Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 20 clash between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
North Queensland Cowboys Vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Venue: Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Date: Sunday July 21, 6:15pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Cowboys: 1. Scott Drinkwater, 2. Kyle Feldt, 3. Jaxon Purdue, 4. Viliami Vailea, 5. Braidon Burns, 6. Jake Clifford, 7. Chad Townsend, 8. Jordan McLean, 9. Jake Granville, 10. Jason Taumalolo, 11. Heilum Luki, 12. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, 13. Sam McIntyre, 14. Harrison Edwards, 15. Thomas Mikaele, 16. Jamal Shibasaki, 17. Griffin Neame, 18. Thomas Duffy, 19. Semi Valemei, 20. Valentine Holmes, 21. Tom Dearden, 22. Jeremiah Nanai, 23. Reece Robson, 24. Reuben Cotter
Bulldogs: 1. Connor Tracey, 2. Jacob Kiraz, 3. Bronson Xerri, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Blake Wilson, 6. Matt Burton, 7. Toby Sexton, 8. Josh Curran, 9. Reed Mahoney, 10. Samuel Hughes, 11. Viliame Kikau, 12. Jacob Preston, 13. Kurt Mann, 14. Bailey Hayward, 15. Poasa Faamausili, 16. Kurtis Morrin, 17. Lipoi Hopoi, 19. Harry Hayes, 20. Drew Hutchison, 21. Hayze Perham, 22. Jeral Skelton, 23. Chris Patolo, 25. Kitione Kautoga
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Off the bye and looking to continue their push for a top four spot, the Bulldogs will begin a tough span of away games, starting with the resurgent Cowboys in North Queensland.
The Cowboys themselves are on a bit of a high, with a bye up their sleeve and a two home games in a row. A win here would help boost their claims for a finals spot.
They’ve been in red-hot attacking form throughout the year but have suffered from a lack of consistency. Their defence has been questionable but they appeared to improve on that in the last few weeks.
Canterbury lead the head-to-head 21-18 (since 1998) and won the last clash (15-14 in 2023).
The job is made harder for the Bulldogs who will be without prop Max King for the next six to eight weeks after sustaining a hand injury.
Nevertheless, despite their incredible defensive resilience, Ciraldo’s men have lost some attacking spark in recent games. They’ll need to rediscover it if they want to keep winning, especially away from home.
They’ll have Stephen Crichton and Reed Mahoney back from Origin while the Cowboys will hope Valentine Holmes, Tom Dearden, Reuben Cotter, and Jeremiah Nanai back up.
Unless the Bulldogs improve their attack, it’ll be hard to see them overcome a red-hot Cowboys attacking team who will be at home and buoyed by a healthy squad.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Cowboys by 6 points.
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