NRL Round 24 Preview and Prediction - Cowboys v Sharks @ 1300 Smiles Stadium

North Queensland Cowboys v Cronulla Sharks @ 1300 Smiles Stadium

Preview - The Cowboys will be desperate to get back into the winner’s circle when they host the Sharks in a potential finals’ showdown at 1300 Smiles Stadium on Saturday night. The Cowboys have now dropped 3 games in a row, and their horrendous injury toll continues to mount, as they lost the game and 2 more players to injury at Penrith on Saturday night. The Cowboys continued to play hard for 80 minutes, but ultimately they are losing too many troops at exactly the wrong time  of year. The Sharks have now had two massively disappointing losses in a row to the Raiders and the Broncos. The Sharks made far too many errors and were undisciplined in their 30-12 loss to the Broncos, however they held on to 4th spot because of upsets to both the Eels and Sea Eagles.

History - The Sharks have enjoyed playing against the Cowboys of late having won their past 3 clashes against North Queensland. Last season the Sharks blew the Cowboys off the park in the Preliminary Final winning 32-20. Earlier this season when the sides clashed at Shark Park the Sharks came from 14-0 down to win 18-14. 

 North Queensland Cowboys’ Scouting Report - The Cowboys finally get some welcome news with Te Maire Martin named to return at five-eight. Paul Green has named Michael Morgan to start at halfback, despite him suffering a heavy concussion last week. Justin O’Neill and Shaun Fensom are out injured with Kalyn Ponga going on to the wing. 

 Cronulla Sharks’ Scouting Report - The only change to the Cronulla squad is Jayden Brailey being named on an extended interchange bench, as he looks to return from a broken jaw. The Sharks will be looking for some of their senior Origin players to return to form including Andrew Fifita, James Maloney and Wade Graham who have all been quiet since Origin. 

 Verdict - Sharks 1-8

This is a really tough game to call, as the Sharks are playing really poorly and the Cowboys are beat up with injuries. I think, if the Sharks can fix some of their discipline and attitude, they will be too good for the Cowboys who are simply starting to run out of troops. Most Cowboys’ games this year have been low scoring, grinding affairs, however I'm not sure that will be the case here with both sides starting to look a little brittle in defence. I would have liked the Cowboys at home here, however they have too many injuries, so I’ll back the Sharks to get away with a crucial victory to keep their spot in the Top 4 for another week.