The hoodoo-stricken Cowboys will be out to turn around a horror recent record against the Sharks in what is a game with a stack of top eight implications.
Meanwhile, one pundit believes the Bulldogs have a weakness which could see them exposed in the back end of the season.
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WILL THE COWBOYS BREAK HORROR SHARKS HOODOO?
When the Cowboys play host to the Sharks in Townsville on Saturday afternoon, they’ll be aiming to beat Cronulla for the first time in the regular season since March 2018.
Yes, shockingly, it’s been over six years since the Cowboys have beaten the Sharks outside of the finals.
The Sharks have won their last 11 (!) regular season games against the Cowboys, and are 11-1 overall since March 2018, with North Queensland’s sole win coming in a qualifying final epic at Shark Park in 2022, when Val Holmes sunk Cronulla with a two-point field goal in extra time.
Since that heartbreaking loss, the Sharks have run roughshod over the Cowboys, winning all three meetings between the two sides by a combined score of 118-24, including a 44-6 win earlier this season.
It’s a jarring record that the Cowboys are on the wrong end of, but could this Saturday be the day they turn it around?
What makes North Queensland’s job that much easier is that the Sharks are without star half Nicho Hynes (injured) and reliable fullback Will Kennedy (suspension).
The Cowboys on paper, have a much talented side this weekend, however some of the form of some of their stars have been patchy.
When on song though, they are extremely hard to stop. In addition, they have vastly improved defensively since the Sharks thrashed them in Round 7.
In front of a parochial Townsville crowd, the Cowboys deserve to be favourites.
Despite Cronulla’s curse on the Cowboys, Fox League’s James Hooper believes North Queensland will take beating on Saturday night.
“I get the feeling the Cowboys are building nicely and at home, they can be hard to beat,” Hooper said on NRL360.
Verdict – BUY
Cowboys focused on securing finals footy | 04:54
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THE BULLDOGS ARE PREMIERSHIP THREATS
Not just yet.
It’s been a terrific effort by Cameron Ciraldo and this playing group to improve as sharply as they have this season, especially defensively.
However, the Bulldogs have a tough run home, and even though they are sitting nicely in sixth spot entering Round 21, the tightness of the competition means a couple of losses in a row to teams around them on the ladder will be costly.
“They’re just that team who don’t go away but they do have a scary run home,” NRL360 host Braith Anasta said.
The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis added: “Five of those games are against side who are between 5th and 10th (on the ladder).
“They control their own destiny because a lot of those games are going to essentially be worth four points because you are playing against sides you are competing with for a top eight spot.
“They have back-to-back games against the Dragons and Dolphins, if they win both of those, they make the eight. If those lose both, they’ll struggle.”
Even if the Bulldogs can manage to make the eight, there is a concern with their team that may play against them in a physical finals series against the top sides.
Even though the Bulldogs forward pack has exceeded expectations so far, Fox League’s James Hooper says the season-ending injury to prop Max King is a huge one considering their pack is small compared to other clubs.
While the likes of Bailey Hayward, Kurt Mann and Josh Curran have been immense this season, do they have the size to take it to some of the powerhouse packs of the comp?
Hooper has his doubts.
“I reckon Max King is one of the unheralded front rowers in the game. It’s cruel that he’s been injured at this point of the season as he had been the cornerstone of that forward pack,” he said.
Let’s face it, with the exception of Viliame Kikau on that left edge, it’s a smaller forward pack.
“They’ve done an outstanding job to get to where there are, but that run home is a big mountain to climb.
“I hope they get there as it’s an outstanding story… But it is going to be a hard run home.”
This weekend, they take on the Broncos, who are hungry to make a run and near full health in what has been a rarity this season.
A loss to Brisbane, and there’s every chance the Bulldogs are outside of the eight at the end of the round.
Verdict – SELL
BRONCOS WILL MAKE THE EIGHT
On face value, it appears that the Broncos may have left their run too late.
Sitting in 11th spot on 20 points, four points out of eight, the Broncos have six games remaining and a bye.
32 points and a positive points difference should be enough to progress to the finals this season, which means the Broncos will need to win at least five of six.
That’s an almighty task ahead of them. Can they pull it off?
For a couple of reasons, we think that they can.
Finally, the Broncos are close to full health and well placed to make a late season charge.
Adam Reynolds was sorely missed when out injured, but he was back on deck last week when the Broncos ended a six-game losing streak with a win over Newcastle.
With Reynolds in the line up, the Broncos showed how relentless they can be in attack, forging a 30-4 lead before the Knights scored two consolation tries.
It was a win they had to have, as it kept their playoff hopes alive.
Moreover, their run home isn’t a murderer’s row of opponents by any means.
The Bulldogs will present a tough challenge this weekend, but Brisbane’s firepower should prove too great.
They are expected to win games against the Titans and Eels.
A last round match up with the Storm will be tricky, although, if Melbourne have wrapped up the minor premiership by then, they’ll rest their stars.
At this stage, there is every chance that will happen.
In between are Queensland derbies against the Cowboys in Townsville and the Dolphins at Suncorp.
Those will be tough games, but if they are anywhere near their best, those are two they should win.
They’ll need a lot of luck and to avoid any key injuries from here in out. If they can achieve that, the Broncos can sneak into a top eight spot and a dangerous proposition for any side they come up against in the finals.
Verdict – BUY
Source Agencies
