It’s the concerning travel trend that will have even the most one-eyed Queensland supporter worried about their team’s next NRL trip south of the border.
Since the league emerged from its COVID-19 lockdown, neither Brisbane, Gold Coast or North Queensland have won in NSW in five attempts.
What makes the reading even worse is that their opposition have almost doubled the cumulative score in those five games, outscoring the visitors 152-82.
The Cowboys and Broncos have a chance to break the drought this weekend when they face Parramatta and the Warriors respectively.
Admittedly North Queensland have claimed a win over Canterbury in Sydney this season, though it came just before the season was suspended by the coronavirus.
Prior to that, the last time a Queensland side tasted victory in NSW was back in July last year when the Cowboys upset the Sydney Roosters.
Queensland teams then went on a run of 10 straight losses to end the season, including the Broncos’ 58-0 humiliation to Parramatta in an elimination final.
The Cowboys’ round-two triumph over the Bulldogs was the first time an NRL team were forced to board a charter plane rather than a commercial flight under new biosecurity measures.
The new travel plans have prompted players to adjust their game-day routines, which now include touching down just hours before kick-off.
However, Cowboys coach Paul Green revealed his team would be given the luxury of some downtime prior to Friday’s clash with the Eels.
“We’re leaving a little bit later. It’s nearly an 8pm kick-off,” Green told reporters.
“We’ll get there in time not to have to go straight into the sheds and get strapped, so we’ll have a little bit of downtime when we first get there.”
Green will be banking on the return of star fullback Valentine Holmes, who has missed their past two games with an ankle issue.
The former unsuccessful NFL convert completed training on Thursday, however a final decision on his fitness won’t be made until the team boards the plane for NSW.
If Holmes is ruled out, he’ll remain in Townsville, leaving rookie Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow in the No.1 jumper to face the ladder-leading Eels.
“With these type of injuries, soft tissue injuries, you have to see how they pull up the next day,” Green said.
“Some have got through, some haven’t in the past. We’ll see how he pulls up tomorrow.”