North Queensland coach Paul Green admits there could be personnel changes as his side looks to avoid a sixth straight NRL defeat against Gold Coast.

The pre-season favourites sit second-bottom of the ladder with a 1-5 record after the 27-10 defeat to Canterbury on Saturday night and Green concedes they need to find a way to improve their output in the all-Queensland clash.

One unwanted adjustment could be replacing Matt Scott, who left the field in the closing stages for a head injury assessment, but Green said the test was “precautionary” and expected to have the prop available to play.

“We need to change what’s happening on the field,” Green said.

“Whether that be personnel or not I don’t know. We need to fix it and fix it quickly.

“You don’t want to change for the sake of change. The players need confidence too.”

The Cowboys’ biggest problem has been their start to games. For the third week in succession the 2015 champions found themselves two tries down in the first half.

“We’re putting ourselves under too much scoreboard pressure at the start of games,” Green said.

“When you’re down 12-0 and get a couple of penalties it’s difficult to take two (points) at that stage.

“We’re putting ourselves in these positions by being so far behind.

“Then you tighten up a little bit and don’t take the opportunities in front of us – you think twice about your offload.

“We need to loosen up and play what’s in front of us, trust our ability and trust our team.”