Cowboys v Rabbitohs preview

North Queensland Cowboys v South Sydney Rabbitohs
1300SMILES Stadium - Thursday 7:45pm

Can the Rabbitohs break their seven-year drought in Townsville?

Missing out on an opportunity to regain first place following last week's defeat to Cronulla, North Queensland will be looking to make amends against the reigning premiers. With Matt Scott back from injury, Ben Hannant reverts to the bench allowing the Cowboys to boast their strongest side. Putting together four consecutive wins over South Sydney since 2013, coach Paul Green will know his side will need to improve if they are to be a serious force in September.

Producing one of their most disappointing performances of 2015, South Sydney have made a number of changes from the side that was convincingly defeated by the resurgent Sea Eagles last Friday night. With Glenn Stewart out through suspension, Kyle Turner comes back into the starting side after being rested last week; after a series of strong performances earlier in the season Nathan Brown makes his return to first grade in the bench in place of former Cowboys lower grader Chris Grevsmuhl. With matches against Canterbury, Brisbane and the Roosters to round out the regular season, the Rabbitohs will be looking to improve upon last week's loss or face the prospect of finishing outside the top four and face an elimination encounter in the first week of the finals.

Last meeting: Round 6 2015 - South Sydney Rabbitohs 12 North Queensland Cowboys 30

Who to watch: The official results of the Dally M Awards won't be known until October, but it appears to be a foregone conclusion that Johnathan Thurston will win the title of the games best player for an unprecedented fourth time. With time running out in his career, Thurston will be desperate to lead the Cowboys to their maiden premiership and will sees Thursday nights fixture as the perfect opportunity to gauge where his side lies against the reigning premiers. Having torn the Rabbitohs to shreds in the two sides Round 6 meeting, Thurston will be keen to replicate the performance in front of his home fans.

While he hasn't be named in starting side, expect Kirisome Auva'a to make his NRL comeback, in what will be his first appearance for the Rabbitohs since last year's Grand Final win. While his off-field issues have been well documented, there is little doubt over his ability; renown for his hard-running mentality, Auva'a may well be the X-Factor South Sydney have been lacking in recent weeks, and with the finals just a month away his presence may be the ingredient to see the Rabbitohs become the first club to claim consecutive titles since Brisbane (97*-98).

The favourite: While both sides were unsuccessful last week, the Cowboys have been installed as favourites due to the home ground advantage.

My tip: Even in defeat last week, North Queensland showed number of positive signs which should see them bounce back in a closely-fought encounter. Cowboys by 8.

1. Lachlan Coote 2. Matthew Wright 3. Justin O'Neill 4. Kane Linnett 5. Antonio Winterstein 6. Michael Morgan 7. Johnathan Thurston 8. Matthew Scott 9. Jake Granville 10. James Tamou 11. Gavin Cooper 12. Ethan Lowe 13. Jason Taumalolo
Interchange: 14. Rory Kostjasyn 15. John Asiata 16. Scott Bolton 17. Ben Hannant

1. Greg Inglis 2. Alex Johnston 3. Dylan Walker 4. Bryson Goodwin 5. Aaron Gray 6. Luke Keary 7. Adam Reynolds 8. George Burgess 9. Issac Luke 10. Tim Grant 11. Kyle Turner 12. John Sutton 13. Chris McQueen
Interchange: 14. Jason Clark 15. Nathan Brown 16. David Tyrrell 17. Thomas Burgess 18. Kirisome Auva'a 19. Paul Carter 20. Joel Reddy

Referees: Ben Cummins, Gavin Badger; Sideline Officials: Nick Beashel, Chris Sutton; Video Referees: Ashley Klein, Luke Phillips;

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