Cowboys v Broncos preview

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Modern day rivalries don't get any better than the Broncos and Cowboys.

Having been vying for Queensland's best NRL side for the last 20 years, the last four meetings have elevated the intensity of the rivalry.

The Broncos took a four point win at home over the Cowboys in week one of the finals last year.

Come the 2015 grand final rugby league was treated to one of the best ever matches, a one point win for the Cowboys.

Brisbane was able to inflict a one point win of their own at Suncorp Stadium in round four this season and the Cowboys served another field goal margin at 1300SMILES Stadium in round 11.

All of it setting the expectation and promise of another thrilling encounter on Friday night.

The Cowboys are returning from Melbourne after giving a valiant performance against the Storm.

Losing 16-10, it was a game they didn't look like winning as the Storm's defence kept North Queensland in check.

The defending premiers will be relying on their forwards to have a stronger impact in this match against Brisbane, as their key playmakers were not provided enough chances to threaten the Storm.

The Broncos enter this game with off field drama shifting the focus from their 44-28 win over the Gold Coast Titans.

In what was described as a ‘weird' game by Brisbane players, their defence that night wasn't good enough to stop what will be the Cowboys on Friday night.

The attack of Anthony Milford broke the Titans down, but for the Broncos to get back to their absolute best they'll need Ben Hunt playing his best which we haven't seen at all this season.

What the Cowboys are guaranteed to target Brisbane with is plenty of high kicks to Corey Oates.

A failure to diffuse bombs has provided points for many of Brisbane's opponents in the back half of the season. 

The Broncos have been preparing not knowing who'll be playing in their back line, which has happened all too often this season, as James Roberts was only known to be suspended on Wednesday.

Tom Opacic returns but is carrying an injury requiring surgery. Jordan Kahu likely covers Roberts at centre and their wing replacement is Jonus Pearson who is set to play just his third NRL game.

Last meeting: Round 11 2016 - Cowboys 19 Broncos 18

Last finals meeting: Grand Final 2015 - Broncos 16 Cowboys 17

Who to watch: Jason Taumalolo was completely off his game against Melbourne last week. For a man that consistently threatens to run over 200 metres every week, he produced just eight runs and 86 metres on Saturday. After having his egg throwing incident in the media leading into the game, that may have impacted on his match preparation. However, there is no denying the Storm forced Taumalolo to do extra work in defence, making 37 tackles, which nullified his running game. That's the tactic the Broncos need to employ to slow Taumalolo down. Voted as the Rugby League Players Association Champion for 2016 on Tuesday, it's his best performances that set up Johnathan Thurston with space to create points for the Cowboys. 

Matt Gillett, meanwhile, is critical to the Broncos success. Now one of the premier second rowers in the NRL, he's relied upon to perform one of the biggest workloads in defence and to be a try scoring threat in attack. Gillett has been noticeably outstanding in the past three clashes with the Cowboys that were all decided by one point. Whenever the Broncos defence is stretched and punctured it's incredible how many try saves Gillett makes in those situations. In the most recent one point loss to the Cowboys in round 11, he bested Gavin Cooper as Gillett scored two tries and recorded seven tackle busts for the match.

The favourite: The Cowboys. They have lost just one game at home all season. Only Kane Linnett is highly likely to be missing from their regular starting line-up which provides consistency the Broncos have not had this season.

My tip: The favourite might be slightly overrated for this match. Considering no team has won back to back premierships in over 15 years, history tells us the Cowboys will get knocked out of this year's finals. North Queensland weren't at their best against the Storm on Saturday. Now coming up against a Brisbane side that will be desperate for Grand Final vengeance, it should bring the best out of the visitors and that is good enough to beat even the Cowboys best performance. We can't get ANOTHER one point winning margin can we? Brisbane by 4 points.

Outcome: The winner of the First Semi-Final will travel to face the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Allianz Stadium next Friday night for a place in the Grand Final.

1. Lachlan Coote 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Justin O'Neill 4. Javid Bowen 18. Kayln Ponga 6. Michael Morgan 7. Johnathan Thurston 8. Matthew Scott 9. Jake Granville 10. James Tamou 11. Gavin Cooper 19. Coen Hess 13. Jason Taumalolo
Interchange: 14. Rory Kostjasyn 15. John Asiata 16. Scott Bolton 17. Ben Hannant

1. Darius Boyd 2. Corey Oates 3. Tom Opacic 5. Jordan Kahu 5. Jonus Pearson 6. Anthony Milford 7. Ben Hunt 8. Josh McGuire 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Adam Blair 11. Sam Thaiday 12. Matt Gillett 13. Corey Parker
Interchange: 14. Jarrod Wallace 15. Tevita Pangai Junior 16. Jai Arrow 17. Alex Glenn 18. Jonus Pearson

Referees: Matt Cecchin, Alan Shortall; Sideline Officials: Michael Wise, Jeff Younis; Video Referees: Bernard Sutton, Luke Patten, Ashley Klein