Queensland legend Brent Tate believes the North Queensland Cowboys are a dark horse in the NRL finals but have a huge hurdle ahead of them in the Canterbury Bulldogs.

Speaking to SENQ, the former Kangaroo was worried about the inconsistencies in the Townsville club.

“At their best they could really give this competition a real shake especially with the injuries to the Roosters and that sort of thing [but] they’ve definitely got a side that can do it but again you’ve got to pay a price to win a grand final and I just don’t know whether they can do that week in and week out for the next five weeks.

“That’s the challenge in front of them and it’s there to do it.”