COWBOYS co-captain Matt Scott has urged Jason Taumalolo to stay loyal to the club amid fears the Kiwi Test star will be harder to retain than Maroons champion Johnathan Thurston.

Taumalolo is expected to finalise his future this week, with the hulking 21-year-old leaning towards accepting a massive $2 million package from the Warriors.

The 110kg powerhouse demonstrated on Saturday night why the Warriors are chasing hard, making some explosive charges in the Cowboys’ 30-10 trial defeat of the Titans in Cairns.

Scott and Thurston can understand the dilemma confronting Taumalolo, with the Origin pair rejecting more lucrative offers from Sydney clubs to remain at the Cowboys in 2013.

At the time, Cowboys insiders viewed the retention of Thurston as their finest triumph, but they now concede trumping the Warriors for Taumalolo will be their toughest task yet.

The Auckland-born forward stands to earn an extra $1 million if he crosses the Tasman, but Scott appealed for Taumalolo not to abandon the club that signed him at age 13.

“I don’t really want to play against him,” Scott said.

“Look, he’s very important, he’s the No.1 priority for the club at the moment.

“It would be great to see him stay.

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“Jason’s had a great start to his career with us, but I think for him to keep improving and for him personally, it’s the right decision to stay.

“He’s a good fit for our club and I’d like to think we’re a good fit for him.”

Taumalolo is privately agonising over the decision.

Last Monday, he told Cowboys coach Paul Green he wanted to stay, but was left stunned two days later by an offer from the Warriors that stands to make Taumalolo the highest-paid forward in the NRL.

The Cowboys have the funds to almost match the Warriors’ massive offer.

But the club is taking a principled approach and won’t pay Taumalolo more than the $650,000 annually they outlaid for their co-captain Scott, the NRL’s best prop.

The Cowboys’ premiership prospects could be a critical factor, with Taumalolo’s manager Chris Orr revealing the blockbusting back-rower isn’t solely chasing big bucks.

“Every player, when they have been in a club so long, they would accept a little less to stay in that environment,” Orr said.

“If Jason is happy at the Cowboys, which he is, they will get the last right to retain him.”

Aside from keeping Taumalolo, coach Green has another headache — deciding between Lachlan Coote and Michael Morgan at fullback for their season opener against the Roosters.

The pair both had stints in the backfield in Cairns, but Morgan’s impressive display alongside Thurston at five-eighth could see Coote clinch the No.1 jumper.

“There were plusses and minuses for both. I’ve got some headaches on my hands there,” Green said.

“Morgo is a smart kid, wherever I play him he’s certainly going to be an asset to the team.

“His talk in defence in particular I thought was really good on that right edge (in Cairns) and we certainly looked comfortable with him defending there.”