There is a very fine line between a productive pre-season and the onset of dangerous levels of self-assurance, as the North Queensland Cowboys are now finding out.

Forward Scott Bolton admits a seamless summer may have set North Queensland up to fail in their NRL season opener against Sydney Roosters.

The error-riddled Cowboys fell 28-4 in a shocking first-up performance at home that has led to some earlier-than-expected soul-searching up in Townsville.

Backing coach Paul Green’s post-match assessment that his players had started to believe their own hype, Bolton conceded North Queensland were not adequately prepared for the rigours of a full-blown NRL match.

“Everything was feeling too good, I suppose,” he said.

“Both the NRL trials we did have, I don’t feel we were put under an immense amount of pressure than what the Roosters turned up on us.

“It did come as a bit of a surprise and being at home, I think we just got a bit complacent with how good a pre-season we had.

“That’s a big wake-up call for us and we’ve got a lot of hard work to do now to get that back.”

The run-on side that failed against the Roosters has been given a stay of execution, with Green opting for the same 13 for this weekend’s clash with the Newcastle Knights.

Bolton, who has again been named on the bench, said the players intended to pay back Green’s show of faith with a win.

“A lot of those boys will be out to correct themselves, myself included,” he said.

“We trained yesterday morning and it was probably one of the best sessions we’ve had.

“We’ve all got the trust in each other that we can get out and do the job.”

Bolton said the Cowboys face a near-identical challenge to the Roosters this week in the Knights, whose flashy backline tore apart the Warriors 24-14 on Saturday.

“I know Newcastle have got a very similar back five with the way they come at us,” he said.

“Defensively we were off around the middle – the Roosters back five really blew us apart.

“That’s the exact same way we’re looking at it this week.”