Check out the match preview and prediction for the Round 22 clash between the Wests Tigers and North Queensland Cowboys.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Wests Tigers v North Queensland Cowboys
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
Date: Thursday August 1, 7:50
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Tigers: 1. Jahream Bula, 2. Solomon Alaimalo, 3. Solomona Faataape, 4. Justin Olam, 5. Charlie Staines, 6. Lachlan Galvin, 7. Latu Fainu, 8. Stefano Utoikamanu, 9. Apisai Koroisau, 10. David Klemmer, 11. Reuben Porter, 12. Samuela Fainu, 13. Isaiah Papali’i, 14. Tallyn Da Silva, 15. Alex Seyfarth, 16. Sione Fainu, 17. Alex Twal, 18. Heath Mason, 19. Justin Matamua, 20. Josh Feledy, 21. Declan Casey, 22. Tim Johannssen
Cowboys: 1. Scott Drinkwater, 2. Kyle Feldt, 3. Valentine Holmes, 4. Viliami Vailea, 5. Murray Taulagi, 6. Tom Dearden, 7. Chad Townsend, 8. Jordan McLean, 9. Reece Robson, 10. Sam McIntyre, 11. Heilum Luki, 12. Jeremiah Nanai, 13. Thomas Mikaele, 14. Harrison Edwards, 15. Jake Granville, 16. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, 17. Griffin Neame, 18. Jaxon Purdue, 19. Jamal Shibasaki, 20. Jake Clifford, 21. Tomas Chester, 22. Thomas Duffy
Referee: Chris Butler
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Good luck tipping this one based on previous head-to-heads.
When these two sides played at this venue last year, it was a comprehensive 66-18 Tigers victory. Starford To’a managed to channel prime Greg Inglis for an evening and give Valentine Holmes an absolute lesson in how to play rugby league.
But when these two sides played later in the season, it was very much a different story. In what was the greatest in-season turnaround between two sides, the Cowboys put on a 74-0 demolition, which will likely go down as the most embarrassing defeat of this unfortunate era for Wests.
This fixture presents a different prospect than those two games did. For starters, Jahream Bula is the only remaining Tigers back from those fixtures. Players 2 to 7 for Wests have all either moved on or weren’t selected in the squad. Coach Tim Sheens is no longer in the building.
But one thing does remain the same – the Tigers are once again sat at the bottom of the NRL ladder. While I believe they’ve significantly improved this year and have managed to blood a number of extremely talented youngsters in that time, the cold hard truth of their ladder position remains a talking point.
We’re now approaching the twenty-year anniversary of the Tigers’ premiership win over these Cowboys. Yet, I feel like they’re somehow still living off the coat-tails of that victory. Benji Marshall – the man who pulled off the most memorable play from that game – is now tasked with guiding these Tiger cubs into a period of success for his beloved team.
As Benji Marshall looks to his opposition coach on Thursday night, to see one of the men he won that famous premiership alongside, he’ll be hoping his boys can channel the spirit of Tigers past and get another one up over the old foe.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Cowboys by 10 points.
Follow Nothing But Rugby League on Facebook
