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In their first premiership campaign as co-captains of the Cowboys, Reuben Cotter and Tom Dearden will take the club to a semi-final.
It is an opportunity the pair, still in their early twenties, dreamed of as teenagers not too long ago.
"I was a kid when I watched the Cowboys win the grand final in 2015," 23-year-old Dearden said.
"To get there, would mean absolutely everything, to the players, the club, the people of north Queensland.
"But we've still got a long way to go."
24,800 rugby league fans attended the Cowboys home final last weekend. (ABC North Qld: Cameron Simmons)
A sudden-death semi-final against the Cronulla Sharks in Sydney on Friday will be the Cowboys' next test.
Sweating the small stuff
With big moments, they created a spectacle for fans in their 28-16 defeat of the Newcastle Knights in Townsville on Saturday.
None more bizarre than Reuben Cotter's try in the 72nd minute, which put North Queensland in the lead.
A scrappy try by Reuben Cotter gave the Cowboys the lead in their elimination final against the Knights. (Getty Images: Ian Hitchcock)
However, Cowboys leaders believe that chasing "big moments" could be just as dangerous to the team as the opponents that wait for them in Sydney.
"The big moments are what the fans and the media love, but we know it's all about the small moments," Dearden explained.
Loading...That means winning tackles and completing sets, areas the Cowboys are working to improve.
North Queensland missed 53 tackles on the weekend.
They also made more errors and gave more penalties than the Knights.
"Without those small efforts and small plays, without doing the hard work in the middle, none of that big stuff comes," Reuben Cotter said.
"You can't trick your way out of games and that has really been the message to the team."
Tom Dearden said making a grand final would mean "everything" to North Queensland fans. (ABC North Qld: Chloe Chomicki)
Continuing the Cowboys' crusade
A second week in the finals buys the Cowboys more time together as a team.
Winger Kyle Feldt will leave the club for the Super League at the season's end, while centre Valentine Holmes will play for the St George Dragons next year.
Cotter said their imminent departures were driving the Cowboys' finals campaign.
"We know that the group is going to be different next year, and I think that we are using that as a bit of motivation," Cotter said.
"Here is a chance to win a premiership.
"That's everyone's goal [and] belief has really grown amongst the group in the past month."