Cowboys v Roosters preview

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Cowboys look for consistency, whilst tri colours try to kickstart their season.

The North Queensland Cowboys and Sydney Roosters are up next on the juggernaut that is Thursday Night Football! The Cowboys will look to put last week's surprise loss to Parramatta behind them with a committed performance against an underachieving Roosters outfit that is sorely missing key players.

North Queensland are a different prospect when they are playing at home and the tri colours will need to be at their best if they want to open their account for season 2016. A win for either side would help their current plight and possibly propel them forward in season 2016.

Last meeting: Round 1 2015 - Cowboys 4 Roosters 28

The tri colours put a beating on the Cowboys in last years only encounter which was in round 1. Many people had written the Cowboys off after this performance and their subsequent 3 match winless start, we all know how that ended.

The Roosters have a marvellous record at 1300Smiles with 12 wins and only 5 losses. The last 6 meetings have been squared at 3-3.

Who to watch: Michael Morgan has had an unspectacular start to the season considering how brilliant he was in 2015. Look for his running game to come back into the fray for the Cowboys as they come up against a Roosters side that has plenty of cracks defensively. His link up play with Ethan Lowe was a highlight last season, look for this combination on Thursday Night.

For the Roosters, Latrell Mitchell was a star last week against Canberra and don't be surprised to see him tear up the Cowboys defence. Mitchell has all the keys to become a pro in this business. Elusiveness, speed, vision and a good passing game. It'll take time for him to get used to the physicality but there will still be plenty of good highlights to view. Look for his danger runs from kick returns and for him to be popping upon the left hand edge of the Roosters attack. A brilliant talent that could spark something for the Roosters.

The favourite: North Queensland are short priced favourites and being at home its hard to argue with that.

My tip: Surely you can't bet against the Cowboys at home? They were poor last week against the Eels and I don't expect them to dish up a performance like that anytime soon. The Roosters on the other hand should have won last week and are improving week by week with a very young side. Think this may be just out of their reach. Cowboys by 8.

1. Lachlan Coote 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Justin O'Neill 4. Kane Linnett 5. Antonio Winterstein 6. Michael Morgan 7. Johnathan Thurston 8. Matthew Scott 14. Rory Kostjasyn 10. James Tamou 11. Gavin Cooper 12. Ethan Lowe 13. Jason Taumalolo
Interchange: 9. Jake Granville 15. John Asiata 16. Scott Bolton 17. Ben Hannant

1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 3. Blake Ferguson 4. Dale Copley 5. Daniel Tupou 6. Jayden Nikorima 7. Jackson Hastings 15. Sam Moa 9. Jake Friend 10. Dylan Napa 11. Aidan Guerra 12. Mitchell Aubusson 14. Sio Siua Taukeiaho
Interchange: 13. Isaac Liu 8. Kane Evans 16. Ian Henderson 17. Mitchell Frei

Referees: Gerard Sutton, Matt Noyen; Sideline Officials: Nick Beashel, Ricky MacFarlane; Video Referees: Bernard Sutton, Luke Patten, Steve Chiddy;