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The North Queensland Cowboys and Canberra Raiders go through their first real test of 2014 in an intriguing match-up at 1300 Smiles Stadium on Saturday night. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 9:00pm (AEDT).
The Cowboys look set to push for a top four finish this year, while Canberra could find they sneak into the eight.
Canberra are coming off a 34-14 trial loss to the Knights a fortnight ago, although their close to full-strength side only went down 14-12 in the first half.
North Queensland head into Round 1 on the back of a 28-12 victory over the Titans and have named a very strong squad for this match.
Michael Morgan wears the number 1 jersey after off-season recruit Lachlan Coote went down with an ACL injury in the Auckland Nines.
Ray Thompson has beaten out Rory Kostjasyn for the hooking role, and Zac Santo is a small chance to make his debut after being named on an extended bench.
Canberra have named two rookies in their best 17 for this clash, with Matt Allwood set to make his debut in the centres, and Shannon Boyd wearing the number 17 jersey.
Jack Wighton slots into the five-eighth position in a surprising move, while Glen Buttriss has beaten out Josh McCrone for the number 9 jersey.
Terry Campese returns to the number 7 jersey after a long lay-off with injury. Tom Learoyd-Lahrs and David Shillington are both on the sidelines with Ankle and Ribs respectively.
North Queensland have taken the last four match-ups between these two sides, including a 30-12 victory in Round 7 last year.
Canberra’s last victory came in Round 4, 2009.
The Cowboys come into this match-up as heavy favourites with the punters. Personally, I see this match as being closer than most would think.
There’s not too many positions on the field where I would say one team has a major advantage over the other, yet the Cowboys hold the advantage in the halves and the front-row.
Look for this advantage in particular to go a long way to securing the Cowboys their first win of season 2014.
Cowboys by 8.
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