Todd Payten has warned North Queensland must not repeat the "really soft" decision-making from their last game against Parramatta as a top-eight spot beckons.
The Cowboys will finish the regular season with a winning record and move within striking distance of a return to finals if they defeat the 13th-placed Eels on Saturday.
Payten's men began the weekend in eighth place on the ladder with an inferior points differential, but are guaranteed to qualify for finals with wins in their three remaining games.
Victory in either one or two out of three may be enough, but would leave the Cowboys relying on other results.
The Cowboys' favourable run home, which features a bye and games against the Eels, Wests Tigers and Canberra, has them at short odds for a finals berth with bookmakers.
But a "chaotic" performance against the Eels in round 10 has given Payten reason to be wary.
The error-prone Cowboys coughed up an eight-point lead in the final six minutes as Eels right centre Jordan Samrani ran riot.
In extra time, the Eels escaped for a 33-30 win.
"We came up with some really soft decisions with the ball, which allowed them to get back in the game. It was chaotic towards the end," Payten said.
"(On Saturday) there's going to be some opportunities for us.
"We need to start fast and physical and then stay hard at the hard things of the game and make good decisions around what the team needs, not what you may see at different times."
The Cowboys have lost all of their previous four fixtures against the Eels at CommBank Stadium, with Payten saying there was no special secret to breaking through for a first victory.
"Same secret every week: hold the ball, defend well, play down the opposition's end of the park," he said.
Payten was confident the club had the depth to cover for the immediate loss of veteran prop Matthew Lodge, who was released to the Super League this week.
Sam McIntyre appears a candidate for more minutes, while Englishman John Bateman is expected to be used through the middle once Jeremiah Nanai returns from a hamstring injury in round 26.
Wiremu Greig and Kaiden Lahrs are other options.
"I wouldn't have let (the release) happen if I didn't think we could cover Lodgey's absence," Payten said.
