The Warriors' play-offs hopes may be all but over, but coach Stephen Kearney says his team still have plenty to play for despite Saturday's 24-12 NRL loss away to North Queensland.

The Cowboys extended their winning streak to four games and kept alive their top-four hopes, but the Warriors' chances of breaking into the top eight are fading rapidly.

The Warriors were missing a key player in injured half Shaun Johnson, while James Gavet was a late withdrawal after x-rays revealed a broken arm which will sideline the in-form forward for an estimated six weeks.

He joins a casualty list which includes forwards Ryan Hoffman (foot), Albert Vete (arm), Charlie Gubb (hernia) and Nathaniel Roache (hamstring).

Kearney said there were plenty of positives to take from the game, with a dogged Warriors effort levelling the scores at 12-12 going into halftime.

However, the Aucklanders currently sit 12th on the ladder, four points astray of the eighth-placed Dragons with six games remaining.

"As long as there's a possibility, we'll keep working away," he said from Townsville on Saturday

"I thought the effort was wonderful there tonight with not a great deal of reward.

"If we keep that type of energy and that type of effort, and be a little bit better with execution in a couple of areas, I'm sure we'll get on the right side of the scoreboard."

Skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck said while the loss was disappointing, the Warriors could take pride in their efforts.

"We were pleased with lots of areas - we don't go out with two points, but we've still got more games to go," he said.

"The middles just kept on defending and defending, we kept on getting the ball and just running it back.

"We were still in the fight, we weren't going away, and we were just unlucky not to finish them off.

"I'm proud of the boys' efforts, and we can hopefully build on this."