NRL Round 11 North Queensland Cowboys v Penrith Panthers

Super Saturday has been reduced this weekend and leaves us with a Shocking Saturday. Nonetheless the footy rolls on and we take a trip north to watch the Cowboys take on the Panthers. One is left to imagine what this contest could've been with so many star players missing from both teams due to SOO duty. But that is the nature of the gruelling NRL season and more often than not, the club that has depth will be better off in the long run.

North Queensland Cowboys

The Cowboys fulfilled my prediction of the best bet of Round 10 and delivered an emphatic victory over the Newcastle Knights. The Cowboys are missing 4 players to Origin duty, and they are 4 players that always turn up each week with one desire to win. Most influential of the 4 is obviously Johnathan Thurston, who has shifted to 5/8 this season in all areas of the game (club and representative). Michael Morgan has been given the tough task of filling Thurston's shoes. Glenn Hall and Aston Sims have been asked to start in the front row this week with Matt Scott and James Tamou on Origin duty. KalifaFaifai Loa returns to the wing, in for Brent Tate and Antonio Winterstein shifts to right centre. There is no doubt that the Cowboys face an uphill battle in this one!

Penrith Panthers

The Panthers will be on a high after their golden-point victory against the Dragons in MNF. It was a long overdue victory and although it went down to the wire, they didn't deserve to lose. The Dragons weren't the same team that we are use to seeing in seasons gone by, but it still does require a lot of poise to get a team across the line. The Panther showed this on Monday. A lot of talk this week has surrounded Michael Jennings and his demotion to NSW Cup and subsequently being selected in the NSW team. But he wasn't present (at least on the field anyway) for their win on MNF so the only change is the expected omission of Luke Lewis who is also on Origin duty. This causes Cameron Ciraldo to return from injury and take his place in the back row. There was speculation leading into Mondays game that Luke Walsh would make a return from injury and although he didn't, one is lead to believe that he will make a return in this one so stay switched on regarding whether or not he boards a plane north.

Recent History

Last 5 = Cowboys 2 wins - Panthers 3 wins
At Dairy Farmers Stadium = Cowboys 5 wins Panthers 9 wins

Odds

TAB Sportsbet - Cowboys $1.47 Panthers $2.75
Centrebet - Cowboys $1.50 Panthers $2.67
Sportsbet - Cowboys $1.48 Panthers $2.72

Verdict

The Panthers looked good at times on Monday and did have a few tries disallowed which could have made them look even better. Hooker Kevin Kingston has been dynamic out of dummy half this season and that is set to continue. The Panther also have a very big forward pack and will look to dominate the Cowboys early who will be lacking some size up front. In saying that, some Cowboys players will have something to prove with their omission from SOO, most notably Tariq Simms. Without taking too much of a diversion away from this game, it was amazing that Simms was not picked and he will not be backing down from any challenge this weekend. The Cowboys are also at home and the Panthers are coming off a short turn around and could suffer from MNF-itis, whereby the two teams struggle the following round after MNF. I have definitely been in two minds about this one and the omission of the 4 key players is a big factor for the Cowboys, but I am going to stick with them and suggest that the Cowboys can get over the line as they will be the more dominant team in the middle of the park.

Suggested Bet

Cowboys -5.5pts @ $1.75

Good luck!

Scooby