Plenty to play for as two sides on the fringe of the eight lock horns on a Saturday night at 4 Pines Park.
The ninth-placed Cowboys are one point clear of the 10th-placed Sea Eagles and have fond memories of their last trip to Brookvale - a 28-26 win in Round 15 last year when they scored three tries in the last seven minutes to snatch a remarkable victory.
Both teams are coming off a bye and both have key players who will look to back up after Origin III, a crucial factor in who comes out on top on Saturday night.
Not only do the Sea Eagles need a win but they also need to give their points differential a kick along - their for and against of -24 is 62 worse than the Cowboys (+38) and well behind the Rabbitohs (+92) who sit eighth and the seventh-placed Eels (+96).
The last two meetings between these sides have produced a total of 118 points and with so many attacking weapons on show the 4 Pines crowd is in for a free flowing contest.
Sportsbet Betting Preview - Sea Eagles v Cowboys
Team News
Sea Eagles: that skipper Daly Cherry-Evans and star forward Jake Trbojevic will back up after Origin III. A new face on the bench with 25-year-old Dean Matterson to make his NRL debut in place of Ben Trbojevic (hamstring). Josh Aloiai was promoted to the starting side in the 24-hour update, with Toafofoa Sipley dropping back to the bench.
Cowboys: Coach Todd Payten has named the same 17 that piled on 74 points against Wests Tigers before the bye, with Maroons stars Reuben Cotter, Valentine Holmes, Murray Taulagi and Jeremiah Nanai all good to go. The lone change on Saturday sees Jake Granville promoted to the starting side at lock, with Cotter moving back to the interchange.
Match: Sea Eagles v Cowboys
Round 20 -
home Team
Sea Eagles
away Team
Cowboys
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Sea Eagles is number 1 Reuben GarrickFullback for Cowboys is number 1 Scott Drinkwater
-
Winger for Sea Eagles is number 2 Jason SaabWinger for Cowboys is number 2 Semi Valemei
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Centre for Sea Eagles is number 3 Brad ParkerCentre for Cowboys is number 3 Valentine Holmes
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Centre for Sea Eagles is number 4 Tolutau KoulaCentre for Cowboys is number 4 Peta Hiku
-
Winger for Sea Eagles is number 5 Christian TuipulotuWinger for Cowboys is number 5 Murray Taulagi
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Five-Eighth for Sea Eagles is number 6 Joshua SchusterFive-Eighth for Cowboys is number 6 Tom Dearden
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Halfback for Sea Eagles is number 7 Daly Cherry-EvansHalfback for Cowboys is number 7 Chad Townsend
Forwards
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Prop for Sea Eagles is number 8 Taniela PasekaProp for Cowboys is number 8 Jordan McLean
-
Hooker for Sea Eagles is number 9 Lachlan CrokerHooker for Cowboys is number 9 Reece Robson
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Prop for Sea Eagles is number 17 Josh AloiaiProp for Cowboys is number 10 Coen Hess
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2nd Row for Sea Eagles is number 11 Haumole Olakau'atu2nd Row for Cowboys is number 11 Luciano Leilua
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2nd Row for Sea Eagles is number 12 Kelma Tuilagi2nd Row for Cowboys is number 12 Jeremiah Nanai
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Lock for Sea Eagles is number 13 Jake TrbojevicLock for Cowboys is number 14 Jake Granville
Interchange
-
Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 10 Toafofoa SipleyInterchange for Cowboys is number 13 Reuben Cotter
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Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 14 Dean MattersonInterchange for Cowboys is number 15 Griffin Neame
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Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 15 Aaron WoodsInterchange for Cowboys is number 16 Jason Taumalolo
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Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 16 Ethan BullemorInterchange for Cowboys is number 17 Kulikefu Finefeuiaki
Reserves
-
Replacement for Sea Eagles is number 21 Jake ArthurReplacement for Cowboys is number 19 Jamayne Taunoa-Brown
Match Officials
- Referee: Adam Gee
- Touch Judge: Matt Noyen
- Touch Judge: Jon Stone
- Senior Review Official: Chris Butler
Last updated:
Stat Attack
- Only Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson (293) has kicked the ball more times than Cowboy Chad Townsend (252) in 2023.
- The Cowboys have won just two of eight away games this season (Roosters in Round 10, Rabbitohs in Round 17).
- The Sea Eagles have won four of their past five games against the Cowboys.
- The Cowboys have scored 177 points in their past four games.
- Sea Eagles fullback Reuben Garrick has scored 46 points in his past three games against the Cowboys.
- The Sea Eagles have won five from seven at 4 Pines Park in 2023.
Match: Sea Eagles v Cowboys
Round 20 -
home Team
Sea Eagles
12th Position
away Team
Cowboys
9th Position
Venue: 4 Pines Park, Sydney
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the
