The Cowboys succumbed to a second home loss on Friday in the defeat to the Dolphins, slipping to 2-4 for the season.
They were their own worst enemies in the opening 40 minutes as they conceded six errors and penalties, which the Dolphins scored five times from.
A desperate second-half comeback was thwarted by some steely Dolphins defence after the Cowboys began completing their sets and stopped cheaply coughing up the ball.
But those handling and discipline errors continue to cost Hess's side, something that's becoming an unwanted trend through six games in 2023.
"We're playing good patches of footy but it's not for long enough," he said on Wednesday.
"We can string together 40-50 minutes but in the 30 minutes we aren't playing good it's just catastrophic.
"It's just a big snowball where one thing turns into another, whereas in the past we'd rectify that straight away and move on pretty quickly."
The Cowboys sit third in the competition for penalties conceded in 2023 and seventh overall for total errors.
Offering up relieving penalties to their opposition which in turn heaps pressure on their defensive line, has led to 216 missed tackles - the second worst in the NRL.
Saturday's clash with the Warriors presents an opportunity to right a few wrongs and salvage an already flailing season.
Coach Todd Payten's team list is like a revolving door with injuries and suspensions plaguing his side through six rounds.
Jeremiah Nanai returns from a two-game ban while fellow Queensland and Australia representative Murray Taulagi is back from a knee injury, but they will be without young Kiwi Griffin Neame after he suffered a cricoid (throat) fracture in round six.
Hess said the playing group is rallying around Neame as it was his first chance to play in front of friends and family back home.
But he also took the chance to have a light dig at his good mate.
"I'm really gutted for him, he just started to find his feet and he's probably been one of our best middles," Hess said.
"We've got to get around him but I'm actually a bit worried for him - he's going to be in rehab and he tends to pack on the kilos pretty quickly.
"I'm sure the coaching staff will have to watch him there because he might balloon out."
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