It does seem a little unfair that after Wednesday nights SOO camaraderie between Queenslanders, they are now put against one another in club level. The state now becomes divided as two of the most supported teams north of the boarder take on one another. It is always a clash that delivers on excitement with some epic contests fought out between the two teams. It will again be another contest that people look forward to but will be effected by players who are available following SOO duty. Both teams will be severely effected but what will be tested is their depth. This is something that the Broncos pride themselves on and it has long been a strong feature of their squad. They have a young team who is hungry to deliver a win and plays with a high level of confidence. The Cowboys are a team that, at the moment, is suffering from a horrible injury toll and with Thurston being under an injury cloud going into SOO 2, no one can be sure that he will take the field in this one. Tate also was a player that appear to be hampered throughout the game. The Broncos have their fair share of concerns as well, none more so than Corey Parker. Either way, there will be 34 players battling it out for a very important 2 points.
North Queensland Cowboys
All season the Cowboys have failed to be consistent. At times they have looked unbeatable and at other times that have looked like they will miss the 8. In their last game they were sliding at a rapid rate but that was due to a massive amount of possession in favour of the Titans. As mentioned earlier, they will have a host of players returning from SOO. I just spotted on the Cowboys Twitter feed that Thurston, Matt Scott and James Tamou will all play and are certain to start, but centre Brent Tate is still in some doubt. A decision on his availability will not be made until tomorrow right before kick off. I do think that they would want him there because he is vital to their defence out wide. They did name an extended bench and no doubt they can replace him, but it is definitely hard to replace the class and experience that Tate would bring to the lineup.
Brisbane Broncos
Broncos coach Anthony Griffin has not shied away from his policy of resting his Origin stars after a game, but he does give a little bit of flexibility again here. A few years ago under the rule of Wayne Bennett, you would question if this was just another ploy by the coach and include a few stars as late inclusions, but what you see with Griffin is what you get. In that case, captan Sam Thaiday, Justin Hodges and Petro Civoniceva will be rest and Corey Parker will miss out as a result of injury in that game. Ben Hannant will line up in the starting team and Matt Gillett will start from the bench. But with Corey Parker not starting this game, I suspect that Gillett may start the game at lock. As stated earlier, the Broncos have a very exciting young team that could produce anything in this clash. They are confident and coming off a decent win over the Roosters away from home. The one thing that was worrying in that clash, they let in 22 points...but then again there were a few howling decisions that got the Roosters their points.
Recent History
Overall = Cowboys 6 - Draw 2 - Broncos 24
Last 5 = Cowboys 2 - Broncos 3
At Dairy Farmers Stadium = Cowboys 2 - Draw 1 - Broncos 14
Odds
TAB Sportsbet = Cowboys $1.75 Broncos $2.10
Centrebet = Cowboys $1.70 Broncos $2.20
Sportsbet = Cowboys $1.78 Broncos $2.08
Verdict
The Broncos scored a lot of points last week against a woeful Rooster, but the alarming thing is that they also let in 22. I mentioned earlier that a few were under contentious circumstances, but I also believe that the Broncos were lucky on some instances as well. They are still missing some key personel and will definitely find this one difficult, but in saying that, nothing is beyond this young team who is fantastically coached. For the sake of a bet though, I am going to take the Cowboys. They are very inconsistent and coming off a last start loss, but I believe that they will be too strong at home in this one. Many of their players played very well in SOO, all bar Thurston. Although he was under an injury cloud, expect him to put in a top notch performance in this game to make up for Wednesday.
Suggested Bet
Cowboys -4.5 @ $2.40 (Super Line Option)
Think about a margin... = Cowboys 13+ @ $4.25 - I will be chucking this leg into a few value multi's on Friday night. It is considerably over priced considering the potential that the Cowboys have as a team to put points on in a hurry. Factor that in with Brisbane conceding a few points the previous week and you could be onto something.
Firsty Try Scorer = Jonathan Thurston @ $21 - I said that Thurston was clearly not at his best on Wednesday and will be looking to make amends for that. There is one clear way he can and that is get involved early and assert his dominance on the game. If he is to do that then why not suggest that he can cross the line first at juicy odds?
Good luck!
Scooby
@scoobystips
NB - Don't forget to check out my weekly POWER RANKINGS! They may just help you make up your mind for some tips!!!
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