The Cowboys return from the bye needing wins to secure their place in the finals, but they face a Tigers side brimming with confidence after last week’s stunning upset of the Roosters. With Tom Dearden back to steer North Queensland around the park and the Tigers chasing consecutive giant-killing performances, this Townsville clash could have major top-eight implications. Expect a physical contest between a Cowboys team under pressure and a Wests Tigers side with nothing to lose.

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Matchday Details

Saturday, 29 August 2026 – 7:35pm AEST – Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
📺 Nine Network / Nine Now / Kayo / Foxtel
Referee: Grant Atkins | Senior Review Official: Wyatt Raymond

North Queensland Cowboys: 1. Scott Drinkwater, 2. Braidon Burns, 3. Jaxon Purdue, 4. Tom Chester, 5. Zac Laybutt, 6. Jake Clifford, 7. Tom Dearden (c), 8. Griffin Neame, 9. Reed Mahoney, 10. Jason Taumalolo, 11. Heilum Luki, 12. Jeremiah Nanai, 13. Reuben Cotter, 14. Soni Luke, 15. Thomas Mikaele, 16. John Bateman, 17. Coen Hess, 18. Kai O’Donnell, 19. Ethan King, 20. Kaiden Lahrs, 21. Mason Kira, 22. Liam Sutton.

Wests Tigers: 1. Jahream Bula, 2. Junior Tupou, 3. Solomone Saukuru, 4. Patrick Herbert, 5. Jeral Skelton, 6. Jarome Luai (c), 7. Jock Madden, 8. Terrell May, 9. Apisai Koroisau, 10. Fonua Pole, 11. Samuela Fainu, 12. Tony Sukkar, 13. Alex Seyfarth, 14. Heath Mason, 15. Sione Fainu, 16. Ethan Roberts, 17. Bunty Afoa, 18. Tristan Hope, 19. Sunia Turuva, 20. Faaletino Tavana, 21. Charlie Murray, 22. Vaka Aho.

Match Preview

The third game of Super Saturday for Round 26 kicks off in Townsville, as the Cowboys look to secure their spot in the top-eight against a Tigers team playing for late-season pride.

The Cowboys sit precariously in eighth spot and should be well-rested after coming off their final bye of the year last week. Prior to their bye, they were disappointing in their 32-30 loss to the Eels. On the flip side, the Tigers are in 14th and out of finals contention. However, they gained a huge confidence boost last week after shocking the rugby league world with a 25-24 upset win over the Roosters.

For the Cowboys, it’s a huge inclusion with Tom Dearden returning from injury at halfback. Jaxon Purdue moves to centre to accommodate him, with Zac Laybutt moving to the wing. Murray Taulagi is out after suffering a concussion at training last week. Jeremiah Nanai also returns from injury to start in the second row, with Kai O’Donnell moving to the bench.

For the Tigers, Alex Twal is out after suffering a concussion in the first set of the Roosters game last week. Alex Seyfarth moves to start at lock in his place, with Ethan Roberts joining the bench. Terrell May is back starting at prop after coming off the bench last week. Sunia Turuva is back on the bench after overcoming a knee injury that kept him out of last week’s clash with the Roosters. Faaletino Tavana drops to the reserves.

The key for the Cowboys will be leaning into the return of Dearden. It’s do-or-die for the Cowboys over their final two games if they want to play finals footy, and Dearden is tailor-made for these types of games. His running game as a half is one of the best in the league, which will be a crucial factor in keeping the Tigers on their toes defensively. Because he’s such a great runner, he gives his outside men more space by forcing the defence to pay attention to him and his dummies. He’ll also have license to roam across the field and link with Jake Clifford and Scott Drinkwater where he can. If they all get on the same page, it’ll be tough for the Tigers to repeat their effort from last week.

Speaking of the Tigers, the key for them is copying and pasting their performance against the Roosters from last week. If they can find that same level of resilience again defensively, they’ll be hard to beat. One thing they did well was defend multiple sets on their goal-line without breaking. It’s been a rarity for the Tigers this season, but it frustrated the normally crisp Roosters attack into impatience and errors. The Cowboys like to play in high-scoring shootouts, so if the Tigers can tighten the screws and make it difficult for the Cowboys attack to get into the fast-flowing style they like to play, the Tigers the Tigers could be on track for back-to-back upsets.

The Cowboys have won five of their past six games against the Tigers. Fonua Pole plays his 100th NRL game.

Prediction

RLZ Tip: Cowboys by 6.
Full Round 26 tips → /nrl-round-26-predictions-2026/
Bold call: Tom Dearden scores a double on return from injury.

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Brendan Wood

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