Roar Guru
The North Queensland Cowboys face another tough challenge away from home as they tackle the Manly Sea Eagles at Central Coast Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:40pm AEST.
Coming off a 16-4 loss to the Tigers last week, North Queensland will need to produce something special tonight if they hope to upset Manly.
The Cowboys’ best chance of defeating the Sea Eagles will be to keep Manly from running away with the contest in the first half. The Sea Eagles have often played their best football in the first half of matches this season, while their second half performances have left much to be desired.
It was the same old story last week against Cronulla. Manly came bursting out of the blocks, racing to a 20-0 lead before significantly taking their foot of the pedal in the second half.
If the Cowboys can just stick with Manly during the opening 40 minutes, they will give themselves the best chance of causing a big upset.
The Cowboys certainly have what it takes to challenge Manly on paper, but they continue to underperform on the field.
After opening the scoring last week against the Tigers, the Cowboys defence yet again let them down as they succumbed to the Tigers by 12 points.
The Cowboys will have to show plenty of attitude and steel in defence if they are to keep Manly at bay. If the Sea Eagles are allowed to start quickly again, the scoreline could be anything.
North Queensland’s immediate concern will be to stop Brett Stewart from having a heavy influence on tonight’s contest. If Stewart is kept quiet, Manly’s attack will suffer.
At home, Manly appear too strong at the moment. The Cowboys can certainly push them, but remain too inconsistent to tip.
Manly by 12.