2021 NRL – North Queensland Cowboys vs Canterbury Bulldogs Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is North Queensland Cowboys vs Canterbury Bulldogs taking place? Sunday 18th April, 2021 – 07:05 (UK)
Where is North Queensland Cowboys vs Canterbury Bulldogs taking place? Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Where can I get tickets for North Queensland Cowboys vs Canterbury Bulldogs? Click here for ticket information on 2021 NRL matches
What channel is North Queensland Cowboys vs Canterbury Bulldogs on? Sky Sports Arena will be televising selected NRL games in the UK and you can find their schedule here. For Australian broadcasters, you can find a list here
Where can I stream North Queensland Cowboys vs Canterbury Bulldogs? If televised on Sky Sports, then subscribers will be able to stream the match live via Sky Go. Alternatively, the match will be available to subscribers of Watch NRL
THE TEAM NEWS
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Starting 13: Holmes, Feldt, O’Neill, Lemuelu, Taulagi, Drinkwater, Hampton, Hess, Robson, McLean, Wright, Condon, Burr – Interchanges: Granville, Molo, Jensen, Dunn – Reserves: Hola, Clifford
Unavailable: Kane Bradley (Injured), Tom Gilbert (Injured), Jason Taumalolo (Injured), Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Injured)
- North Queensland Cowboys earned their first win of the campaign thanks to a brilliant first half display against Wests Tigers last week and Todd Payten will be hoping for more of the same from his side.
- That confidence-boosting success could prove to be the turning point for the Cowboys but they must back it up here against winless Canterbury, although the Queensland outfit have suffered a blow with star man Jason Taumalolo ruled out once again.
CANTERBURY BULLDOGS
Starting 13: Watene-Zelezniak, Cotric, Hopoate, Allan, T. Katoa, Averillo, Flanagan, Napa, S. Katoa, Hetherington, Elliott, Waddell, Thompson – Interchanges: Topine, Atoni, Smith, Ogden – Reserves: Doorey, Schoupp
Unavailable: Jayden Okunbor (Injured), Christian Crichton (Injured), Raymond Faitala-Mariner (Injured), Jeremy Marshall-King (Injured), Lachlan Lewis (Injured), Nick Meaney (Injured), Josh Jackson (Injured)
- Canterbury Bulldogs were hammered once again last week as they shipped 52 points against Melbourne Storm but they did at least manage to break their scoring drought as they ran in three tries against the reigning premiers.
- The Bulldogs will hope they can kick-on from that performance with the ball but their defensive efforts remain poor and it will be a real challenge for them to produce a complete display on both sides of the ball having made a winless start to the season.
THE PREDICTION
North Queensland Cowboys have plenty to build on following their impressive first half showing against Wests Tigers last week as they earned their first win of the season. They will look to go back-to-back but know it will not be easy despite facing winless Canterbury Bulldogs. The visitors were on the end of another big loss last week as Melbourne Storm blew them away and while they did show signs of improvement in attack in that contest, a buoyant Cowboys side should be able to claim a second victory to keep the Bulldogs without a win through Round 6.
