The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys travel to Sydney to face the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles on Saturday evening.
1. QUICK BACK UP
Todd Payten has named his seven State of Origin representatives in the 17 to face Manly on Saturday. Tom Dearden and Scott Drinkwater were 18th men for Queensland and NSW respectively and look set to suit up for the Cowboys, while a decision will be made on Valentine Holmes, Murray Taulagi, Reuben Cotter, Jeremiah Nanai and Reece Robson following Captain’s Run on Friday.
2. KEEP IT ROLLING
After a lean run against the Sea Eagles, North Queensland rebounded to break a four-match losing streak in the lone meeting between the two sides in 2022. Trailing by 14 inside the final 10 minutes, the Cowboys scored three tries in four minutes to claim the unlikeliest of victories. Manly leads the overall match-up 20-14.
3. ON FIRE
Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater has been one of the form players in the NRL over the past two months. In his previous seven matches, Drinkwater has registered a massive 17 try assists, to go with five tries of his own.
4. LUCKY FIVE
The Cowboys will be searching for their fifth consecutive win on Saturday. If triumphant over the Sea Eagles, it would be North Queensland’s second streak of at least five wins in as many seasons, following a six-game streak between Rounds 6-11 in 2022.
5. STATS UPDATE
Valentine Holmes remains second on the point-scoring ladder despite the bye last weekend. Holmes sits on 152 points, 19 behind leader Jamayne Isaako. Chad Townsend’s three field goals are the second most in the NRL, one shy of Penrith’s Nathan Cleary. Townsend’s 7,795 kicking metres and 252 total kicks are second in the NRL. Scott Drinkwater leads the NRL with 21 try assists and also ranks third with 23 line-break assists, two behind Nicho Hynes of Cronulla. Reece Robson’s 675 tackles are fourth in the competition.
