We take a look at Thursday’s (01/08/2019) NRL 2019 Week 20 match is between Wests Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys. The Wests Tigers go into the match as the favourite in the betting and will expect them to be heavily backed.
When: Thursday August 1st, 7:50pm
Where: Leichhardt Oval
Bet: Bet On This Match HERE
Preview:
Wests picked up a much-needed win in round 19 as they held on to beat Newcastle as big outsiders in a high scoring match in the Hunter 28-26. They look to back that up with a win against the Cowboys on Thursday night at Leichhardt Oval, with a win potentially putting them back inside the top eight.
The news of club great Robbie Farah retiring at season’s end will surely give the Tigers a lift, as they came through with the goods in the veterans 300th game a week ago. Their run home is favourable, with plenty of winnable games, starting with this game against the Cowboys.
North Queensland were overpowered in the second half of their 16-14 loss to Cronulla, but were never out of the game. In team news, Michael Morgan is back in the halves after missing two games with concussion. The Tigers are unchanged.
The two sides played a dramatic round 14 golden point thriller, with Benji Marshall slotting a wobbly field goal to claim the 27-26 win. Not since 2014 has a match between the two sides been decided by a 13+ margin.
Wests have won the past two matches against the Cows at Leichhardt, including last season by a 20-12 score.
Give home ground advantage and a modest line, The Wolf expects the 3.5-point start on offer for the Tigers to be snapped up pretty fast. They’re value at the line up to -5.5, Anything higher and the 1-12 margin is the way to go.
Odds:
Tip: Wests Tigers at $1.60
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Paul Momirovski at $9.00
Teams:
Tigers: 1. Corey Thompson 2. Paul Momirovski 3. Moses Mbye 4. Esan Marsters 5. David Nofoaluma 6. Benji Marshall 7. Luke Brooks 8. Josh Aloiai 9. Robbie Farah 10. Oliver Clark 11. Luke Garner 12. Michael Chee-Kam 13. Ryan Matterson. Interchange: 14. Matt Eisenhuth 15. Thomas Mikaele 16. Alex Twal 17. Chris Lawrence. Reserves: 19. Tommy Talau 20. Chris McQueen
Cowboys: 1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Coen Hess 4. Tom Opacic 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Michael Morgan 7. Jake Clifford 8. Josh McGuire 9. Jake Granville 10. Jordan McLean 11. Gavin Cooper 12. Shane Wright 13. Jason Taumalolo. Interchange: 14. John Asiata 15. Matt Scott 16. Scott Bolton 17. Francis Molo. Reserves: 19. Tom Gilbert 20. Gideon Gela-Mosby
*Odds correct at time of posting. Subject to change