Aaron Payne will captain North Queensland in their desperate must win game against the New Zealand Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday night, 5:30pm (AEST).
The Cowboys are currently outside the top eight with injuries, on field problems and off field problems plaguing the Club and the good season they enjoyed has now been completely eaten away at with a loss on the weekend putting the season in serious jeopardy.
Payne takes over the captaincy in the absence of captain Travis Norton and vice-captain Johnathan Thurston with both players on the extended injury list for this weekend. Paul Bowman is also missing for the Cowboys and there's fears that the neck injury he currently has could lead him into an early retirement. Payne played halfback last week against the Bulldogs and has been retained in that position despite playing the majority of his football in the dummy half role.
Justin Smith comes off the bench into the five-eighth positoin for Norton with Rod Jensen returning and will come off the bench whilst Neil Sweeney replaces Brenton Bowen on the wing. Cowboys Coach Graham Murray has made some positional changes with Shane Tronc and Steve Southern coming into the starting side with Matthew Scott and Mitchell Sargent dropping back to the bench. Carl Webb will move from second-row to prop to accomodate for Southern's inclusion.
Victory is a must for the Cowboys or any further losses may see the off field speculation explode and become more damaging whether it's truth or rumour. The Warriors won last week against the Sharks and North Queensland will be hoping that the Warriors are at their inconsistent worst and won't be able to string successive victories together.
North Queensland Cowboys team vs New Zealand Warriors, Mt Smart Stadium, Saturday 12th August, 5:30pm (AEST):
1 Matt Bowen
2 Neil Sweeney
3 Mark Henry
4 Ashley Graham
5 Matt Sing
6 Justin Smith
7 Aaron Payne (c)
8 Carl Webb
9 David Faiumu
10 Shane Tronc
11 Steve Southern
12 Luke O'Donnell
13 Jacob Lillyman
Subs:
14 Rod Jensen
15 Gavin Cooper
16 Matthew Scott
17 Mitchell Sargent
18 Clint Amos
(one to be omitted)
Coach:
Graham Murray
INJURIES
Ty Williams
Johnathan Thurston
Robert Tanielu
Travis Norton
Josh Hannay
Paul Bowman
The Cowboys are currently outside the top eight with injuries, on field problems and off field problems plaguing the Club and the good season they enjoyed has now been completely eaten away at with a loss on the weekend putting the season in serious jeopardy.
Payne takes over the captaincy in the absence of captain Travis Norton and vice-captain Johnathan Thurston with both players on the extended injury list for this weekend. Paul Bowman is also missing for the Cowboys and there's fears that the neck injury he currently has could lead him into an early retirement. Payne played halfback last week against the Bulldogs and has been retained in that position despite playing the majority of his football in the dummy half role.
Justin Smith comes off the bench into the five-eighth positoin for Norton with Rod Jensen returning and will come off the bench whilst Neil Sweeney replaces Brenton Bowen on the wing. Cowboys Coach Graham Murray has made some positional changes with Shane Tronc and Steve Southern coming into the starting side with Matthew Scott and Mitchell Sargent dropping back to the bench. Carl Webb will move from second-row to prop to accomodate for Southern's inclusion.
Victory is a must for the Cowboys or any further losses may see the off field speculation explode and become more damaging whether it's truth or rumour. The Warriors won last week against the Sharks and North Queensland will be hoping that the Warriors are at their inconsistent worst and won't be able to string successive victories together.
North Queensland Cowboys team vs New Zealand Warriors, Mt Smart Stadium, Saturday 12th August, 5:30pm (AEST):
1 Matt Bowen
2 Neil Sweeney
3 Mark Henry
4 Ashley Graham
5 Matt Sing
6 Justin Smith
7 Aaron Payne (c)
8 Carl Webb
9 David Faiumu
10 Shane Tronc
11 Steve Southern
12 Luke O'Donnell
13 Jacob Lillyman
Subs:
14 Rod Jensen
15 Gavin Cooper
16 Matthew Scott
17 Mitchell Sargent
18 Clint Amos
(one to be omitted)
Coach:
Graham Murray
INJURIES
Ty Williams
Johnathan Thurston
Robert Tanielu
Travis Norton
Josh Hannay
Paul Bowman
