The trip to sunny North Queensland came at a good time for the Knights after back-to-back wins, but they had few answers to the class of the league-leading Cowboys.

North Queensland crossed for 10 tries to two in the 54-12 rout at 1300SMILES Stadium.

The Cowboys ran in six four-pointers during a blistering first-half display to lead 32-6 at the main break and went on with the job in the second stanza.

Loughrey played the full 80 minutes, making 18 tackles and ran for 45m.

But the loss proved a costly one for the Knights, who dropped to ninth with a 4-4 win-loss record.

Newcastle coach Todd Lowrie said the loss was a reality check for his side.

“It appears that we didn’t handle the travel well,” Lowrie said after the match.

“We didn’t start well, we didn’t finish well, I think we didn’t turn up ready to play unfortunately.”

The Knights now face a Round 9 clash against Gold Coast on Saturday.

In more league news, the Group 4 under-23 team completed their preparations for this weekend’s Greater Northern Tigers Championships in Armidale.

The squad trained at North Tamworth under the guidance of coach Brad McManus.

The 20-strong squad including four players from Gunnedah, then received playing gear from sponsors Wayne Cadman (Cadman Financial Group) and Samantha Judd (Super Steel).