Match day guide and preview for the 2022 NRL Preliminary Final between the North Queensland Cowboys and Parramatta Eels.
Match details
- Who: North Queensland Cowboys vs Parramatta Eels
- When: Friday 23 September, 7.50pm
- Where: Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
- Weather: min 21, max 31. 5% chance of rain
- Head-to-head record: Played 44. Cowboys 21 wins. Eels 22 wins. 1 draw.
- The match will be played live on Channel Nine and Fox League. It can also be streamed on Kayo.
Line ups
| COWBOYS | EELS | |
| Scott Drinkwater | 1 | Clint Gutherson |
| Kyle Feldt | 2 | Maika Sivo |
| Valentine Holmes | 3 | Will Penisini |
| Peta Hiku | 4|19 | Bailey Simonsson |
| Murray Taulagi | 5 | Waqa Blake |
| Tom Dearden | 6 | Dylan Brown |
| Chad Townsend | 7 | Mitchell Moses |
| Jordan McLean | 8 | Reagan Campbell-Gillard |
| Reece Robson | 9 | Reed Mahoney |
| Reuben Cotter | 10 | Junior Paulo |
| Tom Gilbert | 11 | Shaun Lane |
| Jeremiah Nanai | 12 | Isaiah Papali’i |
| Jason Taumalolo | 13 | Ryan Matterson |
| BENCH | BENCH | |
| Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | 14 | Bryce Catwright |
| Luciano Leilua | 15 | Jake Arthur |
| Coen Hess | 16 | Oregon Kaufusi |
| Griffin Neame | 17 | Marata Niukore |
| RESERVES | RESERVES | |
| Jamayne Taunoa-Brown | 18 | Makahesi Makatoa |
| Jake Granville | 19|20 | Nathan Brown |
UPDATE: Parramatta’s Tom Opacic has been ruled out through injury with Bailey Simonsson named at centre.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten has named the same 17 that got the job done against the Sharks in week one of the finals.
Brad Arthur has made a change from last week’s win over Canberra, bringing Bryce Cartwright onto the bench in place of Makahesi Makatoa.
Last 5 meetings
- 2022 round 8: Eels 4 – 35 Cowboys at TIO Stadium, Darwin
- 2021 round 23: Eels 32 – 16 Cowboys at Cbus Super Stadium
- 2020 round 8: Eels 42 – 4 Cowboys at CommBank Stadium, Sydney
- 2019 round 10: Cowboys 17 – 10 Eels at 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville
- 2018 round 24: Cowboys 44 – 6 Eels at 1300SMILES Stadium
North Queensland hold a slight 3-2 edge over the last five clashes, including a comprehensive 31-point win in their only meeting this year.
There’s been a few blowouts in the last five, with the Cowboys winning two matches by over 30 points, while the Eels have won two by a combined 54 points.
This will be the first meeting between the sides at the new stadium in Townsville, but the Cowboys won seven of the last eight clashes at the old Townsville stadium.
Pre match predictions
Chad Townsend’s them into the Grand Final: Chad Townsend to send the Cowboys into the Grand Final with a field goal. Cowboys by 1.
Wouldn’t Reed about it: Reed Mahoney to score a try and have a try assist.
