Check out the match preview and prediction for the 2025 National Rugby League round 13 clash between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Wests Tigers.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
North Queensland Cowboys Vs Wests Tigers
Venue: Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Date: Saturday May 30, 5:30pm (AEST)
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Cowboys: 1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Robert Derby 3. Zac Laybutt 4. Viliami Vailea 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Jaxon Purdue 7. Tom Dearden 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 10. Sam McIntyre 11. John Bateman 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Reuben Cotter 14. Harrison Edwards 15. Kai O’Donnell 16. Griffin Neame 17. Coen Hess 18. Jake Clifford 19. Thomas Duffy 20. Karl Lawton 21. Thomas Mikaele 22. Braidon Burns 23. Kaiden Lahrs 24. Jamal Shibasaki
Tigers: 1. Jahream Bula 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Adam Doueihi 4. Starford To’a 5. Charlie Staines 6. Heath Mason 7. Jarome Luai 8. Terrell May 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. Royce Hunt 11. Samuela Fainu 12. Alex Seyfarth 13. Alex Twal 14. Brent Naden 15. Jack Bird 16. Sione Fainu 17. Tony Sukkar 18. Tristan Hope 19. Luke Laulilii 20. Charlie Murray 21. Kit Laulilii 22. Tallyn Da Silva
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Bunker: Ashley Klein
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
Few head-to-head match ups have had quite so many bizarre games in recent years. From 60-and 70-point return thrashings, match-deciding referee blunders, and high-scoring thrillers, matches between the North Queensland Cowboys and Wests Tigers have had a bit of everything.
The Cowboys sit in eighth spot but have experienced some indifferent form prior to their round 12 bye, while the Tigers are 12th but only one point behind their opponents.
The Cowboys have named all four of their State of Origin representatives (Tom Dearden, Jeremiah Nanai, Reuben Cotter, and Reece Robson) to back up on Saturday night, while the Tigers are unaffected.
Murray Taulagi is unavailable for North Queensland after injuring his calf in the loss against Manly, replaced by Jaxson Paulo.
Wests have retained largely the same side as went down to South Sydney at Campbelltown before the bye, with only Heath Mason coming into the side at five-eighth to replace Lachlan Galvin.
It’s difficult to judge either of these sides based on form. The Cowboys started the season with three losses, then produced four wins, but have two losses and a draw since. Errors have hurt them in their past three matches, completing at less than 75%. They also missed 42 tackles in the 90 minutes against Penrith and 37 in 80 minutes against Manly. They’ve conceded 14 tries in the past three games, further highlighting their recent defensive worries.
Much has been made of the Tigers’ on- and off-field struggles in recent times, with the Lachlan Galvin saga dragging on and the 64-0 thrashing in Melbourne. With the week off and no players involved in Origin, they’ll be hoping to put their issues behind them and get back to the form they displayed in the opening two months of the season.
The battle in the halves will be one to watch, with both sides featuring an experienced halfback (Tom Dearden and Jarome Luai) alongside an inexperienced five-eighth (Jaxon Purdue and Heath Mason). Whichever combination can gel quicker will go a long way towards leading their team to victory.
The Cowboys have dominated this match-up in recent times, winning six of their eight matches since 2021. They’ve outscored the Tigers 164 to 58 in the last three games and won the past three matches between the two teams in Townsville.
In a game that is sure to entertain, home ground advantage should be enough to see the Cowboys return to the winner’s circle, but as we saw in round 12, anything is possible in rugby league.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Cowboys by 8 points.
Check out our round 13 predictions here.
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