5 things you need to know: Round 19

The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys travel to Sydney to battle Cronulla at Shark Park on Thursday night.

1. STORIED HISTORY

The Cowboys have only met one side (Brisbane) more times in their history than the Sharks. In 47 meetings, Cronulla hold a 29-18 head to head advantage, including a 42-16 victory at 1300SMILES Stadium in Round 3 this season.

2. THURSDAY TREBLE

After playing no Thursday night games in the opening 18 rounds of the season, the Cowboys are now set to embark on three consecutive fixtures in the round-opening timeslot. Following tonight’s clash with the Sharks, Paul Green’s men return to Sydney next Thursday to face the Wests Tigers and then battle arch-rivals Brisbane at home in Round 21.

3. STICKING STRONG

The only changes to Green’s 21-man squad to face the Sharks come on the reserves list, with winger Gideon Gela-Mosby and Peter Hola returning for Michael Morgan and Dan Russell. The remainder of the squad is unchanged with John Asiata to again play five-eighth in the absence of Morgan (concussion).

4. GAME TWO

After a promising NRL debut against South Sydney, 20-year-old Murray Taulagi has again been named on the wing for the Cronulla clash. Taulagi ran for 127 metres from 13 carries and made one line-break in his maiden NRL outing.

5. MADE OF THE WRIGHT STUFF

Second rower Shane Wright has been impressive since earning a starting berth in Round 15. The 23-year-old has played the entire 80 minutes in all three matches and has averaged 111 running metres and 43 tackles.