VENUE & TIME: Dairy Farmers Stadium, Saturday July 4, 7.35pm (AEST).
COVERAGE: Fox Sports 2
LAST TIME: Sharks 10 - Cowboys 34 at Hindmarsh Stadium, Round 6, 2009.
WALKING WOUNDED: The Cowboys have been boosted by the return of Matt Bowen, Luke O'Donnell and Carl Webb from injury, while the Sharks will be without experienced duo Trent Barrett (suspension) and Paul Gallen (shoulder). Half-back Brett Seymour's career with the Sharks is over after he was sacked for yet another alcohol-related incident.
FORM: The Cowboys went into their Friday night encounter with the Bulldogs minus three stars and were off the pace from the onset. They were down 30-6 at one stage of the match, before two late tries added some respectability to the scoreboard. It just proves that Johnathan Thurston cannot do everything on his own.
The Sharks had their four-game winning streak snapped by the cellar-dwelling Roosters in a rather disappointing end to a month of positives for the Shire club. Their first half was impressive enough, but they allowed the Roosters in for two quick tries after the break and never recovered.
WHO'S HOT: With props Ben Hannant and Petero Civoniceva out of the frame for QLD Origin selection, Cowboys' props Shane Tronc and Matt Scott must be firmly in the sights of the Maroon selectors for the third game in Brisbane. Tronc made 143m from 19 carries against the Dogs, while Scott fared slightly better with 181m from 18 carries. Let the shoot-out continue on Saturday night.
WE THINK: Expect the Cowboys to comfortably account for the Sharks in this one with several of their stars returning to the line-up and Cronulla down on some experienced heads. The Cowboys are still on shaky ground in terms of the top-eight and this is a game they are sure to have penciled in as a must win. One gets the feeling the Sharks have run out of steam following their emotion-charged month of victories. Cowboys by 20.
TEAMS
North QLD Cowboys:
1. Matthew Bowen, 2. Michael Bani, 3. Ty Williams, 4. Willie Tonga, 5. John Williams, 6. Grant Rovelli, 7. Johnathan Thurston [c], 8. Shane Tronc, 9. Aaron Payne, 10. Matthew Scott, 11. Carl Webb, 12. Scott Bolton, 13. Luke O'Donnell. Interchange: 14. Anthony Watts, 15. Steve Southern, 16. Antonio Kaufusi, 17. Steve Rapira, 18. James Tamou, 19. Manase Manuokafoa (two to be omitted).
Cronulla Sharks:
1.Nathan Stapleton, 2. Blake Ferguson, 3. Matt Wright, 4. Mitch Brown, 5. Luke Covell [c], 6. Reece Williams, 7. Scott Porter, 8. Kade Snowden, 9. Corey Hughes, 10. Luke Douglas, 11. Grant Millington, 12. Anthony Tupou, 13. Atelea Vea.
Interchange: 14. Bryan Norrie, 15. Johnny Mannah, 16. Ben Pomeroy, 17. Terence Seu Seu.
Referees: Ben Cummins & Brett Suttor