Penrith have a simple message for their doubters - we don't care what you think.

The NRL side have lost three straight games for the first time in 2010, a stumble some commentators have been expecting.

But the Panthers still sit second on points differential heading into Friday night's CUA Stadium clash with North Queensland.

Penrith's last win was a stirring away effort over ladder leaders St George Illawarra, but since then they have lost to the Warriors, Parramatta and Melbourne amidst criticism they rely too much on kicks to score tries.

"We don't really care what other people say, we don't care if people think we're playing good or playing bad," returning lock Luke Lewis told AAP on Thursday.

"At the end of the day as long as you're happy that the bloke next to you is ripping in for your team-mates, that's the way we approach every game."

Lewis' shoulder injury has coincided with two of the three losses and his return will be a huge boost to the Panthers.

He said the side's slump had also come as it dealt with the rigours of a long season by easing back on training, at least until this week.

"We had a couple of weeks there where we had a bit more recovery, trying to get the bodies right and freshen our minds a little bit, so we haven't trained as much as we normally do," Lewis said.

"It's always hard because the season's so long.

"A lot of people in our team have played pretty much every game this year so it's just trying to get the right balance of not being on your legs too much but not putting too much aside either.

"We've trained pretty hard this week and all the boys have put their heads down and we're looking forward to the challenge."

Lewis said the Panthers would get back on track when they learned to deal better with the bounce of the ball going against them.

"We've had a few weeks where teams are getting up for us and a couple of those little 50-50 bounces go the other way," he said.

"We just have to learn how to deal with it a little bit better.

"We've got no dramas, everybody loves each other."

The Cowboys' finals hopes are gone after just five wins this year, but Johnathan Thurston's side are not without hope on Friday.

They have already beaten Penrith this year, 28-20 in round two, and lead the clashes at CUA Stadium 6-5.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP