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North Queensland Cowboys 18
South Sydney Rabbitohs 31
The Rabbitohs opened strong early in Thursday Night Football’s return match after scoring through Greg Inglis.
After several decisions against them, the Cowboys finally got their way scoring through Justin O’Neill.
South Sydney soon hit back through Thomas Burgess who muscled through the North Queensland line.
Adam Reynolds pushed the Rabbitohs’ lead to seven points with a drop goal late in the first half.
Lachlan Coote closed the gap on the siren with a try off a Justin O’Neill kick.
The Rabbitohs led the Cowboys by one point at the break.
Issac Luke was placed on report early in the second half before Jason Clark burst through the line to stretch the Rabbitohs’ lead.
Alex Johnston followed up soon after, later assisting Dylan Walker over the line.
Michael Morgan scored late for the Cowboys but they left it too late with the Rabbitohs running away for a 13-point victory.
Can the North Queensland Cowboys climb to first place or will the South Sydney Rabbitohs arrest their rise as Thursday night football returns at Willows Sports Complex. Join The Roar from 7:40pm (AEST) for live coverage.
Both the Cowboys and Rabbitohs have secured a finals berth, with the Cowboys fighting with the Broncos and Roosters for the minor premiership and home finals, while the Rabbitohs want to secure a top-four finish.
Adam Reynolds must step up and perform to his best, with the Alexandria Rovers and Kensington United junior up against Johnathan Thurston.
George and Thomas Burgess have struggled since their older brothers left at the end of last season and will be tested against an experienced Cowboys forward pack featuring representative stars Matthew Scott, James Tamou, Jason Taumalolo and Ben Hannant.
Michael Maguire has named Kyle Turner to replace the suspended Glenn Stewart in the back row, with Nathan Brown replacing Chris Grevsmuhl on a seven-man extended bench that also features Kirisome Auva’a, Paul Carter and Joel Reddy.
The only change for the Cowboys sees Scott return at prop, pushing Hannant to the bench.
The Cowboys and Rabbitohs have played each other 25 times since 1998, with the Cowboys winning 13 and the Rabbitohs 11 matches, with one match tied. Their most recent encounter came in Round 6 when the Cowboys defeated the Rabbitohs 30-12 at ANZ Stadium.
The fourth-placed Rabbitohs are coming off a loss to premiership dark horses Manly. Before that they had a close win over the lowly placed Panthers and a huge victory over wooden spoon contenders, the Knights.
The second-placed Cowboys are coming off a loss to premiership dark horses Cronulla. Before that had a close win over the lowly placed Raiders and a huge victory over wooden spoon contenders, the Eels.
The Rabbitohs face a gruelling run home with matches against the eighth-placed Bulldogs (Sydney), ladder-leading Broncos (Brisbane) and third-placed Roosters (Sydney).
The Cowboys meanwhile have a much easier path to the finals with matches against the 10th-placed Warriors (Auckland), sixth-placed Storm (Melbourne) and 15th-placed Titans (Townsville).
Prediction
The Rabbitohs will continue their descent toward the bottom half of the eight
Cowboys by 8.
Join The Roar from 7.40pm (AEST) for score updates and debate in our live blog.
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