The North Queensland Cowboys will be looking to pull off the road upset when they take on the Wests Tigers in their Round 6 meeting of NRL title hopefuls with identical records on Saturday, June 20. With both clubs looking to bounce back from consecutive losses the last two rounds, let’s find out where the best value lies in this matchup so you can place your bets against their NRL odds.
NRL Cowboys Vs Wests Tigers Round 6
Why Bet On The Tigers
The Tigers are sitting in ninth place in the NRL standings with four points. They’ve scored 105 points this season while allowing 114 points defensively (-9). The Tigers have gone 0-2 at home, but 2-1 on the road. The Tigers head into Round 6 coming off their third loss of the season, though it was a hard-fought 14-6 home defeat against the second place Canberra Raiders that saw them limited to a lone scoring try by Luke Brooks at the 16-minute mark. The Tigers failed on their conversion try and gave up two tries and a pair of conversions to the Raiders.
Second-rower Luciano Leilua is set to play, but he bears watching as he battles a recent ankle injury. Robert Jennings returns on the wing for Tommy Talau. Luke Garner replaces Chris Lawrence in the second row while Matt Eisenhuth and Sam McIntyre replace Alex Seyfarth and the suspended Russell Packer on the interchange. Benji Marshall is sitting on the extended bench.
Why Bet On Cowboys
North Queensland is sitting in eighth place in the NRL standings with four points. The Cowboys have gone 1-2 at home and 1-1 on the road this season while scoring 123 points and giving up 113 points defensively (+10). North Queensland comes into this matchup off a humbling 37-26 road loss against the New Zealand Warriors on Friday. The Boys got a pair of tries and three conversions in five attempts from Kyle Feldt but they gave up seven tries in the loss including a trio to Warriors center Peta Hiku in the loss.
Star duo Valentine Holmes (ankle) and Jordan McLean (calf) are both out of this affair with injuries while Tom Gilbert is suspended. Rookie Hamiso Tabaui-Fidow starts at fullback. Connelly Lemuelu will start on the wing. Francis Molo starts at prop while Ben Hampton, Corey Jensen and Peter Hola join the interchange with Reuben Cotter coming off the bench.
Expert Analysis and Prediction
Let me get started by saying the Wests Tigers have won three straight and four of the last five meetings against the Cowboys including a 28-4 smackdown at home on August 1, 209, the last time they met. Not only that, but while the Tigers lost their second game in a row last week, they did put up a great effort, particularly in the first half against a pretty elite Canberra Raiders club. North Queensland has allowed 53 points the last two weeks combined and they don’t look like they’re going to be able to slow down the Tigers in this one either. Back the favored Wests Tigers to pull out the win in Round 6, mostly because they’re looking for their first home win of the season, they’re completely desperate and playing an opponent that isn’t very good.
Pick: Tigers 28 Cowboys 22
General Match Info North Queensland Cowboys (2-0-3) Vs. Wests Tigers (2-0-3)
- When: Saturday, June 20, 2020 at 2:30 AM AEST
- Where: Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney
- Cowboys Vs Wests Tigers Live: Fox Sports
- Money Lines: Tigers -129 / Cowboys +104
Telstra Premiership 2020 Round 6 Matches
- Broncos vs Knights – Thursday 18th June, 05:50 AM | Central Coast Stadium, Central Coast
- Warriors vs Rabbitohs – Friday 19th June, 04:00 AM | Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
- Storm vs Panthers – Friday 19th June, 05:55 AM | Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney
- Dragons vs Titans – Saturday 20th June, 01:00 AM | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Eels vs Roosters – Saturday 20th June, 05:35 AM | Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
- Sea Eagles vs Raiders – Sunday 21st June, 02:05 AM | Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney
- Bulldogs vs Sharks – Sunday 21st June, 04:30 AM | Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
