The Bulldogs' fairytale run has finally met its wicked witch - with in-form prop Ben Hannant joining boom centre Jamal Idris on the NRL club's long-term injury list.

Hannant was on Thursday ruled out for 4-6 weeks with a grade two medial ligament strain, the powerhouse prop a victim of Queensland's epic Origin II win over NSW and his own unwavering courage.

The news couldn't have come at a worse time for the second-placed Dogs, with Idris also set to miss a month of football with an elbow injury and the club headed into a tough stretch of games starting with Friday night's ANZ stadium clash against North Queensland.

"He's a big loss, he's our No.1 front rower and he showed last night what he can do, I thought he was outstanding for Queensland off the bench," Moore said ahead of his side's final training run on Thursday.

"His injury's probably a little bit worse because of his tough attitude and he played through it. We'll miss that.

"The good news is it's not a season-ending injury. We've just got to tough it out over the next 4-6 weeks and we'll get Benny back around that time and he'll be nice and fresh for the back end of the season."

"It's a great opportunity for Jarrad Hickey who'll come into the side tomorrow night.

"He played for us last year when he was probably our No.1 front rower, he had a back injury during the off-season and we've been really patient because we knew we'd need him, particularly at the back end of the year."

While the Bulldogs were lamenting the loss of Hannant, the Cowboys didn't escape from Origin II unscathed either.

Backrower Luke O'Donnell is in extreme doubt with a posterior capsular tear, with NSW physio Tony Ayoub - who is also the Bulldogs physio - saying he expected the Cowboys hard man to be out for 2-3 weeks.

Despite his leg being in a brace, O'Donnell is keen to play on Friday night while Maroons centre Willie Tonga is a certain starter after suffering a burner to his shoulder against the Blues.

The loss of Hannant and the Idris will put even more pressure on playmaking duo Michael Ennis and Brett Kimmorley to keep the Bulldogs on track during a stretch of games that includes away matches against Manly, the Warriors and Gold Coast - the Titans clash being a home games shifted to Suncorp Stadium.

Ennis has the added incentive of a NSW Origin jumper in his sights after Blues hooker Robbie Farah struggled to make an impact against the Maroons.

The Cowboys are aware of the have made him the No.1 target

"Obviously we need to be aware of what Kimmorley can do and Ben Roberts has been playing well at five-eighth, but without doubt the danger's Michael Ennis in the middle of the field," Cowboys assistant coach Michael Crawley there.

"We need to be very good there.

"We see this game as a real challenge for us, to go down there with a mixed-up preparation ... it's a test for us."

The Cowboys will travel down to Sydney with an extended bench with two of Manase Manuokafoa, Steve Rapira and James Tamou to miss out if O'Donnell plays.

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