Broncos v Cowboys preview

Brisbane Broncos v North Queensland Cowboys
Suncorp Stadium - Saturday 7:55pm

Queensland Derby sure to have spice with Preliminary Final berth on the line.

The finals are final-ly (see what I did there!) upon us after the compeltion of a long and arduous 26 week season. These two teams have been the epitome of consistency in 2015 by finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively and will need no 2nd invitations to grab a Preliminary Final berth and be one game away from the Grand Final.

The Broncos were downed 15-8 at home last week in a grinding, defensive affair with the Melbourne Storm. Despite the loss there were a lot of positives to come out of the game including Brisbane's stone wall defence continung and playing the game without both Ben Hunt and boom youngster Ashley Taylor who suffered a gruesome broken hand. Anthony Milford again showed the class that has followed him throughout in 2015 and he will be an integral part of Brisbane's quest for a Premiership in 2015. Brisbane under the guidance of Wayne Bennett have looked an incredibly strong outfit this season. Not only is there defence extremely efficient, their attack is one of the most exciting to watch in the NRL.

Against North Queensland their defence will need to be at their ultimate best if they aim on getting the win. North Queensland will throw some of the most talented attacking players on Saturday Night so if Brisbane are off their game early on, it could mean an avalanche of points early. In changes for the Broncos Ben Hunt returns at half back and NZ international Alex Glenn returns in the back row, Jordan kahu also comes back on the wing replacing Lachlan Maranta.

North Queensland will be desperate to find some form against one of the top teams in the competition come Saturday Night. Last week they showed some real attacking intent by scoring 42 points (albeit against the Titans) which would have inspired confidence withing the Cowboys camp who have struggled for consistency over the last 6 weeks of the competition. This is a big game for the Cowboys, although they will get 2 chances from being in the top 4, a loss here would further dent their confidence and if they want to take out their maiden premiership they need to win this week in my honest opinion. The Cowboys have the ability and the way they were playing earlier in the season they can defeat any team in the NRL. They are slightly flying under the radar and this will work out well for the them in this Final Series

A lot of Saturday's performance will be on the back of Jonathan Thurston and Michael Morgan. If they can both click on Saturday with the assistance of the Cowboys Forward pack getting a roll on and winning the battle of the forwards then the Cowboys will have a lot of success. In changes for the Cowboys they have Michael Morgan returning at Five-Eight, Ben Hannant and Jason Taumalolo swap between Lock and the bench.

Last meeting: Round 10 2015 - North Queensland Cowboys 31 Brisbane Broncos 20

These clubs have met twice this season and have shared the spoils 1-1, with the Cowboys winning the most recent clash. Brisbane got the win earlier in the year at Suncorp Stadium in Round 3 (44-22). North Queensland have won 3 of the past 4 between these two including a win in the Finals last season that ended the Broncos season. Although these last 3 wins the Cowboys have had have all been at 1300Smiles Stadium, The Cowboys last win at Suncorp was in 2012 via a 28-26 win in front of more than 43,000 fans.

Who to watch: For the home side the form of Prop Adam Blair has been a massive plus for the Broncos. After his move from the Tigers Blair has found a home and hitting similar form to what he found at Melbourne in the earlier part of his career. His strong runs often carrying the ball for more than 10 metres a run as well as offloading after attracting more than 2 or 3 defenders have opened up some diverse play for the Broncos backline and have seen Blair gain plaudits from media all over the place. Watch for his powerful carries and denting back the Cowboys defensive line which will help the Broncos get over the advantage line.

With the Cowboys, watch for Kane Linnett to get some space down the left hand edge with his pace and fancy footwork. His combination with Michael Morgan is vital to the Cowboys attacking raids and will see how successful the Cowboys can be attacking wise. Linnett is also a very accomplished defender and regularly makes more than 20 tackles a game. No doubt the Broncos will be sending a lot of defence his way on Saturday in the form of Sam Thaiday and Corey Parker and his defence will have to top notch or it will read trouble for the Cowboys.

The favourite: Brisbane deserve favourtism in this clash with the game being at Brisbane and their recent good form.

My tip: Brisbane for me in this clash, they have a great combination with their spine and have looked very sharp of late. Cowboys will need a huge first 20 minutes if they want to pull this one out of the bag. Brisbane by 8.

1. Darius Boyd 2. Corey Oates 3. Jack Reed 4. Justin Hodges 5. Jordan Kahu 6. Anthony Milford 7. Ben Hunt 8. Sam Thaiday 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Adam Blair 11. Alex Glenn 12. Matt Gillett 13. Corey Parker
Interchange: 14. Jarrod Wallace 15. Mitchell Dodds 16. Jo Ofanhengaue 17. Kodi Nikorima

1. Lachlan Coote 2. Kyle Feldt 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 18. Ray Thompson 19. Matthew Wright

Referees: Gerard Sutton, Gavin Badger; Sideline Officials: Brett Suttor, Michael Wise; Video Referees: Steve Chiddy, Luke Patten;

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