2021 NRL – North Queensland Cowboys vs St. George Illawarra Dragons Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is North Queensland Cowboys vs St. George Illawarra Dragons taking place? Saturday 20th March, 2021 – 08:35 (UK)
Where is North Queensland Cowboys vs St. George Illawarra Dragons taking place? Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Where can I get tickets for North Queensland Cowboys vs St. George Illawarra Dragons? Click here for ticket information on 2021 NRL matches
What channel is North Queensland Cowboys vs St. George Illawarra Dragons 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 St. George Illawarra Dragons? 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: Drinkwater, Feldt, Marsters, Tabuai-Fidow, Holmes, Morgan, Clifford, Molo, Robson, McLean, Dunn, Hess, Cotter – Interchanges: Granville, McGuire, Jensen, Burr – Reserves: Wright, Hampton
Unavailable: Kane Bradley (Injured), Tom Gilbert (Injured), Jason Taumalolo (Injured)
- New head coach Todd Payten’s opening game in charge of North Queensland Cowboys did not go to plan with Penrith Panthers able to secure a comfortable win over them and there is plenty of work ahead after such a poor performance.
- The Cowboys failed to post a single point as they were beaten 24-0 and with some alarming figures to come from the game, Payten may have his work cut out if he is to turn his side’s fortunes around.
ST. GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS
Starting 13: Dufty, Ramsey, Bird, Lomax, Ravalawa, Norman, Hunt, Lawrie, McCullough, Vaughan, Kerr, Sims, Fuimaono – Interchanges: Faamusili, Merrin, Alvaro, Wiliame – Reserves: Ellis, Ford
Unavailable: Jack de Belin (Suspended), Cameron McInnes (Injured), Jayden Sullivan (Injured)
- St. George Illawarra Dragons showed some glimpses of what they are capable of in their defeat to Cronulla Sharks last week but perhaps more importantly, they also demonstrated some lacklustre defence which will need to improve.
- In difficult conditions, the Dragons went down 18-32 with the Sharks’ superior ball control proving pivotal with St. George making 15 errors to just five while the Dragons also missed 42 tackles.
THE PREDICTION
Both of these teams have plenty to do if they are to improve on last season if Round 1 of the new campaign is anything to go by. North Queensland Cowboys and St. George Illawarra Dragons were disappointing in their own rights and they may have had a tough week in training in a bid to fix some of their glaring issues. The Cowboys must work on their attacking shape after they were nilled last week while the Dragons were poor defensively. That sets up an intriguing clash here but home advantage could prove to be crucial and the Cowboys can come out on top.
