Round 21 - NRL Preview

Melbourne Storm v North Queensland Cowboys
Saturday July 30, 7.30pm
1300SMILES Stadium

A Cameron Smith field goal was all that separated these two sides up at Suncorp Stadium back in Round 10.
That contest was nothing but 80 minutes of high quality football and the return bout in Townsville promises to provide more of the same.
The game shapes as a crucial one with regards to the top two aspirations of both sides. A win for Storm will see them move eight points clear of the third-placed Cowboys with five games to go.
Craig Bellamy has named an unchanged side from the one that beat the Roosters 26-10 at AAMI Park last week.
The same cannot be said for the Cowboys though who will appear to be without their captain Johnathan Thurston.
Coach Paul Green refused to officially rule out his champion playmaker for the game but a hamstring strain appears likely to sideline Thurston.
Ray Thompson is the man selected to fill the No.7 jersey but there are still plenty of other attacking weapons for the reigning premiers to throw at Melbourne.
 

Milestone – Marika Koroibete (50 Storm games)
 

Key Matchups:

Jesse Bromwich v Matt Scott
Two of the best forwards in the game will go head-to-head up the middle. Both players have a gifted offload as Scott has 22 for the season, twice as many as any other teammate while Bromwich ranks equal fifth in the NRL in this area. Bromwich had a team-high 185 metres in his 150^th game last week while Scott proved he is back and firing after Origin, finishing with 143 metres against the Bulldogs despite playing less than half the game. The Kiwi captain took the honours between these two in Round 10 and their rematch will once again be crucial to the fortunes of their respective sides.

Cooper Cronk v Michael Morgan
No Johnathan Thurston means Michael Morgan will be the man to lead the Cowboys' attack. It is a role he has already proved he is more than capable of assuming having already reached double digits for try and line break assists this season. Morgan has also scored three tries in his last two games against Melbourne. Cronk has displayed try-scoring feats of his own this year, having crossed the line 10 times to reach double digits for the third time in his career. You can add to this the 15 try assists he has put in for teammates in 2016. JT may not be there on Saturday night but the battle of the halves will still provide plenty of highlights.
 

History: Played 31; Storm 21, Cowboys 10 – North Queensland have won three of the last five games between the two teams and the last two meetings in Townsville.
 

What we’ve said:

“The Cowboys have got the best team they’ve ever had at their club, winning the premiership last year and they’ve been playing some great football this year” – Craig Bellamy

“They’ve got a lot of good players in that team, a lot of rep players. They’ll obviously miss (Johnathan Thurston) without a doubt…but having said that they’ve got a lot of other good players that will take up the slack in his position” – Craig Bellamy

“We are really looking forward to it, I can’t wait to get up there on Thursday or Friday, get stuck into training and see how we go” – Cheyse Blair
 

What they’ve said:

“According to everyone else, (Thurston) is going to be out for two games so I guess we will just see how that goes. We certainly won’t be taking any unnecessary risks with him” – Paul Green

“We’ve worked really hard over the last few years to get to a point as a team where everyone is contributing and everyone knows their role.” – Paul Green
 

Match Officials: Referee - Ben Cummins; Assistant - Dave Munro; Touch Judges - Brett Suttor & Michael Wise; Review Officials - Luke Patten & Jason Robinson; Senior Review Official - Bernard Sutton.
 

Broadcast: TV – Fox Sports 1 LIVE 7.30pm , Radio - , Online – NRL Digital Pass.
 

Squads: