Round 7: Sharks vs Cowboys

[Queenslander]

Sharks Vs Cowboys
Toyota Park
Sat 7.30pm

Sharks
1. David Simmons
2. Darren Albert
3. Nigel Vagana
4. Phil Bailey
5. Luke Covell
6. Brett Kearney
7. Adam Dykes
8. Ben Ross
9. Kevin Kingston
10. Luke Douglas
11. Reece Williams
12. Lance Thompson
13. Paul Gallen

Interchange:
14. Hutch Maiava
15. Brett Kelly
16. Greg Bird
17. Tevita Latu
18. James Stosic
19. Matt Hilder

Cowboys
1. Matt Bowen
2. Neil Sweeney
3. Gavin Cooper
4. Paul Bowman
5. Matt Sing
6. Justin Smith
7. Johnathan Thurston (vc)
8. Carl Webb
9. Aaron Payne
10. Shane Tronc
11. Steve Southern
12. Luke O'Donnell
13. Travis Norton (c)

Interchange:
14. Rod Jensen
15. David Faiumu
16. Matt Scott
17. Mitchell Sargent

[The Original Idiot]

No Kimmorley, Bowen and Thurston on fire, Cowboys will win IMO.

[Bernster]

Nothing but a :Training Run" for my boys this weekend...lol

[Queenslander]

Nothing but a :Training Run" for my boys this weekend...lol

:lol!: I hope so! Hopefully the Cowboys dont go into this game thinking they will win. A loss for the Cowboys will not look good infront of test selectors.

[Teegy]

:roll: This will be a hard one to pick :thumbsup:

[Queenslander]

Cowboys lose captain
April 21, 2006

NORTH Queensland captain Travis Norton is out of tomorrow night's game with the Sharks at Toyota Park.

Norton has withdrawn with a calf injury and the Cowboys have called up former Parramatta centre Ashley Graham.

Rod Jensen is likely to start at lock in Norton's place, while halfback Johnathan Thurston will lead the competition pacesetter.

AAP

[Dakink]

Norton is a loss - but Jensen has been great off the bench - doesnt change my pick!

[Queenslander]

Not even the loss of the captain will sway my tipping. The Cowboys should be too strong.

[Queenslander]

Eels reject is now a Cowboys star
Friday, April 21, 2006 - 2:55 PM

Parramatta discard Ashley Graham could be a shock starter for North Queensland on Saturday night after skipper Travis Norton was ruled out of the NRL clash against Cronulla with a calf strain.

Norton completed the Cowboys' final training session in Townsville on Friday but coach Graham Murray was not convinced the 30-year-old veteran would be able to get through the full 80 minutes at Toyota Park.

His scratching has opened the door for Graham, who joined the club from Parramatta earlier this month, to make his first grade debut for North Queensland.

Graham, a Cairns junior, left the Eels after five seasons in search of greater opportunities and has impressed the Cowboys' coaching staff with his performances in the Queensland Wizard Cup.

Murray hinted at a possible reshuffle that would see rookie centre Gavin Cooper move into the back-row with Graham coming into the centres.

The Cowboys' other alternative is a straight-up switch to move utility Rod Jensen to lock with Graham to start on the bench.

Murray said he had given Norton every opportunity to prove his fitness but was pleased to have Graham on hand as a replacement.

"He's tried pretty hard," Murray said.

"He had the injury last week against the Knights. It's just on the verge of getting better but he wouldn't be able to make 80 minutes.

"It'll take a bit of time to get over. Last week he went back on and was still sore.

"I'm not sure whether Rod Jensen will go to lock forward and Ash to the bench or if Cooper goes into the back-row and Ash to the starting line-up.

"We'll make that decision tomorrow."

Graham's promotion gives Murray further depth within his backline stocks and has cast doubt over the future of Josh Hannay at the club.

Murray denied Hannay, a former Queensland State of Origin representative, was on the outer.

"I haven't taken Josh Hannay out of the equation. I just wanted to see how Ash goes," he said.

Australian Test candidate Johnathan Thurston will take over the captaincy duties in Norton's absence.

The Sharks have been boosted by the return to the starting line-up of key duo Nigel Vagana and Paul Gallen for the vital clash.

New Zealand international Vagana and back-rower Gallen both played their first match of the season when they came off the bench in last Sunday's loss to Wests Tigers, with coach Stuart Raper showing little hesitation in bringing them back into the starting 13.

Former Bulldogs prop Hutch Maiava has been dropped to the bench in a direct swap for 19-year-old Luke Douglas.

Raper still has to trim two players off his six-man bench, which includes utility Brett Kelly, who is in line to make his NRL debut.

While the Cowboys are riding high as the only unbeaten team after six rounds, the Sharks are desperate to notch up their second win of the season to stay in touch with the competition leaders.

Source: AAP

[Kallan]

Cowboys will win for sure.

[Kallan]

Well i was wrong
Cronulla 24 T: Bailey, Thompson, Dykes, Vagana
G: Covell 4/5
North Queensland 22 T: O'Donnell 2, Sing, Jensen
G: Thurston 2/3

[DIEHARD]

I was wrong too. :embarasse

[Steelers]

Tipping is going horribly so far.

[Queenslander]

:spit: Damn :cry: ............. Enough Said ;)

[DeeGan]

If you picked this your either a) a Sharks fan or b) a genius :laugh:

Great win and BTW, Lance Thompson KILLED them last night. Further rep honors could be on the cards if injuries come in to it. With that said, form wise, he is right up there for a Blues jumper.

What a buy for the Sharks!

[Coaster]

Well im neither of those but i picked this game

i also won the BWS comp last week with 6 out of 7 and picked the margin on Friday.

Going well have only missed 1 game, bloody souths my moment of madness