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.
This article contains content that is only available on pan66.com
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.
This article contains content that is only available on pan66.com
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the