Qld Teams - Queensland's Friday night feast

In a rare occurrence, all three Queensland-based NRL clubs will feature on Channel Nine’s Friday Night Football this weekend.

The night will kick off at 7:30pm with the Townsville blockbuster between the North Queensland Cowboys and arch rivals Brisbane Broncos live throughout the state.

Meanwhile the Gold Coast Titans will host Parramatta simultaneously at Skilled Park with the delayed broadcast to follow from approximately 9:30pm.

Dairy Farmers Stadium will be close to capacity with the match traditionally North Queensland’s biggest draw of the year irrespective of how the Cowboys and Broncos seasons are faring.

The Cowboys have had two solid recent performances with their golden point win at home against Newcastle backed up with a competitive showing against the Panthers in Penrith last week.

North Queensland led the match, played in slippery conditions, for all but the final five minutes with a brilliant solo try ultimately condemning the Cowboys to a 24-16 loss.

Coach Neil Henry has stuck with the same squad for the Broncos match while utility Ben Harris comes in as 18th man.

Captain Johnathan Thurston was found to have no case to answer at the judiciary despite being penalised for dissent against the Panthers.

He will lead a mouth-watering head-to-head battle against Darren Lockyer while Queensland team mates Israel Folau and Willie Tonga will oppose each other in the centres.

Centre Ty Williams has only a handful of NRL matches left with the former Queensland representative announcing his retirement at the end of the 2010 season.

Meanwhile with Willie Mason increasingly likely to join lock Luke O’Donnell in England next season, the Cowboys have recruited Broncos forward Ashton Sims for 2011.

Sims, not named this weekend, will join Brisbane winger Antonio Winterstein at the Cowboys with North Queensland continuing their active recruitment policy in preparation for the 2011 season.

Broncos Unchanged

On the back of a gritty 10-6 victory over the Dragons on Sunday, coach Ivan Henjak will take the same 17 man squad to Townsville.

Sunday’s victorious arm wrestle saw the Broncos again jump into the top eight but a loss on Friday could see them again slip down the ladder.

Brisbane has been in and out of the top eight as they have followed a win-loss pattern for the past seven weeks.

With the Broncos unable to gather winning momentum since their five game winning streak mid-season, they will target the Cowboys match as the catalyst for a strong run towards September.

Prop Shane Tronc, who played 125 games for the Cowboys over six seasons, returns to Townsville to face his former club for the first time.

Some reports out of Brisbane suggest Ben Te’o may complete an incredibly quick recovery from a mid-foot sprain and play Friday night.

However it is more likely Te’o will be available for next week’s match against Parramatta but regardless his speedy return will be a bonus for Brisbane.

Coast eye the Hayne Train

The message from Sydney following the Eels 48-12 thumping at the hands of the Roosters on Saturday has been stopping Jarryd Hayne means stopping Parramatta.

Hearing that message is easy but executing it is the huge task facing the Titans Friday night.

The Titans season has been reinvigorated by a golden point win over the Dragons before Sunday’s impressive 28-20 victory over the Warriors in New Zealand.

Gold Coast sit in fifth position on the table and should only need two wins from their final five games to secure a finals berth.

Last year Parramatta sent the Titans crashing to their second loss in the Finals series with a 27-2 thumping in Sydney.

It is the only time the Titans have lost to the Eels but memories of the humiliating season exit are likely to still linger.

Ashley Harrison returns to the squad after missing two weeks with a knee injury and replaces Bodene Thompson at lock.

Thompson will play off the bench in place of Luke O’Dwyer while exciting young back Shannon Walker, like last week, is 18th man.

A win for the Titans will seriously dent Parramatta’s chances of qualifying for the 2010 Finals series.

However a loss could see the Gold Coast slip to eighth such is the closeness of the competition.

North Queensland Cowboys vs. Broncos, Friday 7:35pm, (Channel Nine, live).
Matthew Bowen, Ashley Graham, Ty Williams, Willie Tonga, Will Tupou, Arana Taumata, Johnathan Thurston (c), Matt Scott, Aaron Payne, Willie Mason, Scott Bolton, Leeson Ah Mau, Luke O’Donnell. Interchange: Anthony Watts, Dane Hogan, Carl Webb, James Tamou, Ben Harris (one to be omitted).

Brisbane Broncos vs. Cowboys, Friday 7:35pm, (Channel Nine, live).
Josh Hoffman, Antonio Winterstein, Alex Glenn, Israel Folau, Jharal Yow Yeh, Darren Lockyer (c), Peter Wallace, Shane Tronc, Andrew McCullough, Nick Kenny, Matt Gillett, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker. Interchange: Ben Hunt, Josh McGuire, Mitchell Dodds, Scott Anderson.

Gold Coast Titans vs. Eels, Friday 7:35pm, (Channel Nine, delayed 9:30pm).
Preston Campbell, Kevin Gordon, Steve Michaels, Clinton Toopi, William Zillman, Mat Rogers, Scott Prince (c), Luke Bailey, Nathan Friend, Matthew White, Anthony Laffranchi, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Michael Henderson, Brad Meyers, Ben Ridge, Bodene Thompson, Shannon Walker (one to be omitted).