NORTH Queensland Cowboys coach Paul Green insists they have the belief to win without star playmaker Johnathan Thurston as utility Ben Hampton prepares to wear the famous No. 7 jersey against the St George Illawarra Dragons this weekend.

Thurston has been ruled out for at least the next two games with a calf problem in another savage injury blow for the Cowboys, with six regular first-graders unavailable for the trip to Wollongong.

Hampton had already shifted from the bench to hooker in place of Jake Granville (broken leg) and he’ll be thrust into the hot seat at halfback against the Dragons, with Townsville Blackhawks utility Blake Leary promoted to starting dummy half.

Hampton played 15 games in the halves when he was with the Melbourne Storm and Green felt that experience would be crucial against the table-topping Dragons.

“Ben’s played a bit there when he was younger and I think he’s got a good kicking game also,” the coach said.

“I just thought for the balance of the team and probably the game that we want to play and the areas we needed to improve, he was probably the best option at this stage.

“There’s nothing about convincing them (they can win without Thurston), but we just need to be able to come up with a game plan and a way of playing that suits the players that we do have.

“There won’t be much expectation on us with the injuries we’ve got. That’s a good position to be in so we can get down there and have a crack.”

Kalyn Ponga has been named at fullback this weekend with Lachlan Coote still recovering from a calf injury while centre Justin O’Neill (hamstring) makes his injury return, with Javid Bowen dropping to the reserves in the 21-man squad.

Green has also shuffled his forward pack, with Coen Hess to start in the backrow and Ethan Lowe, who has played most of his football in the middle in recent weeks, to come off the bench.

Blackhawks forward Corey Jensen will make his NRL debut from the interchange while backrower Ben Spina has been named to make his first appearance for the Cowboys this season.

Cowboys NRL squad: 1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Justin O’Neill 4. Kane Linnett 5. Gideon Gela-Mosby 6. Michael Morgan 7. Ben Hampton 8. Patrick Kaufusi 9. Blake Keary 10. Scott Bolton 11. Gavin Cooper 12. Coen Hess 13. Jason Taumalolo 14. Ethan Lowe 15. John Asiata 16. Corey Jensen 17. Ben Spina 18. Sam Hoare 19. Enari Tuala 20. Javid Bowen 21. Braden Uele.