2021 NRL – North Queensland Cowboys vs Newcastle Knights Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is North Queensland Cowboys vs Newcastle Knights taking place? Thursday 20th May, 2021 – 10:50 (UK)
Where is North Queensland Cowboys vs Newcastle Knights taking place? Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Where can I get tickets for North Queensland Cowboys vs Newcastle Knights? Click here for ticket information on 2021 NRL matches
What channel is North Queensland Cowboys vs Newcastle Knights on? Sky Sports Arena will be televising selected NRL games in the UK and you can find their schedule here. For Australian broadcasters, you can find a list here
Where can I stream North Queensland Cowboys vs Newcastle Knights? If televised on Sky Sports, then subscribers will be able to stream the match live via Sky Go. Alternatively, the match will be available to subscribers of Watch NRL
THE TEAM NEWS
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Starting 13: Holmes, Feldt, Bowen, Lemuelu, Taulagi, Drinkwater, Clifford, Gilbert, Robson, McLean, Wright, Dunn, Taumalolo – Interchanges: Granville, Burr, Molo, Luki – Reserves: Jensen, Asi, Condon, Bradley
Unavailable: Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Injured), Reuben Cotter (Injured), Justin O’Neill (Injured), Ben Hampton (Injured), Coen Hess (Injured)
- North Queensland Cowboys showed a good response to going 18-0 down to Sydney Roosters last week but having managed to get within two points, they failed to kick on and fell to a 30-16 loss.
- There were some positive signs for the Cowboys in that contest but head coach Todd Payten knows there is still plenty of room for improvement within his side and a return to home soil could prove pivotal having won three successive games at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
Starting 13: Hoy, To’a, Tuala, Best, Musgrove, Mann, Crossland, Klemmer, Brailey, D. Saifiti, Frizell, Fitzgibbon, Barnett – Interchanges: Watson, J. Saifiti, Sue, Jones – Reserves: Sasagi, King, Shibasaki, Green
Unavailable: Edrick Lee (Injured), Jirah Momoisea (Injured), Bailey Hodgson (Injured), Mitchell Pearce (Injured), Dom Young (Injured), Chris Randall (Injured), Pasami Saulo (Injured), Kalyn Ponga (Injured), Hymel Hunt (Injured)
- Newcastle Knights produced a woeful performance as they lost for the third time in four matches with Wests Tigers getting the better of them during last week’s Magic Round and they have huge improvements to make on the back of that desperate showing.
- Head coach Adam O’Brien was left searching for answers after his side succumbed to defeat in terrible fashion and with influential fullback Kalyn Ponga set to miss out once again, the Knights look set to be short of creativity with ball in hand.
THE PREDICTION
North Queensland Cowboys showed some promising signs in their loss to Sydney Roosters and they will believe they can make an immediate return to winning ways as they host Newcastle Knights. The away side do not travel well and with them looking increasingly reliant on fullback Kalyn Ponga, his absence looks difficult for the Knights to overcome. They were extremely poor in last week’s defeat to Wests Tigers and with the Cowboys winning the last four contests between the two on home soil, the hosts should be able to make it five wins from their last seven matches to climb into the top eight for the first time this season.
