Match Centre

Round 8: Warriors v North Queensland preview

Sunday afternoon football heads to Gosford as the New Zealand Warriors look to bounce back from their last start defeat when they host the North Queensland Cowboys who are looking to extend their winning streak.

The New Zealand Warriors were solid last week but still heavily outclassed last weekend when they fell to a 42-20 defeat against the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park on ANZAC Day. The Warriors came into the game confident after defeating the St George Illawarra Dragons in the prior weekend.

Although competitive early, the Warriors weren't able to match it with the Melbourne Storm when the home-side hit their top gear. The Storm last week scored early but the Warriors were able to hit back soon after and stay within touch of Melbourne. However, a series of events for the Warriors started by the sin binning of Josh Curran for a high tackle went against the Warriors. Conceding four tries in the space of 12 minutes put the game beyond reach for the Warriors. Although defeated heavily, there were still some good signs for the Warriors that they will build on.

Warriors coach Nathan Brown will be boosted by the key returns of Tohu Harris and David Fusitua returning to the side after being withdrawals on game day last weekend. Adam Pompey also returns from injury named in the centres. Rookie Reece Walsh moves into the halves with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck taking back his fullback spot after playing last weekend on the wing.

The North Queensland Cowboys shocked many last weekend, after they came from 24-6 down to defeat the Canberra Raiders 26-24 in Townsville last week. The victory for the Cowboys gave them a third consecutive win after losing their first four.

The Cowboys impressed many during their comeback and although trailing 24-6 at one point, the Cowboys weren't that far off the Raiders during the first half and it was a number of defensive lapses that hurt the Cowboys points. The second half was most impressive for the North Queenslanders as they ran in 14 unanswered points and were impressive in defence as the Raiders looked to try and hit back but couldn't do it. The Cowboys though would be concerned as they had defensive lapses in all three of their victories.

Boosting the North Queenslanders is the return of Jason Taumalolo from a hand injury which sees Lachlan Burr dropping to the interchange bench who also replaces Mitch Dunn who is suspended. Jordan McLean has been named in the 21-man squad despite battling a hamstring injury.

Last meeting: Round 5 2020 - Warriors 37 Cowboys 26

Who to watch: Debuting last weekend against Melbourne, Reece Walsh has had big wraps on him and taking on the Warriors fullback role in Melbourne is one of the toughest tasks in Rugby League but Walsh had a solid performance. Moving into the halves this weekend, Walsh will partner Kodi Nikorima and they will need to be strong against the Cowboys who have had their own impressive halves pairing recently.

Scott Drinkwater has been strong in recent weeks and the Cowboys will be hoping that their number six can continue his good form. Over the past three weeks, Drinkwater has come up with 4 try assists and his kicking game has been what has helped the North Queenslanders over the past few weeks. The Cowboys will need to ensure their kicking game and strong as well as having good direction in attack will help them get past the Warriors.

The favourite: The Warriors are the favourites for the contest even though the Cowboys are coming off three straight victories. The two sides are relatively equal in head-to-head contests with the Cowboys winning 19 matches to the Warriors 18.

My tip: This game is a hard one to tip, both sides have their own positives with the Warriors having a number of returning key players whilst the Cowboys come into this contest with good form with three successive wins. I think the returning players for the Warriors will give them the slight boost and they will win narrowly. Warriors by 4.