It should be an intriguing detail to what's looking like a big round in the National Rugby League competition.
So tonight we've got the 8th placed Canterbury Bulldogs playing host to the 9th placed North Queensland Cowboys. A loss for either side could see them finish as low as 11th by Sunday.
The North Queensland Cowboys received some mixed news in the lead up to the contest. They'll be without their skipper Johnathan Thurston who is believed to be out between a period of 4 to 8 weeks depending on the extent of the injury but they will welcome back custodian Lachlan Coote, dynamic hooker Jake Granville as well as experienced backrow Shaun Fensom.
Meanwhile for Canterbury the game shapes as a nice audition for Foran's halves partner in 2018. The former Sea Eagles, Eel and Warrior has inked a 3 year deal with the Belmore based club and there's been murmurs surrounding the future of Mbye who was being shopped around to Melbourne not that long ago. There's only been one change to the side that beat Canberra in Round 9 with Matt Frawley coming in for Josh Reynolds who's still recovering from a torn hamstring. Frawley has been impressive since he made his NRL debut in Round 5 and many feel he could form a more effective halves combination with Mbye moving forward.
The biggest challenge for the Cowboys will be controlling the ruck. Ever since captain Matt Scott tore his ACL against the Brisbane Broncos in Round 2, the Cowboys have struggled to control the middle of the field with Patrick Kaufusi, Ben Spina & Corey Jensen failing to provide the same production that Scott, Tamou & Hannant provided the Cowboys last season. Considering they're up against Klemmer, Graham, Tolman & Kasiano, the Cowboys big men are going to have to suck it up in order to provide Coote & Morgan the space they need to dominate.
The Cowboys will place all their hope in the return of Granville who has been absent since the Cowboys Round 5 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Granville poses more of a threat from dummy half than Hampton, Leary & Thompson, enabling his forwards to make more metres as the defence has to remain on alert whenever Jake has the ball.
Verdict - I expect this to be a typical Canterbury win. Very tight in the first half with both teams trading a few tries a piece before the Bulldogs eventually run the Cowboys down in the middle of the second half.
Player To Watch - Brenko Lee. The former Raider has had a fairly up and down year for the Doggies but when he's on song he can be a difference maker. Up against one of the best defensive players in the game, Kane Linnett, tonight's game shapes as an important milestone in the development of Lee.
