Saturday’s NRL 2018 Round 19 match is between Nth Queensland Cowboys and St George Illawarra Dragons. The opening kick is set to commence at 19:35 local time with the game to be played at 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville. The away team St George Illawarra Dragons are the favourites for the match.
View our preview and teams for the game between Nth Queensland Cowboys and St George Illawarra Dragons.
When: 19:35 | Saturday 21/07/2018
Where: 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville
Preview:
The home team are a chance of picking up the wooden spoon if they don’t start winning any games soon.
The basic fundamentals in the game are letting them down big time and that’s something you’d expect from an inexperienced side not one of the calibre of the Cowboys.
As for the Dragons, that loss on the weekend now puts strain on their top 4 hopes, so this game shapes as a must win for them.
No doubt Origin had an effect on them last week and after a refreshed week I can see them getting back on the horse and getting the two points.
KEY BATTLE: Jonathan Thurston v Ben Hunt
No Michael Morgan has made the Cowboys a ‘Thurston’ one trick pony.
His matchup against fellow Queenslander and the much talked about Ben Hunt will be very much watched closely.
Hunt holds the key for the Dragons along with his partner Gareth Widdop.
In 2018 they have been great but now with the run into the finals, they need to take their game to another level.
No better place to start than in the north against the GOAT.
The Verdict
On the back of the platform provided from their firebrand forward pack, the Dragons will grab victory.
Let’s hope the home side can really make a game of it and give their fans something to cheer for.
Unibet Odds:
Nth Queensland Cowboys at $2.48
St George Illawarra Dragons at $1.55
Odds:
Tip: St George Illawarra Dragons at $1.63
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Nene Macdonald at $9.50
More Info:
Teams:
Nth Queensland Cowboys:
1 Lachlan Coote, 2 Kyle Feldt, 3 Enari Tuala, 4 Kane Linnett, 5 Justin O’Neill, 6 Te Maire Martin, 7 Johnathan Thurston (c), 8 John Asiata, 9 Jake Granville, 10 Scott Bolton, 11 Gavin Cooper, 12 Coen Hess, 13 Jason Taumalolo
Interchange: 14 Ben Hampton, 15 Shaun Fensom, 16 Francis Molo, 17 Corey Jensen
Reserves: 18 Jake Clifford, 19 Ethan Lowe, 20 Mitchell Dunn, 21 Antonio Winterstein.
St George Illawarra Dragons: 
1 Matt Dufty, 2 Nene Macdonald, 3 Euan Aitken, 4 Tim Lafai, 5 Jason Nightingale, 6 Gareth Widdop (c), 7 Ben Hunt, 8 James Graham, 9 Cameron McInnes, 10 Paul Vaughan, 11 Tyson Frizell, 12 Tariq Sims, 13 Jack de Belin
Interchange: 14 Jeremy Latimore, 15 Kurt Mann, 16 Leeson Ah Mau, 17 Luciano Leilua
Reserves: 18 Patrick Herbert, 19 Blake Lawrie, 20 Jai Field, 21 Jordan Pereira.
NRL News:
Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall have turned back the clock to deliver the Wests Tigers’ a 20-16 upset win in a cliffhanger against St George Illawarra.
Playing their first game together in 1772 days, Farah set up all three of his team’s tries while Marshall pulled off a number of key plays in both attack and defence at Jubilee Oval.
The win ensures they remain in 10th spot, four points adrift of eighth-placed Brisbane, with seven games remaining in the season.
The Tigers were leading by six when Farah sold Tim Lafai a dummy and then grubber-kicked astutely for winger David Nofaoluma in the 59th minute.
The Dragons then looked buried when Gareth Widdop’s line dropout sailed out on the full to gift the visitors an extra two points with 14 minutes remaining.
But a Widdop try off a Ben Hunt chip kick spurred the home crowd to life, and a comeback loomed when Matt Dufty zoomed over from a Luciano Leilua pass in the 75th minute.
However the visitors held on to send the Dragons, who had all five of their State of Origin stars backing up, to back-to-back defeats for the first time this year.
They have also dropped to a season-low third spot on the ladder.
The Tigers looked likely early, and cashed in on field position when Farah feigned a kick only to send Luke Brooks through for first points in his 100th match.
The Dragons replied through the neat stepping of Hunt, however that was how the score remained in a tightly contested first half where they lost Nene Macdonald to a foot injury.
Marshall, in his first game back from a calf injury, was also denied a highlight by a dubious forward pass ruling in the opening 40 minutes.
Instead it was the 33-year-old Farah who produced all the magic plays, including a well-timed inside ball for Moses Mbye to put Corey Thompson over soon after the break.
The win may have come at a cost however, with co-captain Chris Lawrence failing to finish the match due to a hamstring injury.