Dyldam Parramatta Eels forward Beau Scott says the Eels Round Eight clash against the in-form North Queensland Cowboys at 1300SMILES Stadium on Saturday 23 April will be a great test for the Blue and Gold.
With the Cowboys starting their season with 5 wins from their opening seven rounds, Scott knows the side’s first road trip will be a tough one, and shutting down Thurston will go a long way to securing the two points.
“It is going to be tough. We haven’t been out of Sydney yet and it will be our first road trip,” Scott said.
“The Cowboys are in pretty red hot form and it will be a great test for us.”
“They are putting a lot of points on teams up there and that is one thing we will have to have a look at,” Scott added.
And whilst the defence has been promising early, to which Scott said comes down to trust, there are positive signs for the Blue and Gold as the offence begins to click.
“We are just turning up for each other when we need to, especially on our line. We are turning teams away, set after set and that builds a lot of trust in a team and we can turn that around and put a few points on at the other end of the field.” Scott said.
“It is just the time together, new players, new combinations at the club,” Scott added.
“It has taken a little bit of time to gel, and it will take a little bit longer as well but it’s a long year and we need to get better on the attack side of things and executing our sets.”
And for Scott, a renown defender who has had plenty of run ins with Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston over the years in the Origin arena, the enforcer knows his job this week.
Scott will be looking to repeat a job he did on the halfback when the Eels came away with victory in Round Two, 2016, by limiting Thurston’s involvement in the game.
“It is always a key when you play the Cowboys to limit JT’s involvement in the game, and that’s what we have to do again this week.” Scott said.
“We managed to do that the first time we played them this year, and limit the impact he had on the game. He didn’t have many carries but I think he will try and take the game by the scruff of the neck this week, and we will try and shut that down.”
“It is a big game for us. He is a key origin player as well so if I can limit what he does this week, it is a bit of a trial run going forward into Origin.”
The Eels take on the North Queensland Cowboys at 1300SMILES Stadium on Saturday 23 April , kick off at 7:30pm.
