to set up a frantic last 15 minutes with the scores tied at 22.

The Warriors looked set to score on a Hohaia break but his pass didn't find a Warrior hand and the Cowboys re-gathered.

When Thurston caught the Warriors off guard with a chip kick on the last, he regathered spectacularly and after some desperate passes, Jensen got his second try of the afternoon to push the Cowboys to 26-22 with ten minutes to go.

Matt Bowen rubbed salt into the Warrior wounds with a try as time expired to push the final score to 32-22.

The Warriors will look to rebound next weekend when they host Souths while the Cowboys host the Knights in Townsville.

Cowboys 32: Tries: Jensen 2, Bowen, Southern, Williams. Con: Hannay 2, Thurston. Pen: Hannay 3.

Warriors 22: Tries: Fien, Byrne, Palea'asina, Betham. Con: Jones 2. Pen: Jones.