North Queensland Cowboys vs Penrith Panthers Preview & Prediction | 2026 NRL | Regular Season
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Penrith Panthers will be eager to bounce back after they lost narrowly to the Titans last week, while North Queensland Cowboys are looking to avoid a fourth consecutive loss in the NRL.
Start date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / Australia – Channel 9 / US – Some matches are televised live on Fox Sports
How to watch online: UK – Sky Go & Watch NRL / Australia – 9Now / US – Watch NRL, and if the match is televised in the USA it can also be streamed live on Fox Sports platforms
North Queensland Cowboys team news
Squad: 1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Braidon Burns 3. Zac Laybutt 4. Tomas Chester 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Jaxon Purdue 7. Jake Clifford 8. Thomas Mikaele 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Jason Taumalolo 11. Heilum Luki 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Reuben Cotter Bench: 14. Soni Luke 15. Griffin Neame 16. Matthew Lodge 17. Coen Hess 18. Liam Sutton 19. Sam McIntyre 20. John Bateman 21. Jaxson Paulo 22. Ethan King
Penrith Panthers team news
Squad: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Thomas Jenkins 3. Paul Alamoti 4. Izack Tago 5. Brian To'o 6. Blaize Talagi 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Freddy Lussick 10. Lindsay Smith 11. Isaiah Papali'i 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo Bench: 14. Jack Cogger 15. Scott Sorensen 16. Liam Henry 17. Luke Garner 18. Billy Phillips 19. Billy Scott 20. Luron Patea 21. Jack Cole 22. Sione Fonua
North Queensland Cowboys vs Penrith Panthers prediction
North Queensland Cowboys are on the cusp of the all-important top eight ahead of this round 17 contest at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
However, they have been trending in the wrong direction of late, suffering losses to the Raiders, the Cowboys and most recently the Warriors. That latter defeat will have been particularly frustrating given that they were in the game and very much competing with their opponents until they fell away badly in the second half.
That does not bode well for them here as they face Penrith Panthers, although the NRL leaders did suffer just their second defeat of the season last weekend, with a last-gasp Zane Harrison field goal giving the Gold Coast Titans a 19-18 victory.
However, the Panthers were weakened in that defeat due to a number of their key players being on Origin duty. That isn't the case this time around, so we're expecting a strong response from the standout team this season.
North Queensland Cowboys vs Penrith Panthers tip: Penrith Panthers -14
