The Dyldam Parramatta Eels travel to Townsville this week for their Round Eight clash against the North Queensland Cowboys at 1300SMILES Stadium on Saturday 23 April.
Blue and Gold Head Coach Brad Arthur has named an unchanged line up, naming the same 17 players who defeated the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (22-10) at Brookvale Oval in Round Seven of the NRL Telstra Premiership.
For the Cowboys, Head Coach Paul Green has named his side for the clash, with centre Kane Linnett returning in place of Javid Bowen.
Interchange forward Patrick Kaufusi retains his spot in the 17 after making his debut last week against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Both sides enter the clash with five wins from the opening seven rounds. The Cowboys are coming off a 44-18 victory over the Rabbitohs last week and will be looking to keep their undefeated record at Townsville in 2016 intact.
For the Eels, the side makes it’s road first trip out of Sydney in 2016. The Eels will enter the clash looking for their third consecutive victory this season, after wins over the Canberra Raiders and Sea Eagles in the past two weeks.
The Eels and Cowboys met just six weeks ago, with the Blue and Gold coming away 20-16 victors in Round Two at Pirtek Stadium. In that tightly contested affair, the game ended with three tries a piece.
Head to head, the Eels have 18 wins from their 34 games against the Cowboys, however at 1300SMILES Stadium, the Cowboys have 8 wins from 14 clashes.
Kick off is at 7:30pm on Saturday 23 April.
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Match Details: Dyldam Parramatta Eels v North Queensland Cowboys at 1300SMILES Stadium on Saturday 23 April. Kick off at 7:30pm.
Televised: Fox Sports 1 Live Coverage from 7:30pm.
The History: Played 34; Cowboys 15, Eels 18, Drawn 1.
The Eels and Cowboys met just six weeks ago, with the Blue and Gold coming away 20-16 victors in Round Two at Pirtek Stadium. In that tightly contested affair, the game ended with three tries a piece.
Head to head, the Eels have 18 wins from their 34 games against the Cowboys, however at 1300SMILES Stadium, the Cowboys have 8 wins from 14 clashes.
Parramatta Eels Squad:
1. Michael Gordon 2. Semi Radradra 3. Michael Jennings 4. Brad Takairangi 5. Clinton Gutherson 6. Corey Norman 7. Kieran Foran 8. Junior Paulo 9. Nathan Peats 10. Daniel Alvaro 11. Manu Ma'u 12. Beau Scott 13. Tepai Moeroa
Interchange: 14. Isaac De Gois 15. Peni Terepo 16. Danny Wicks 17. Kenny Edwards
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 Cooper 12. Ethan Lowe 13. Jason Taumalolo
Interchange: 14. Rory Kostjasyn 15. Patrick Kaufusi 16. Scott Bolton 17. Ben Hannant
Match Officials:
Referee: Gerard Sutton; Assistant Referee: Peter Gough; Touch Judges: Jeff Younis and Adam Reid; Review Officials: Jason Robinson and Ben Galea.
