Elinya Chenery previews an all-important Queensland Derby between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
North Queensland Cowboys Vs Brisbane Broncos
Venue: Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Date: Saturday August 5, 3:00pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Cowboys: 1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Semi Valemei 3. Valentine Holmes 4. Peta Hiku 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Chad Townsend 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 10. Jason Taumalolo 11. Luciano Leilua 12. Coen Hess 13. Reuben Cotter 14. Jake Granville 15. Griffin Neame 16. Heilum Luki 17. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown 18. Sam McIntyre 19. Kyle Feldt 20. Riley Price 21. Brendan Elliot 22. Jack Gosiewski
Broncos: 1. Reece Walsh 2. Jesse Arthars 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Selwyn Cobbo 6. Ezra Mam 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Thomas Flegler 9. Billy Walters 10. Payne Haas 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Brendan Piakura 13. Patrick Carrigan 14. Tyson Smoothy 15. Corey Jensen 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Keenan Palasia 18. Deine Mariner 19. Xavier Willison 20. Jordan Riki 21. Jock Madden 22. Tristan Sailor
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
This Queensland derby has a lot riding on it for both teams, with the Broncos looking to make a push to claim the minor premiership, while the Cowboys are clinging to their top-eight position.
With the Broncos’ biggest obstacle in their search for first place being the Panthers, who play the fourth-seeded Melbourne Storm this week, the Brisbane side will know that a comprehensive victory against the eighth-placed Cowboys could give them the leg up they need coming into the final games of the regular season.
For the North Queensland side, however, things are a lot more precarious. Having just held onto eighth spot on the ladder with only a single point separating them from both the Knights and Sea Eagles, who are looking to make a late-season push for finals, the Cowboys need to come out victorious on Saturday afternoon or risk being sent packing if other results don’t pan out in their favour.
Last time these two sides met was back in round 2, and on that occasion, it was the Broncos who came away with the spoils, beating the Cowboys 28-16 in a match that saw Scott Drinkwater sin-binned early in the second half.
The Cowboys won’t have it any easier this time round as they will be missing Origin star Valentine Holmes. He failed to have a careless high tackle charge from last week downgraded at the judiciary and will, therefore, miss the next four weeks – meaning he won’t play again this season, as the Cowboys have a bye in round 24, unless his side does end up making the finals.
While veteran Kyle Feldt has been recalled to the first-grade side and could slot into the centre as the replacement for Holmes, the final makeup of the team is yet to be decided.
North Queensland will also welcome back Heilum Luki to play his first game since round 16, in which he sustained a facial fracture that has sidelined him for the past weeks.
The Broncos, on the other hand, are benefiting from the return of winger Jesse Arthars from suspension and Brendan Piakura from illness while Jordan Riki is also a long shot to make his return from injury after being named on the extended bench.
This is, of course, the 2015 Grand Final replay, a match that no one will soon forget.
Each time these teams meet, the last hectic minutes of that match are fresh in everyone’s minds.
Back then, it was Darius Boyd and Jonathan Thurston with eyes on them as the playmakers of the game, on Saturday afternoon, however, all eyes will be on the match up between Reece Walsh and Scott Drinkwater.
As both players are electric with ball in hand and looking to make their mark on the game, the battle between these two is sure to be a deciding factor of who walks way with the two points.
The competition between Chad Townsend and Adam Reynolds is also set up to be a beauty, with both players veterans of the game with premiership winning experience.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Cowboys 5, Brisbane 5
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Broncos by 4.
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