Bulldogs v Cowboys

Thursday, Mar 19, 8.05pm AEDT
ANZ Stadium

North Queensland will be looking to bounce back from their round one loss to Brisbane last week in what was to be the christening of their new stadium in Townsville. They will face a Bulldogs squad who showed enormous grit in defense against a star-studded Eels outfit last week and both teams will be looking to improve key areas of their performances leading into this match.

North Queensland will sound the alarm for reinforcements with Josh McGuire returning from suspension in a big boost. While named, Justin O’Neill will need to pass a medical test after he was concussed last week. Canterbury have similarly named only one change as Jake Averillo joins the bench for his NRL debut in place of Kerrod Holland.

While they displayed plenty of character, the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize on their many opportunities in the Eels’ 20-metre zone last week. With an inexperienced spine, Dean Pay’s troops should be looking to build more pressure given they already have fantastic defensive discipline. For the Cowboys, mentor Paul Green will be looking for a fast-start from his troops after they looked sluggish in the first quarter against the Broncos. Canterbury won’t make it easy for the Cowboys, but the class in North Queensland’s back-line should see them out-score their opposition. Cowboys to get the win.

Betting Tip: Cowboys -2.0 @ $1.90 (Beteasy)