North Queensland Cowboys v Newcastle Knights
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Cowboys v Knights preview
Cowboys in freefall, Knights without Bradman but still one of the Best
The North Queensland Cowboys and the Newcastle Knights will go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon in Townsville, with the two sides having very different starts to their 2020 campaign. The Cowboys currently sit in 10th with 2 wins from 6 games to start the year. The start has seen premiership winning coach Paul Green under pressure, as rumblings start to get louder about him potentially taking up a job with Cronulla next season.
The Cowboys were dreadful in their first-half performance last week against the Tigers. They were done 34-0 at half time, a score line which saw their coach erupt in the sheds. The Cowboys did respond in the second half, managing to bring the game back to 36-20 before the full-time siren. However, conceding 34 points in one half of football simply isn't acceptable and the Cowboys will have to improve dramatically in the first-half this week.
The Knights were quite different in their performance last week, with a 27-6 win over the Broncos. At times the game was scrappy, but Adam O'Brien will no doubt be happy about the win and the score they were able to put on. The Knights sit in 2nd on the ladder and will be comfortable with where they are at this point of the season. One team under pressure with a point to prove and one improving week-to-week could make for a good game on Saturday.
Despite a pretty poor showing last week, coach Paul Green has named a side with only one change from the Tigers loss. The starting 13 has remained the same as what it was last week and the change comes through the bench. Rueben Cotter will come into the 17 for Corey Jensen. Jordan McLean has been named in the reserves and is a chance to return from injury.
Newcastle are coming off another win last week and have managed to be in 2nd position on the table coming into round 7. In terms of team news, young star Bradman Best has been stood down for one week due to him breaching the NRL's strict coronavirus protocols for their players. This means that Enari Tuala will come into the side to take his place for this game. Apart from that forced change, coach Adam O'Brien has not named any other changes to his 17 for the game.
Last meeting: Round 22 2019 - Knights 42 Cowboys 6
Who to watch: If the Cowboys are to win this game, Jason Taumalolo will have to do all that he can. He is one of the few players who can single-handedly win you a game and if he can carry the Cowboys on his back with one of his freakish efforts, then he will give his team a good shot at victory.
There has already been origin talk about 2019 series winner Daniel Saifiti and what better way to prove he should maintain his spot with a battle in the middle with Taumalolo. Saifiti has established himself as a leader in the Knights pack and will be looking take the middle challenge head on in this clash.
The favourite: Looking at the form guide at the moment, there is little wonder that the Knights are favourites to win on Saturday.
My tip: Even with Jason Taumalolo in their team, the Cowboys don't pack much of a punch in their forwards other than that. The likes of David Klemmer and Daniel Saifiti should get over the top of the Cowboys pack and open the game up for the likes of Kalyn Ponga and Mitchell Pearce to play off the back of. The Cowboys can't be completely discounted considering the pressure mounting on them, but that depends on whether or not they respond. Knights by 14.
1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Justin O'Neill 4. Esan Marsters 18. Tom Opacic 6. Scott Drinkwater 7. Jake Clifford 8. Josh Mcguire 9. Reece Robson 19. Jordan McLean 12. Coen Hess 20. Shane Wright 13. Jason Taumalolo 10. Francis Molo 14. Ben Hampton 15. Gavin Cooper 16. Peter Hola
1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Edrick Lee 3. Enari Tuala 4. Gehamat Shibasaki 5. Hymel Hunt 6. Kurt Mann 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. David Klemmer 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Daniel Saifiti 11. Lachlan Fitzgibbon 12. Sione Mata'utia 13. Tim Glasby 14. Tex Hoy 15. Jacob Saifiti 16. Herman Ese'ese 17. Aidan Guerra
Referees: Matt Cecchin; Sideline Officials: Jon Stone, Liam Kennedy; Video Referees: Steve Clark, Ben Galea;