Cowboys v Rabbitohs preview

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North Queensland Cowboys v South Sydney Rabbitohs Saturday 5:30pm at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville / Wulgurukaba

Rabbitohs marching towards finals as Cowboys search for winning formula.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs will fly north to Townsville on Saturday in search of three straight victories for the first time in 2020 after back to back victories over the Broncos and Dragons. 

The Rabbitohs now sit in seventh position on the premiership ladder and are well positioned to play finals football again this year but to do so will need to win the games they are expected to win with a tight race looming for the final places in the eight.  

They will be mentored by assistant coach Jason Demetriou again this weekend with Wayne Bennett still in isolation after his breach of Covid protocols last week. The veteran mentor will still be pulling strings from afar though and in his only team change this week, Jaydn Su'a returns from a one week suspension in the back-row which pushes Liam Knight to the bench and Jack Johns out of the 17.

The Cowboys meanwhile are left searching for their first win in almost two months after last weekend's loss to the Titans made it six straight defeats. 

After showing signs of competitiveness in the three weeks prior against the Raiders, Sea Eagles and Panthers, they were expected to challenge for the two points against their fellow Queenslanders but instead churned up a performance which interim coach Josh Hannay described as one which let the jersey down.

Hannay has responded by tinkering with his spine this week, naming Scott Drinkwater to make his injury return at fullback - pushing Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow onto the wing and Justin O'Neill out of the side. The other change sees skilful forward John Asiata also returning from injury via the bench with Tom Gilbert the man to make way.   

Last meeting: Round 18 2019 - Cowboys 18 Rabbitohs 30

Who to watch: In his second game back from a long injury layoff, Cowboys skipper Michael Morgan will be looking for a vastly improved performance after disappointing in his comeback game against the Titans last week missing 7 tackles and making 3 errors in attack. Making the fulltime switch to the number seven jersey at the beginning of 2019 following Johnathan Thurston's retirement, Morgan is yet to recapture the purple patch of form that saw him guide the Cowboys to an unlikely Grand Final appearance in 2017 in Thurston's absence. There's no doubting the class of the 12 time Kangaroo, but how he responds and guides his team around for the next seven weeks may well decide his future at halfback moving forward. 

Crossing the stripe for his 8th try of the season last weekend, Dane Gagai has had an impressive season at Redfern in 2020. Whilst speculation was rife that Gagai wanted out over the off-season after being shifted out of his preferred centre position, the Queensland Maroons star has displayed an admirable team first attitude this year. As fate would have it though, Gagai has found himself back in the centres over the last month after long term injuries to James Roberts and Braidon Burns. Playing the majority of his career on the right side of the field, Gagai has looked more than at home on the left in recent weeks and seems to have a real feel for the game on that side, beating defenders with a deft change of direction on multiple occasions since the switch. 

The favourite: The Rabbitohs are strong favourites to make it five wins in a row over the Cowboys after saluting in their last four encounters.

My tip: The returns of Drinkwater and Asiata for the Cowboys will help, but it's hard to see anything but a commanding victory for South Sydney who've been far more consistent than they're opposition this year. Rabbitohs by 16.

1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Tom Opacic 4. Connelly Lemuelu 5. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 6. Ben Hampton 7. Michael Morgan 8. Josh Mcguire 9. Reece Robson 10. Jordan McLean 11. Mitchell Dunn 12. Coen Hess 13. Jason Taumalolo 14. Jake Granville 15. John Asiata 16. Emry Pere 17. Francis Molo

1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Alex Johnston 3. Campbell Graham 4. Dane Gagai 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Cody Walker 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Tevita Tatola 9. Damien Cook 10. Thomas Burgess 11. Jaydn Su'A 15. Liam Knight 13. Cameron Murray 12. Bayley Sironen 14. Mark Nicholls 16. Patrick Mago 17. Keaon Koloamatangi

Referees: Chris Butler; Sideline Officials: Todd Smith, Jon Stone; Video Referees: Jared Maxwell, Bryan Norrie;