Penrith Panthers vs North Queensland Cowboys: NRL live scores, blog

N. Cleary	73
B. To'o	72
N. Cleary	68
N. Cleary	67
N. Cleary	63
S. Turuva	62
	49	S. Drinkwater
	48	Z. Laybutt
	44	S. Drinkwater
	43	G. Neame
N. Cleary	39
L. Sommerton	38
B. To'o	32
N. Cleary	27
L. Martin	26
N. Cleary	23
S. Turuva	22
S. Crichton	4

8	Tries	2
6	Conversions	2
0	Penalty Goals	0
0	Field Goals	0

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Round 27 of the NRL premiership continues this evening when the Penrith Panthers take on the North Queensland Cowboys at BlueBet Stadium in Penrith. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5:30pm (AEST).

Despite a few wins by big margins as of late for the Panthers, there was a feeling that they weren’t at their 100% which could be exploited as the season went on. And that’s exactly what happened last week with the Eels hammering the Panthers by 14 points. But what would hurt them more is the shoulder injury to Jarome Luai.

While Jack Cogger is a handy backup halves partner, the Penrith attack looks to be more one dimensional without the Samoan superstar. In a big boost for the hosts, Dylan Edwards and Sunia Turuva return to the Panthers backline.

Despite winning only one of their past four matches, the Cowboys are still in with a chance of playing finals football. But they will have to do it at arguably the toughest ground to win at. Following a thumping victory against the Dolphins in Brisbane, Todd Payten has stuck with the same 17 to get the job done in Sydney.

Prediction

While the Panthers could change their backline last minute as they’re guaranteed a home final in week one of finals, I think they’ll keep Cleary and Cogger in the halves to form a combination with Luai unavailable. But I think the Cowboys will win in a tight contest out of their desperation to make it into finals football. Cowboys by 1

Game information

Venue: BlueBet Stadium
Kick-off: 5.30pm (AEST)
TV: Fox Sports
Streaming: Kayo Sports, Foxtel
Odds: Panthers $1.29 Cowboys $3.60 – odds via PlayUp

Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Tyrone Peachey 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To’o 6. Jack Cogger 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Luke Sommerton 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Soni Luke 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Zac Hosking 18. Jaeman Salmon 19. Izack Tago 20. Thomas Jenkins 21. Luke Garner 22. Matt Eisenhuth

Cowboys: 1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Zac Laybutt 4. Peta Hiku 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Chad Townsend 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 10. Jason Taumalolo 11. Luciano Leilua 12. Heilum Luki 13. Reuben Cotter 14. Jake Granville 15. Coen Hess 16. Griffin Neame 17. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki 18. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown 19. Robert Derby 20. James Tamou 21. Brendan Elliot 22. Jack Gosiewski

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