Match Centre

Round 7: Warriors v Cowboys preview

Last start losers look for redemption.

The New Zealand Warriors will be looking to atone a last start loss to the Newcastle Knights when they go head to head against fellow Round 6 losers in the North Queensland Cowboys at Mt Smart Stadium.

If there's one word to sum up the Warriors in 2023. It's brave. Every week, these guys have to go through a mid game injury to a role player and no matter what they keep on fighting for each-other. It's something Andrew Webster must get credit for instilling a never say die attitude which has been missing from the Warriors in recent seasons.

Last start against the Knights was no different. Losing both Te Marie Martin and Wayde Egan to injuries which look set to sideline the duo for a while. Martin with a fibula injury and Egan with his second CAT 1 concussion for the season. However, despite the obvious lack of troops. The New Zealanders continued to fight for each-other, taking the game down to the wire before falling short. 

Going up against the Cowboys this week presents a big challenge for the Aucklanders. Their opposition has been inconsistent this season, but they'll be better for it with Scott Drinkwater easing back into the spine after his return from suspension last week. This makes the Cowboys a scary opposition, so they'll need to be weary. Shaun Johnson has looked great to start the season and he'll have to lead the side even more with the absence of Martin and Egan.
On the team front. It's a doctors surgery on the spine. Martin and Egan are out with Dylan Walker and Freddy Lussick to replace them, respectively. Tohu Harris returns at lock while Taine Tuaupiki remains the utility.

For the Cowboys, it's been an inconsistent start to 2023. No one predicted this side to be sitting in the bottom eight with a 2-3 record on the young season. But remember, they were in this exact spot last season so there's no panic for the Cowboys faithful at the moment. However, their inconsistency presents more problems than solutions at the moment. 

Good Friday was the perfect example of their inconsistency. Some poor middle defence and equally worse edge defence saw the Cowboys trail early and were never able to get back into the contest against the Dolphins. Although they fought back well to make the game close in the second half, the completion rate of 67% was never going to be enough to secure victory. 

Going up against the Warriors this week, there's one clear focus. Holding the football. It has to be front of mind for Todd Payten's men if they want to beat the Warriors who've been one of the best sides in terms of completion rates in 2023. Scott Drinkwater looked sharp in his return from suspension setting up two tries in the first half. They'll also need to tighten up their defence, missing 42 tackles and allowing 13 ineffective tackles is not the Cowboys we come to know in 2023.

Jeremiah Nanai returns from suspension in the back-row. Griffin Neame is out indefinitely after scans revealed he suffered a cricoid fracture in his throat. Murray Taulagi returns early from a knee injury taking the place of Brendan Elliot. The rest of the side is unchanged.

Last meeting: Round 3 2023 - Cowboys 12 Warriors 26

Who to watch: With a renewed energy in 2023. Shaun Johnson is looking like the player that left the Warriors in controversial circumstances in 2018. After breaking the 1000 point barrier against the Knights, Johnson will have to take on the bulk of attacking responsibility with Martin and Egan out. So far, he's shown he can do that with 6 try assists, 7 linebreak assists and 5 forced dropouts. He was great against the Cowboys in Townsville and back at home I expect that continue.  

For the Cowboys. The focus is going to be on Reece Robson. With his name coming up in Origin discussion. It's time for the Cowboys rake to show the critics that he's worthy of being there. He's had a great start to 2023 in an inconsistent Cowboys side. The 24 year old has crossed the stripe, set up a try and a linebreak as well as force a dropout. After a quiet game by his standards against the Dolphins, it's time for Robson to step up. 

The favourite: The Warriors are slight favourites in this encounter with the bookies. North Queensland will also need to overcome a horror record in Auckland with the Cowboys only winning 7 of the 19 clashes at Mt Smart, last tasting success in 2019 winning 17-10.

My tip: I expect the Cowboys to click at some point, and this looks like the week for it to happen. With the Warriors undermanned and the Cowboys getting troops back on deck. It's the week where the Cowboys are set to emerge as premiership contenders in season 2023. It won't be easy with Andrew Webster's men fighting for every minute in this contest. Cowboys by 6.