The Dyldam Parramatta Eels take on the North Queensland Cowboys at Pirtek Stadium on Saturday 12 March for their Round Two clash.
Arthur has made one change to his side, with forward Danny Wicks recalled to an extended five man bench, replacing David Gower.
Whilst coming away with a 4-17 loss last week against the 2015 Grand Finalists Brisbane, Blue and Gold Members and fans can take plenty of positives out of the side’s gritty and tough defensive effort to keep the Broncos tryless in the second half.
Blue and Gold fans will be buoyed by the naming of halves pairing Corey Norman and Kieran Foran. Norman recovered from a potential neck injury that forced him from the field at half time in last week’s clash, whilst Foran was a late withdrawal from the season opener.
For the premiers, they name the same 17 man side who lifted the premiership trophy last October, and who also claimed the World Club challenge and a 20-14 victory over the Cronulla Sharks last weekend.
Look forward to the clash between both sides forward packs. Blue and Gold forwards Manu Ma’u (32 tackles and 116m in his Round One performance), Beau Scott (40 tackles and 67m), Nathan Peats (60 tackles and 49m) and Tepai Moeroa (37 tackles and 68m) will be looking for another strong performance in the middle of the field.
Stopping the Cowboys forward pack will go a long way in limiting the impact Johnathan Thurston and Michael Morgan have in the game. The Cowboys forwards led from the front last week with James Tamou (26 tackles and 119m), Matt Scott (25 tackles, 98m and a try), Ethan Lowe (38 tackles, 143m and a try) and James Taumaololo (18 tackles and 181m) all with impressive numbers in Round One.
Kick off is at 7:30pm with the game live on FOX Sports. Click here to purchase your tickets to the Round Two encounter.
ROUND TWO GAME DAY INFO
Match Details: Dyldam Parramatta Eels v North Queensland Cowboys at Pirtek Stadium on Saturday 12 March. Kick off at 7:30pm.
Televised: Fox Sports, Live, 7:30pm (NSW).
The History: Played 33, Parramatta 17, North Queensland 15, drawn 1.
The Eels hold a positive win ratio over the Cowboys over their past 33 clashes, which includes 12 wins from 18 clashes at Pirtek Stadium. However the Cowboys came away with two victories over the Blue and Gold in 2015, including a 36-30 victory at Pirtek Stadium.
Eels Squad:
1. Michael Gordon 2. Semi Radradra 3. Michael Jennings 4. Brad Takairangi 5. Clinton Gutherson 6. Corey Norman 7. Kieran Foran (c) 8. Junior Paulo 9. Nathan Peats 10. Tim Mannah 11. Manu Ma'u 12. Beau Scott 13. Tepai Moeroa
Interchange: 14. Kaysa Pritchard 15. Peni Terepo 16. Danny Wicks 17. Kenny Edwards 18. Daniel Alvaro
Cowboys Squad:
1. Lachlan Coote 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Justin O’Neill 4. Kane Linnett 5. Antonio Winterstein 6. Michael Morgan 7. Johnathan Thurston (c) 8. Matt Scott (c) 9. Jake Granville 10. James Tamou 11. Gavin Cooer 12. Ethan Lowe 13. Jason Taumalolo
Interchange: 14. Rory Kostjasyn 15. John Asiata 16. Scott Bolton 17. Ben Hannant
Match Officials:
Referees: Jared Maxwell and Adam Gee; Sideline Officials: Russell Turner and Ricky Macfarlanel; Video Referees: Ben Galea, Jason Robinson and Bernard Sutton.
