Saturday third NRL Round 26 match is between Nth Queensland Cowboys and Wests Tigers with the opening kick to commence at 7.30pm local time. The game is to be played at 1300SMILES Stadium with the home team Nth Queensland Cowboys hold favouritism in the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Nth Queensland Cowboys and Wests Tigers.

1300SMILES Stadium

Saturday 7.30pm

Nth Queensland Cowboys $1.00 vs Wests Tigers $1.00 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match

Nth Queensland Cowboys $1.00 vs Wests Tigers $1.00 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison by NRL Odds:

Nth Queensland Cowboys	1.12	1.15	1.13	1.15	1.12	N/A
Wests Tigers	6.25	5.50	6.25	5.50	6.25	N/A

Preview:

It’s been a remarkable return to form from the Cowboys over the past five weeks that ironically, coincided with the announcement the current coach Neil Henry will not be required at the club next year.

They’ve strung five wins together and have placed themselves in a position where a win here, will secure their spot in this year’s final series.

Last week the Cowboys travelled to Cronulla, who were coming off an impressive win over Roosters, and were clearly the better side winning 29 – 18.

There are not many teams with momentum like that possessed by the Cowboys at the moment and up against the lowly placed West Tigers – at home – they’ll head into the final having won six on the trot.

It’s been a horror season for the West Tigers both on the field and off it.

They’ve won one of their last eight games and that come over the struggling St. George in round 24.

Last week the exploded out to a 14 point lead against South Sydney within the first 20 minutes of the game but could only manage to add a further four points whilst Souths went on to register 32.

From a future point of view, there have been some pleasing signs for the Tigers in the past fortnight but at the moment, they’ll find the Cowboys in their current vein of form, too classy.

Teams:

Nth Queensland Cowboys:
Matthew Bowen, Wayne Ulugia, Brent Tate, Kane Linnett, Antonio Winterstein, Johnathan Thurston (capt), Robert Lui, Scott Bolton, Rory Kostjasyn, James Tamou, Gavin Cooper, Glenn Hall, Joel Riethmuller. Interchange: Jayden Hodges, Tariq Sims, Ashton Sims, Ricky Thorby.

Wests Tigers:
James Tedesco, David Nofoaluma, Bodene Thompson, Tim Simona, Lote Tuqiri, Benji Marshall, Braith Anasta, Keith Galloway, Robbie Farah (c), Adam Blair, Liam Fulton, Curtis Sironen, Ben Murdoch-Masila. Interchange: Ava Seumanufagai, Jack Buchanan, Shaun Spence, Sauaso Sue, Matt Bell (one to be omitted).

Referees: Gerard Sutton, Gavin Reynolds.

Coaches following same path to NRL glory

They are two of the youngest coaches in the game and their routes to the NRL have followed almost identical paths – now Michael Maguire and Trent Robinson will watch their sides battle it out in the biggest club game for years on Friday.

The pair had limited success as players with South Sydney mentor Maguire clocking up just 16 appearances as a utility back in a five-year career with Canberra and the Adelaide Rams.

Sydney Roosters coach Robinson played only four games over three seasons with the Wests Tigers and Parramatta.

However, the pair are seen as two of the sharpest minds in rugby league – with the winner of the ANZ Stadium clash taking home the minor premiership and a huge psychological advantage heading into the finals series.

Maguire was a long-time assistant to Craig Bellamy at Melbourne before heading to the UK in 2010 where he revived the fortunes of English giants Wigan.

In his first season he ended the Warriors’ 10-year wait for a Super League grand final with a 22-10 victory over a Mick Potter-coached St Helens and in his second guided the team to Challenge Cup final success.

South Sydney chairman Nick Pappas said the appointment of Maguire was one of the most important decisions in the club’s recent history.

“Credit has to go to Shane Richardson for identifying Michael as the right man for the job,” Pappas told AAP.

“I went over to meet him in London I was hugely impressed by what he had to say. He is a very driven individual.”

Like his rival, Robinson served his apprenticeship as an assistant to Brian Smith at Newcastle and the Roosters before turning the Catalans from perennial Super League strugglers into successive top-four finishers to earn him the coach of the year award in 2011.

He also held the edge over Maguire in the Super League in the one season they faced each other with his side winning both regular season fixtures.

However, Maguire had the last laugh with a thumping 44-0 win in the 2011 preliminary final and his Souths team ran out 28-10 winners in this season’s opening game.

“We’ve both had wins and losses in our games,” Robinson said.

“He’s a great coach, very well disciplined and he’s shown what he’s made of over the last few years in this competition. I enjoy coaching against him.”