Qld Teams Rd 22 - Cowboys could secure Final

Victory over Canterbury on Friday night will ensure the North Queensland Cowboys return to Finals Football for the first time since 2007.

The Cowboys sit comfortably in 3rd position on 30 competition points – the maximum number their closest remaining top eight contenders Penrith, Canterbury and South Sydney can gain from the final five rounds.

A win over the 10th-placed Bulldogs in Sydney will put North Queensland out of reach of the other contenders no matter what happens in the final month of the regular season.

Victory will also equal the Cowboys club record 32 competition points in the season – a feat achieved in 2005 and their last Finals appearance in 2007.

Coach Neil Henry has retained the same team that ran over Penrith in the second half to record a 30-18 win last weekend.

Winger Kalifa Faifai Loa faces a fitness test later in the week after straining a hamstring against the Panthers.

He is the only Cowboy in doubt for Friday night’s match while Johnathan Thurston remains an outside chance to face the Broncos next week.

While he could possibly push for the Broncos game on August 12, the Cowboys are likely to take a cautious approach to rushing their superstar back before the Finals.

Fullback Matt Bowen has taken over the main organisational and kicking roles in Thurston’s absence with the Cowboys winning three of the four games since the injury.

Friday’s match is live into Queensland with kick-off at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium scheduled for just after 7:30pm.

Te’o returns

Brisbane forward Ben Te’o will return from his second fractured arm of the season in Saturday night’s match with the Warriors at Suncorp Stadium.

Te’o replaces David Hala on the bench in the only change to the side who routed Cronulla 46-16 last week.

After initially breaking the arm in Round Five, Te’o returned in Round 12 against Manly only to re-fracture it during the game.

He returned for Queensland Cup side Wynnum-Manly last Sunday and after growing up in Auckland, will be set for a big game against his New Zealand-based opponents.

The Broncos will celebrate Darren Lockyer playing his record-equalling 349th Premiership game – the most by any NRL player.

Lockyer joins Terry Lamb and Steve Menzies but will claim the solo record in Townsville next week against the Cowboys.

Like North Queensland, the Broncos can also secure their return to Finals Football with a victory over the sixth-placed Warriors.

However the Warriors are one of the form NRL teams with big wins over the Titans, Bulldogs, Rabbitohs and Raiders in the last four weeks.

Saturday’s potential Finals preview match will be live on Fox Sports Two from 7:30pm.

Bird sidelined

Titans lock Greg Bird will miss Saturday night’s match against his former team Cronulla with a hamstring injury.

His absence means a re-call for Will Matthews who has not been sighted at NRL level this season despite playing 28 games over the previous two years.

Matthews had an injury-interrupted start to the season but has shown good form with undefeated Queensland Cup leaders Tweed Heads.

He will play from the bench with Luke O’Dwyer to start in place of Bird.

Winger Steve Michaels returns after missing last week’s disappointing 20-50 loss to Newcastle.

That has pushed rookie Dominique Peyroux into the centres with Clinton Toopi dropped to the Queensland Cup.

Coach John Cartwright is still in hospital following surgery to remove his appendix.

He was rushed there last weekend, missing the game with Newcastle, and it is unlikely he will take control of the Sharks match.

Assistants Trevor Gillmeister and Steve Murphy are currently sharing coaching duties and selected the side for the Cronulla game.

Cronulla, who displayed inept defence to trail the Broncos 34-nil in as many minutes last week, have suffered three consecutive defeats to all but lose touch with the top eight.

The Sharks would need to win all five remaining matches and rely on other results but could welcome back inspirational captain Paul Gallen to face the Gold Coast.

Saturday’s match will be available live from Cronulla’s Toyota Stadium at 7:30pm on Fox Sports Two.

North Queensland Cowboys vs. Bulldogs, Friday 7:35pm, (Channel Nine, live)
Matthew Bowen, Ashley Graham, Brent Tate, Willie Tonga, Kalifa Faifai Loa, Ray Thompson, Ben Jones, Matt Scott (c), Aaron Payne, Ashton Sims, Gavin Cooper, Tariq Sims, Dallas Johnson. Interchange: James Segeyaro, Glenn Hall, Cory Paterson, James Tamou.

Brisbane Broncos vs. Warriors, Saturday 7:30pm, (Fox Sports, live)
Josh Hoffman, Gerard Beale, Jack Reed, Justin Hodges, Jharal Yow Yeh, Darren Lockyer (c), Peter Wallace, Ben Hannant, Andrew McCullough, Scott Anderson, Alex Glenn (c), Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker. Interchange: Matt Gillett, Ben Hunt, Ben Te’o, Josh McGuire.

Gold Coast Titans vs. Sharks, Saturday 7:30pm, (Fox Sports, live)
Jordan Rankin, Steve Michaels, Dominique Peyroux, William Zillman, David Mead, Beau Henry, Scott Prince (c), Luke Bailey, Matt Srama, Matthew White, Anthony Laffranchi, Mark Minichiello, Luke O’Dwyer. Interchange: Brenton Lawrence, Will Matthews, Bodene Thompson, Preston Campbell.