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The North Queensland Cowboys pulled off an amazing second half come-back to escape with a 32-24 win over the Canberra Raiders.
>>MATCH REPORT: Comeback king Cowboys beat Raiders
The Raiders held an 18-0 advantage at half time but simply couldn’t hold on as the Cowboys stormed home to take the win.
North Queensland Cowboys 32 def. Canberra Raiders 24
The second placed North Queensland Cowboys host the ninth placed Canberra Raiders at 1300 Smiles Stadium in an important game for both sides. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5:25pm (AEST)
The Cowboys will want to keep their momentum going all the way into the finals to keep that top-two spot, while the Raiders cannot afford to drop many games if they want to play finals football.
The last time these two teams met, in Canberra, the Cowboys were looking for 11 on the trot and Johnathan Thurston was rumoured to be rested. However, he played that game and broke the Raiders hearts on the full-time siren with a field goal to win 21-20.
The Cowboys are 1-17 after last week’s thrashing of the Eels, while the only change to the Raiders line-up is Paul Vaughan coming into the front-row for Frank-Paul Nuuausala, who moves back to the bench.
The Cowboys key players are Thurston and Michael Morgan, but their damaging back row can also expose the Raiders forwards, who are the fourth worst team in points conceded and the second worst when it comes to average run metres conceded (1,603).
North Queensland are first in both average run metres gained and conceded (1,708 and 1,423 respectively), so the Raiders forwards have a mammoth task on their hands.
If the Cowboys have a weak spot, it is their edges. If they get some good go-forward from their forwards, Raiders wingers Edrick Lee and Jordan Rapana will be spoon-fed quality ball from their halves. Further, the Cowboys will be tested under the high ball as that worked well against them last time around.
Prediction
The Cowboys have been good defensively this year, especially at home. They should have too much up-front for the Raiders to gather any sort of momentum, and Thurston should be on his way to another three Dally M points.
Cowboys by 22.
Will the Cowboys keep the ball rolling and make light work of the Raiders? Or can Ricky Stuart’s men do the unthinkable and beat the Thurston-led Cowboys up in Townsville?
Join The Roar from 5:25pm (AEST) for scores updates and debate in our live blog.
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