The Brisbane Broncos sit precariously in 8th position on the NRL ladder but a loss to Parramatta on Saturday will see them slip outside the top half of the table.
The Eels, after an ugly 6-4 loss to Newcastle last night, will leapfrog the Broncos if they bounce back on their home ground.
Brisbane’s five game winning streak was broken last Friday when they were out-enthused and out-played (22-12) by the second placed Penrith Panthers at Suncorp Stadium.
Coach Ivan Henjak has welcomed prop Lagi Setu (concussion) back into the team to play Parramatta.
Centre Alex Glenn suffered a high ankle sprain against Penrith and faces 4-6 weeks on the sideline.
He has been replaced this weekend by utility Matt Gillett with International centre Justin Hodges (Achilles) still at least a month away from his long awaited return.
Nick Kenny made a successful return from a calf injury last weekend and will play off the bench this weekend.
Winger Denan Kemp is available for selection after an injury spell and could be a late inclusion.
The Broncos, with a 7-7 record this season, could finish the weekend as high as 5th however a loss will see them slip out of the top eight.
Bowen in the halves
North Queensland coach Neil Henry has officially listed Matt Bowen to partner Johnathan Thurston in the halves to face Cronulla at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Saturday night.
Bowen was shifted to pivot for the Cowboys shocking 58-12 belting at the hands of Melbourne last weekend.
Henry has resisted mass changes but has named Bowen in the number six with Shannon Gallant retained at fullback.
The Cowboys, with just four wins this season, would be in last had it not been for the Storm’s salary cap rorts.
With the season all but gone, North Queensland must win a minimum eight of their last 10 matches to be any chance of making the finals.
Carl Webb has been recalled to the bench after missing the Storm debacle while Ben Harris has been named in the centres after playing the past two matches.
Steve Rapira will play lock against the Sharks with Luke O’Donnell serving the second of a three match suspension for his spear tackle in Origin III.
The Sharks are also lagging near the foot of the ladder and like the Cowboys will be desperate for a victory in Townsville.
Campbell subs for Prince
Preston Campbell will return to the halfback jersey on Sunday in the Titans home game with the Newcastle Knights.
For the fifth match this year, Campbell replaces Scott Prince in the number seven jersey with William Zillman to play fullback.
The Titans lost Prince midway through the first half of their streaky 25-24 win over the Bulldogs last week with the captain hopeful of missing just the one game due to a small hamstring tear.
With Campbell missing that game and forwards Luke O’Dwyer (hamstring) and Ryan James (concussion) also limping off, it was left to Mat Rogers and Greg Bird to steer their side towards the narrow victory.
Luke Bailey (ankle) and Ashley Harrison (cut eyelid) should return to Skilled Park to face Newcastle after they too were spectators for the Bulldogs match.
Young playmaker Kayne Lawton, who made his NRL debut last year before spending this season in the halves with Queensland Cup feeder side Tweed Heads, has been included on a five man bench.
The Titans snuck home with a 38-36 win over the Knights back in Round Nine and plenty of points could again be on show this weekend.
With Origin III just over two weeks away, the Queensland Cup breaks this weekend for the annual City vs. Country match.
NRL experienced players Steve Michaels, Brad Davis, Josh Graham and Josh McGuire will all compete for a spot in the Queensland Residents side to play the curtain raiser to the final Origin match in Sydney.
That match will be televised live on ABC from 2pm Saturday while the Titans match with Newcastle will air on a one hour delay from 4pm Sunday on Channel Nine.
Fox Sports Super Saturday will have the Broncos game live from 5:30pm with the Cowboys to follow straight after live from 7:30pm.
Brisbane Broncos vs. Parramatta, Saturday 5:30pm, (Fox Sports Two, live)
Josh Hoffman, Antonio Winterstein, Matt Gillett, Israel Folau, Jharal Yow Yeh, Darren Lockyer (c), Peter Wallace, Shane Tronc, Andrew McCullough, Lagi Setu, Ben Te’o, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker. Interchange: Ben Hunt, Ashton Sims, Mitchell Dodds, Nick Kenny.
North Queensland Cowboys vs. Cronulla, Saturday 7:30pm, (Fox Sports Two, live).
Shannon Gallant, Ashley Graham, Ben Harris, Willie Tonga, John Williams, Matthew Bowen, Johnathan Thurston (c), Matt Scott, Aaron Payne, James Tamou, Scott Bolton, Willie Mason, Steve Rapira. Interchange: Anthony Watts, Leeson Ah Mau, Carl Webb, Dane Hogan, Isaak Ah Mau (one to be omitted).
Gold Coast Titans vs. Newcastle, Sunday 3pm, (Channel Nine, delayed 4pm)
William Zillman, Kevin Gordon, Mat Rogers, Sam Tagataese, David Mead, Greg Bird, Preston Campbell Luke Bailey (c), Nathan Friend, Michael Henderson, Anthony Laffranchi, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Matthew White, Brad Meyers, Bodene Thompson, Kayne Lawton, Ryan James (one to be omitted).
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