The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys have put the finishing touches on their Sydney Roosters trial match prep with an open training session at Mackay’s BB Print Stadium.
Hundreds of members and fans flocked to the venue late Friday afternoon to watch head coach Paul Green put his squad through its paces ahead of tonight’s pre-season fixture.
“We’re ready, well prepared and looking forward to put on a good display for the Mackay public,” Green said.
“We’ve got a plan in place in terms of how we’ll use the players, game time etc, so it’ll be an excellent chance to see where everyone is at.”
Young forward Braden Uele - who plays for the Mackay Cutters in the Queenlsand Cup – said the match was a homecoming of sorts, and he looked forward to playing in front of is adopted home crowd.
“I had a good year at the Cutters in 2016 and playing consistent minutes in the Q-Cup really helped my game,” Uele said.
“I’m looking forward to showing what I can do against the Roosters.”
After Cowboys training, players signed autographs before attending a members’ function upstairs.
“The boys really enjoy getting down to Mackay and meeting the members and fans from here … it’s certainly an important part of our footprint,” Green said.
The Roosters – who arrived Mackay late last night - yesterday released their team, which includes National Rugby League regulars Dylan Napa, Michael Gordon, Luke Keary, Jayden Nikorima, Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Dale Copley.
The game kicks off at 7pm following the Under-20s Cowboys playing the Mackay Cutters at 4.45pm.
Both matches will be live-streamed through cowboys.com.au.
Cowboys NRL: John Asiata, Cooper Bambling, Scott Bolton, Javid Bowen, Will Bugden, Lachlan Coote, Gideon Gela-Mosby, Jake Granville, Ben Hampton, Coen Hess, Sam Hoare, Corey Jensen, Patrick Kaufusi, Kyle Laybutt, Blake Leary, Ethan Lowe, Kalyn Ponga, Matt Scott, Ben Spina, Jason Taumalolo, Enari Tuala, Braden Uele, Antonio Winterstein, Shane Wright
Roosters: Michael Gordon, Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck, Joseph Manu, Dale Copley, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Jayden Nikorma, Luke Keary, Eloni Vunakece, Victor Radley, Dylan Napa, Brock Gray, Ryan Matterson, Brenden Santi, Poasa Faamausili, Lindsay Collins, Mitch Williams, Brenden Frei, Paul Momirovski, Bernard Lewis, Jarred Anderson, Sean O'Sullivan, Sitili Tupouniua, Reuben Porter, Lachlan Lam.
Cowboys NYC: Nathan Barrett, Michael Carroll, Oscar Carter, Jake Clifford, Duarne Dempsey, Mitch Dunn, Kaleb Fuimaono, Calum Gaham, Corey Horsburgh, Marshall Hudson, Ryan Lloyd, Jack Lote, Conor Luhan, Cody Maughan, Emry Pere, Hiale Roycroft, Bacho Salam, Jayden Stephens, Nathan Traill, Enari Tuala, Kurt Wiltshire
Mackay Cutters: Blake Atherton, Jack Blagbrough, Yamba Bowie, Nick Brown, Andrew Davey, Jake Eden, Johnny Faletagoa’i, Alex Farrell, Tyler Gardiner, Jayden Hodges, Nicho Hynes, Jack Joass, Yosepha Kepa, Gareth Moore, Jordan Pereira, Jacob Pottinger, Isaac Richardson, Nathan Saumalu, Jacob Schill
