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Another chapter in the NRL’s best rivalry will be written in the final round, and the equation couldn’t be simpler for the North Queensland Cowboys when they host the Brisbane Broncos. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:50pm (AEST).
The Cowboys are a side under enormous pressure. A loss here could potentially see them miss the top eight, which would be a hammer blow for the club who won the 2015 premiership.
Sitting in seventh position, a win will lock the Cowboys into the eight and pending other results, potentially even a home elimination final next weekend.
A loss for the Townsville-based club will leave them sweating for the rest of the weekend though. If the Manly Sea Eagles were to beat the Penrith Panthers and the St George Illawarra Dragons to get past the Canterbury Bulldogs, then a losing Cowboys outfit would be eliminated from the finals.
Even if Manly lost, it would then come down to for and against as to whether they or the Cowboys miss out, should the Dragons win.
So, the equation is crystal clear. Win, and then have an at minimum eight-day turnaround before the finals get underway.
But this rivalry always has its fair share of twists and turns. They have gone down to the wire so many times in the last 24 months, but the difference this time will be that Johnathan Thurston is watching on from the sidelines.
The Cowboys at home will give them something, but after a narrow win over the Wests Tigers last week, where they took 65 minutes to kick into gear, they will need to be better this time around.
The hosts won’t be the only team under the blowtorch. The Broncos might be sitting in third position, and needing the Roosters to lose if they are to get a home final but they blew a major opportunity to virtually wrap it up last week.
And it wasn’t just the opportunity for a top two finish. They were blown off the park by the Parramatta Eels, conceding 52 points in a very poor game. The Broncos made more mistakes than you could keep up with, their defence was paper-thin and decision making not much better.
In short, they looked vulnerable for the first time without Andrew McCullough. That being said, Ben Hunt needs a big game to close out the regular season and instil some confidence ahead of the finals, while their defensive game plan, especially on the edges must be stronger.
Prediction
The Cowboys might be at home, but it’s so hard to see the Broncos doing what they did last week. It’ll be close and down to the wire again, but Brisbane should get it done at the back-end.
Broncos by 4.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this crucial Round 26 match from 7:50pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.