2nd Qualifying Final
North Queensland Cowboys v Brisbane Broncos
Saturday, September 12, 5:15pm, Suncorp Stadium
(Note: This game is not being shown live. It is being replayed on Sunday at 7:30am, FOX Sports 1)
North Queensland Cowboys
1. Kayln Ponga 2. Gideon Gela-Mosby 3. Akeripa Tia Kilifi 4. Conor Carey 5. Scott Schulte 6. Kyle Laybutt 7. Cooper Bambling 8. Viliame Kikau 9. Brandon Smith 10. Braeden Uele 11. Coen Hess 12. Temone Power 13. Jordan Kenworthy. Interchange: 14. Mitchell Dunn 15. Kieran Quabba 16. David Munro 17. Ross Bella 18. Bill Cullen 19. Trey Kemp. Coach: Todd Payten.
Brisbane Broncos
1. Paul Byrnes 2. Nikau Te Rupe 3. Jordan Drew 4. Jarryd Dodd 5. Dan Russell 6. Will Brimson 7. Logan Spaander 8. George Fai 9. Jayden Berrell 10. Keegan Hipgrave 11. Lachlan Lanskey 12. Alex Barr 13. Jai Arrow. Interchange: 14. Kalolo Saitaua 15. Sam Gee 16. Keenan Palasia 17. Sam Lavea. Coach: Craig Hodges.
North Queensland missed out on the chance to win their first minor premiership on Saturday night with a loss to the Titans.
Coach Todd Payten chose to rest key players Kalyn Ponga, Kyle Laybutt, Viliame Kikau and Coen Hess in preparation for the final series.
Despite losing twice to Brisbane in the regular season, the Cowboys head into the at game full strength and looking to get back in the winners circle after having their 13-game winning streak broken.
Brisbane on the other hand will go into this game with their starting halves Jayden Nikorima and Ashley Taylor both out injured.
Taylor, who was called up to the Broncos NRL side last Thursday night, broke his finger in his first grade debut.
The Broncos finished the regular season with disappointing losses to South Sydney and Melbourne, two sides who both missed the top eight.
Technically a Cowboys “home” game, Brisbane will be on home turf and face a very tough challenge without Taylor and Nikorima.
Ins and Outs
As mentioned, Ponga, Laybutt, Kikau and Hess are back into the Cowboys’ starting line up after being rested in Round 26.
Yamba Bowie, Ty Carucci, Bill Cullen and Cody Maughan make way for the four returning players, with Cullen and Trey Kemp on the end of an extended bench.
With Taylor injured, Logan Spaander retains his place in the side, partnering Will Brimson in the halves.
Jordan Drew is back after missing Round 26 and comes into the centres for Jaydn Su’A.
2015 Head to Head
Round 3 – Brisbane 30 – 26 North Queensland at Suncorp Stadium
Round 10 – Brisbane 44 – 10 North Queensland at 1300SMILES Stadium
Keep An Eye On
Kalyn Ponga (North Queensland)
The 17-year old fullback continues to turn heads in every NYC game he plays. Since debuting in Round 20, Ponga has eight tries in six games. Against the Warriors in Round 24, the Mackay junior ran for 327 metres and broke an incredible 22 tackles.
Jai Arrow (Brisbane)
The Holden Cup’s Corey Parker, Arrow will no doubt get through a mountain of work for the Baby Broncos on Saturday night. Even in last weekend’s 36-point loss, Arrow scored a try, ran for 201 metres and made 37 tackles. He ranks second in offloads and third in running metres.
18TH MAN 