Round 3: St George-Illawarra Dragons vs North Queensland Cowboys

[Queenslander]

St George-Illawarra Dragons vs North Queensland Cowboys
Saturday March 31st, 5:30PM; WIN Stadium

Referee: Jared Maxwell

Team Notes:

Dragons

Mathew Head and Justin Poore are returning from injury and suspension respectively

Chris Houston named on the interchange for his NRL debut.

Head has been named at halfback with Ben Hornby shifting to five-eighth replacing Richie Williams.

Tony Caine has been elevated to start at hooker, replacing Simon Woolford (ankle)

Corey Paynehas been named subject to his judiciary hearing in the back row, replacing Beau Scott (foot).

Rangi Chase has been named on the interchange to make his Dragons debut and is the only addition other than Houston to the Dragons team that was named and/or played last week.

Cowboys

Jason Smith has been ruled out with an ankle injury.

Teams:

Dragons

1. Josh MORRIS
2. Luke MACDOUGALL
3. Keith LULIA
4. Matt COOPER
5. Wes NAIQAMA
6. Ben HORNBY (c)
7. Mathew HEAD
8. Justin POORE
9. Tony CAINE
10. Jason RYLES (c)
11. Ashton SIMS
12. Corey PAYNE
13. Ben CREAGH

Interchange:

14. Adam PEEK
15. Danny WICKS
16. Dan HUNT
17. Rangi CHASE
18. Lagi SETU
19. Chase STANLEY
20. Chris HOUSTON

Cowboys

Matthew Bowen
Brenton Bowen
Ashley Graham
Paul Bowman
Neil Sweeney
Jason Smith
Johnathan Thurston (c)
Matthew Scott
Aaron Payne (vc)
Carl Webb
Steve Southern
Luke O'Donnell
Justin Smith

Interchange:

Rod Jensen
Jacob Lillyman
Sione Faumuina
Shane Tronc
Scott Bolton

***Please use this thread for game day spoilers and general match information***

[Hoppy2007Dragons]

I dunno why, but i have a really good feeling about this game, i'm tipping a massive upset by the saints against the cowboys, i dunno if its cause i'm watching it at a mates place on fox and they will all be cowboy supporters or the fact that cowboy supporters have been talking it up all week, but i have a real good feeling.

Saints by 8.

[Poida]

I wont talk up the game but I get a feeling the Cows will end the Dragons dominance of the 2 teams head to head and win the match by 20 to be cheeky to the Dragons fans
IT might backfire but its worth a bit of banter

[Hoppy2007Dragons]

Mathew Head and Justin Poore returning from injury and suspension respectively have been named in the Dragons starting side for the match against the Cowboys at WIN Stadium this Saturday with Chris Houston named on the interchange for his NRL debut.

Head has been named at halfback with Ben Hornby shifting to five-eight replacing Richie Williams. Tony Caine has been elevated to start at hooker, replacing Simon Woolford (ankle); Corey Payne has been named subject to his judiciary hearing in the back row, replacing Beau Scott (foot).

Rangi Chase has been named on the interchange to make his Dragons debut and is the only addition other than Houston to the Dragons team that was named and/or played last week.

Unavailable Dragons are Mark Gasnier (pectoral), Sam Isemonger (knee), Brett Morris (thumb), Dean Young (knee), Simon Woolford (ankle) and Beau Scott (foot).

Source: Dragons.com.au

I wasn't expecting Head back till round 5 or 6, so this is a pleasent suprise, i really hope he has trained hard and can get a full season behind him to deliver what has looked a promising career.

But Poore and Head is a boost, hopefully Payne gets off and we can have a decent squad.

[Robbie_Dee]

Cowboys to have a good win, and continue their dominance in the early rounds! I'll tip a 14 point win!

With matty bowen, Johnathan thurston, carl webb and the rest of the gang playin the way they are, they will be very hard to beat!

I thought Jason Smith rolled his ankle last week, and he was going to be out? Whats doing with that?

[Poida]

Cowboys to have a good win, and continue their dominance in the early rounds! I'll tip a 14 point win!

With matty bowen, Johnathan thurston, carl webb and the rest of the gang playin the way they are, they will be very hard to beat!

I thought Jason Smith rolled his ankle last week, and he was going to be out? Whats doing with that?

I think he will play

[Cowboy Titan]

Jason Smith had scans on his ankle yesterday and it showed no serious damage. He said he was very tired at training after spending every hour for a couple of days putting his ankle on ice. Must be hard work for an old man.

He's asked Muzz to give him until Friday to prove his fitness.

If he's out, I'd like to see them play Jackson Nicolau at 5/8 rather than Justin Smith. Apparently he's been on fire for the Young Guns.

On the Guns, tune in to ABC TV at 2pm on Saturday for the Guns vs Bears clash at Pizzey Park. I normally take the family to this game each year but I'll have a heap of visitors for the afternoon so I'll better be sociable and stay home.

[Steelers]

6. Ben HORNBY (c)
7. Mathew HEAD

If we are to have any chance of doing anything this year, these 2 need to be fit and firing! So excited about this game, a win here would leave us VERY confident!

[shavenjas]

If we are to have any chance of doing anything this year, these 2 need to be fit and firing! So excited about this game, a win here would leave us VERY confident!

So there is still a bye this year, looks like the cowboys have got it this week,a sure 2 points to the Cowboys

[Steelers]

So there is still a bye this year, looks like the cowboys have got it this week,a sure 2 points to the Cowboys

Ahhhhhhh Shav, my good friend! Welcome back

[NRLChick]

Cows by 2.

[Cowboy Titan]

Smith doubtful for Dragons
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au...322_sport.html

Smith doubtful for Dragons

ANTONY STEWART

27Mar07

JASON Smith is likely to be named in the Cowboys team to play St George Illawarra on Saturday night despite still having a question mark hanging over his fitness.

The five-eighth underwent an MRI scan on his injured left ankle yesterday but he won't know the full extent of the damage until meeting with specialist Dr John Maguire tomorrow.

While North Queensland strength and conditioning coach Glen Murphy said only a surprisingly good prognosis would see Smith travel to Wollongong, coach Graham Murray said he would not be prepared to rule him out until after hearing the doctor's report.

The 35-year-old was originally diagnosed with `a severely sprained ankle' straight after being helped from the field in the 44th minute of the Cowboys' 43-6 hammering of Sydney last Saturday night.

X-rays on the ankle cleared Smith of any bone damage and he was able to walk without the aid of crutches on Sunday.

"I wouldn't rule him out at this stage, no," Murray said yesterday afternoon.

"That would be my first point of call, to name him in the side, and than wait until Wednesday and see what the doctor said."

If Smith was ruled out, the Cowboys have a number of options to consider when choosing a replacement to slot into the No. 6 spot.

With Johnathan Thurston at halfback, North Queensland could look to Justin Smith to move from lock to five-eighth, a position he played in during stages of the 2006 season.

He also shifted to pivot for much of the second half of Saturday night's win over Sydney after Smith left the field.

Alternatively, Jackson Nicolau could be rewarded for his brilliant start to the Queensland Cup competition for the Young Guns, giving him the chance to make his NRL debut.

The 19-year-old has been highly impressive for the Cowboys feeder side in their two matches and scored a pair of tries in their comprehensive 40-0 trouncing of Souths Logan at the weekend.

There is also a chance Thurston could shift to five-eighth with hooker Aaron Payne moving to halfback and former New Zealand international David Faiumu moving up from the Young Guns to the No. 9 jersey.

While Murray admitted there were a few different avenues the club could take if Smith was ruled out, he said he would prefer not to worry about it unless it happened.

"It's a bit like trying to predict something that is going to happen this weekend, I don't necessarily have to go down that track until it happens," Murray said.

"But you're right, there's a few ways we can go."

Meanwhile, the Cowboys' impressive start to the season has seen them elevated to second favourites to take out the NRL premiership.

According to TAB Sportsbet, Melbourne are still the best bet to take the title at $4.50 but North Queensland have come in from $15 when the season started to $7.

[Steel Dragon]

And looks like the Panthers are the other team with the week off.

Jason

[Robbie_Dee]

I would actually rather Smith have a week off and fully heal up, to stop any chances of him getting further injuries. I also look forward to seeing Jackson Nicalau have a game of fg!

[Hoppy2007Dragons]

I don't think smith will play, i think its a tactic to keep the dragons guessing, i'm expecting nicolau to play.

Still this will be a good game with Webb vs Ryles, O'Donnell vs Creagh on who can get on top.