Matchday Details
Saturday, 28 March 2026 – 7:35pm AEDT – Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
📺 Broadcast: Fox League / Kayo
Referee: Gerard Sutton | Bunker: Chris Butler
North Queensland Cowboys
1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Braidon Burns 3. Jaxon Purdue 4. Zac Laybutt 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Jake Clifford 7. Tom Dearden 8. Coen Hess 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Jason Taumalolo 11. Heilum Luki 12. Sam McIntyre 13. Reuben Cotter 14. Soni Luke 15. Kai O’Donnell 16. Griffin Neame 17. Harrison Edwards 18. Thomas Mikaele 19. Liam Sutton 20. Kaiden Lahrs 21. Matthew Lodge 22. Robert Derby
Melbourne Storm
1. Sualauvi Faalogo 2. Will Warbrick 3. Jack Howarth 4. Moses Leo 5. Nick Meaney 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Joe Chan 12. Alec MacDonald 13. Trent Loiero 14. Tyran Wishart 15. Cooper Clarke 16. Tui Kamikamica 17. Davvy Moale 18. Jack Hetherington 19. Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown 20. Lazarus Vaalepu 21. Manaia Waitere 22. Trent Toelau
Match Preview
The Cowboys claimed their first win of the season last week against the Titans, while the Storm are hoping to bounce back after giving up a 14-0 lead at home to the Broncos.
There are a couple of changes for the Cowboys, with Zac Laybutt starting in the centres in place of the suspended Tom Chester, while Tom Mikaele and Harrison Edwards are the new faces on the extended bench. For the Storm, Tui Kamikamica will revert to the bench, with Trent Loiero returning to the starting side in the lock position.
On paper, this looks like an easy win for the Storm. The Cowboys have been struggling to start the season and early signs point to them being in the wooden spoon battle, despite getting their first win last week.
The Storm enjoyed two big wins across the first two rounds, but struggled to put points on the board last week, despite having plenty of opportunities.
They still boast a plethora of attacking weapons across the board, and hold positional advantages right across the field. The key to their success still resides with Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes in the halves, while Sua Faalogo will look to build on a positive start to the season, averaging more than 200 run metres per game.
For the Cowboys, Tom Dearden will have to lead the way, while Scott Drinkwater will look to back up his impressive performance in the win against the Titans, which included a try, try assist, line break, and 224 run metres.
Despite the difference in success across the past couple of seasons, the Cowboys have won three of their past four games against the Storm in Townsville.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Storm by 24 points.
Bold call: Faalogo to score a hat-trick.
Related
- NRL Round 4 2026 Predictions & Tips
- NRL Round 4 Team Lists – 2026 Season
- NRL 2026 Results Tracker
- 2026 NRL Match Review Results Tracker: Charges, Suspensions & Fines
- NRL Injury List 2026
