Cowboys v Dolphins: Townsend forced out; Forward guns return

Two teams looking to bounce back from disappointing losses go head-to-head in Townsville, with the Cowboys aiming to repeat their dominant Round 1 win against the Dolphins.

Last round, the Cowboys went down to the Panthers in a close match, where their second half fightback was not enough to run down the reigning premiers who got out to a fast-start to lead 18-4 at the break, eventually winning 26-20.

North Queensland did their best to create chances against Penrith, producing 16 offloads compared to the three by the Panthers, but could not find a way to break their defensive resolve. 

The Dolphins too left their best work until late in their match against Knights, starting the game 'flat' according to coach Wayne Bennett.

He'll be looking for a much better start from his side who scored two tries in the last three minutes to bring the scores to a respectable margin, with the normally dependable boot of Jamayne Isaako not finding the target, only kicking one from three conversion attempts in the 18-14 loss. 

Team News

Cowboys: A knee injured forced veteran halfback Chad Townsend out of the side on Friday night, with Jake Clifford coming in to replace him in what will be his first game since rejoining the club this year. Heilum Luki remains in the squad and is set to return from a long injury layoff. Viliami Vailea will make his club debut in place of the injured Tom Chester.

Dolphins: Connelly Lemuelu will start at prop with Mark Nicholls moving to the bench in the only change when the teams were finalised 60 minutes before kick off. Felise Kaufusi also returns from injury and captain Jesse Bromwich is good to go despite picking up a calf injury last week.