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Newcastle Knights will make their second Monday night football appearance tonight when they host North Queensland Cowboys. We’ll have live scores and commentary from 7.00pm AEDT.
The Knights return to Hunter Stadium this week after a 32-0 loss and a night to forget against Manly last Sunday.
The Knights attack was crippled by woeful ball control which never allowed them into the game.
North Queensland are also coming off a loss but were far from disgraced against a white hot Melbourne Storm, losing 32-10.
The upside of that game is that Jonathon Thurston was still at his devastating best and he looms as a major threat to Newcastle on Monday.
The Knights have lost their precocious centre Dane Gagai for the match with an ankle ligament injury and are also without Willie Mason, who has a calf complaint.
These injuries add to a growing list which also includes Danny Buderus and Travis Waddell, and leaves a lot of responsibility on hooker Matt Hilder, who may play the full 80 minutes.
The game also sees the return of Timana Tahu from a foot injury, while North Queensland will field a team close to full strength.
Prediction
Look for the Cowboys to try and win the battle in the forwards in this one. With a pack boasting behemoths such as James Tamou and Matt Scott they will look to try and lay a platform for their speedy outside backs.
The Knights have a more than formidable forward pack but they will need to be at their best here. Beau Scott, Jeremy Smith and Kade Snowden really need to lead from the front to compete with their opposition.
The other telling battle may well end up in the halves. Kurt Gidley and Jarrod Mullen will both have points to prove after poor showings last week. How they shape up against one of the game’s best (Thurston) will be key.
The game certainly has the propensity for some exciting play in the outside backs too. Akuila Uate has been damaging in his first two outings and Daruis Boyd looks as though he is playing a much better brand of football than last year.
For The Cowboys, Antonio Winterstein and Kane Linnett have really found form in a Cowboys jumper and are playing out of their skin. Teamed with the veteran trio of Brent Tate, Matt Bowen and Ashley Graham they look a real force in 2013.
The Cowboys look like a top four side at present whilst the Knights looked far from it last week. The fact that the game is in Newcastle and the ‘bounce-back’ factor may even this contest up.
It is very rare that a Wayne Bennett coached entity would produce two substandard performances in a row.
Cowboys By 10.
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