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Penrith Panthers
22
Match Complete
North Queensland Cowboys
0
| S. Crichton |  | 71 | ||
| T. May |  | 70 | ||
| B. To'o | | 26 | ||
| N. Cleary | | 21 | ||
| D. Edwards | | 19 | ||
| N. Cleary | | 4 | ||
| I. Yeo | | 2 |
| 4 | Tries | 0 | ||
| 3 | Conversions | 0 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 0 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
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The Penrith Panthers host the North Queensland Cowboys in what is set to be a blockbuster affair in Penrith on tonight. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 6pm AEST.
How many people would have tipped this is as a marquee match at the start of 2022?
Here we are, 11 weeks into the competition and this is a top four encounter with the Cowboys becoming a real surprise packet of the season. The Panthers are every bit the reigning premiers, just the one loss to start this season, against the Eels three weeks ago. Since then they have restored their dominance, commanding wins over the Storm and Roosters putting them at the top of the ladder with a four point buffer.
The Cowboys showed just how far they have come last week, mercilessly dispatching the Melbourne Storm in Townsville 36-6. The Storm may be missing a few stars, but it was a ruthless showing by the Cowboys who lost a couple of their own during the contest. It marked six wins on the trot for the club – losing just the three games to start the season.
In team news, the Panthers are unchanged with no injuries coming from their win against the Roosters. They have been able to field the same team for a few weeks in a row now and it has showed in their clinical performances. The Cowboys have lost Kyle Feldt and Jason Taumalolo for this one after they failed to finish the game last week. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is the man to replace Feldt, Reuben Cotter starts, and pushes Coen Hess to lock. Jake Granville and Jamayne Taunoa-Brown come onto the bench.
The Cowboys have lost their last three games against the Panthers which is somewhat unsurprising. Results between the two have been fairly even historically, the Panthers with a slight advantage winning 20 of 38 games played. The Cowboys last win against the Panthers came at the end of 2019 in Townsville while their last win in Penrith came back in 2016 when Jonathan Thurston was still playing.
Prediction
The Cowboys are the real deal this year, they look like a team that barely has losing enter their mind. They will be confident, and that is half the battle in beating the Panthers. The Eels beat the Panthers because they were confident and took the game to them, and took their opportunities and didn’t let the scoreboard phase them at any point.
To win the Cowboys have to do the same, they have to be really physical and play as confidently as they did against the Storm last week. They need to get on the board early, and reassure themselves they have what it takes. It goes without saying but they also need an 80 minute performance. The Roosters had really good periods against the Panthers last week but in the end were well beaten 32-12, you don’t have to do a lot wrong against the Panthers to get a score run up.
The other factor is the parochial Panthers crowd that will no doubt be in attendance. The Cowboys can win this one, and will put themselves in the frame to do so. However the Panthers are just that class above at the moment and will survive a high scoring one.
Panthers by 4
Kick-off: 6:00pm AEST
Venue: BlueBet Stadium
TV/Stream: Kayo Sports, Foxtel
Odds: Panthers $1.22, Cowboys $4.40 – odds via PlayUp
Penrith
1. Dylan Edwards 2. Taylan May 3. Izack Tago 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To’o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo
14. Mitch Kenny 15. Scott Sorensen 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Jaeman Salmon 18. Robert Jennings 19. Chris Smith 20. J’maine Hopgood 21. Sean O’Sullivan 22. Matt Eisenhuth 23. Soni Luke 24. Charlie Staines
North Queensland
1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 3. Valentine Holmes 4. Peta Hiku 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Chad Townsend 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 10. Reuben Cotter 11. Tom Gilbert 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Coen
Hess 14. Jake Granville 15. Heilum Luki 16. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown 17. Griffin Neame 18. Taniela Sadrugu 19. Ben Hampton 20. Ben Condon 21. Connelly Lemuelu 22. Riley Price 23. Brendan Elliot 24. Brendan Frei
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