The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys host The Dolphins at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Saturday night.
1. TON AND A HALF
Veteran prop Jordan McLean is set to become just the 19th Cowboy to appear in 150 games for the club on Saturday night. McLean arrived in North Queensland in 2018 and quickly emerged as one of the club’s leaders in the middle of the field. He has appeared in at least 22 games for the previous four seasons.
2. WELCOME TO THE SHOW
Nineteen-year-old prop Kaiden Lahrs will become Cowboy No.325 on Saturday after being named on the bench for his NRL debut. It has been a meteoric rise for the hard-running middle forward, who started the season in the Mal Meninga Cup after recovering from his second shoulder surgery. Lahrs is the son of former Kangaroos prop Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, who remarkably played alongside McLean at the Storm in 2015.
3. NEW FACES
With four players away on Origin duty and two suspended, Todd Payten has been forced into a major reshuffle to face The Dolphins. Murray Taulagi and Jason Taumalolo return from injury at wing and lock respectively. Braidon Burns also returns at centre, with Jake Clifford (halfback) and Karl Lawton (hooker) to also start. Kai O’Donnell and Sam McIntyre form a new-look second row combination.
4. STATS UPDATE
Scott Drinkwater sits third in both try assists (12) and line-break assists (12). Teammate Tom Dearden ranks second with 16 line-break assists, one behind competition leader Nicho Hynes.
