NQ Cowboys vs Penrith Panthers Prediction: A tough open contest ahead

This clash for round 16 of the NRL will take place at Queensland Country Bank Stadium between the Cowboys and the Panthers. Both clubs will enter this Friday's match with severely weakened squads due to the fact that five players from each squad will be away on State of Origin duty. In addition, the Panthers will be without Nathan Cleary due to an injury.

After having a remarkable 2022 campaign, the Cowboys haven't gotten off to the kind of start they wanted for this year's campaign. Finding consistency in both attack and defense has been a huge challenge for the team, as seen by the fact that they can turn in a strong performance one week and a lackluster one the following week. They had their finest performance of the year in round 15, when they defeated the Melbourne Storm 45-20. Scott Drinkwater put on a show for them by assisting in four linebreaks and two tries, and it was his best performance of the year. In just 42% of their games played in 2023, the Cowboys have managed to score more than 18 points. As a result of their responsibilities with the State of Origin, Valentine Holmes, Murray Taulagi, Jeremiah Nanai, Reuben Cotter, and Reece Robson will not be present. The good news for the Cowboys is that Jason Taumalolo and Kyle Feldt will both be returning to their respective positions on the offensive line. Sam McIntyre, who recently moved to the Cowboys from the Gold Coast, will make his first appearance for the team, as he and Kulikefu Finefeuiaki are both going to be added to the interchange bench.

The Panthers enter round 16 NRL matchups having won their last five games in a row, and they remain tied for first place with 22 points in the NRL standings with the Brisbane Broncos, who will have their first bye week this week. However, those five wins in a row came against the New Zealand Warriors, the Brisbane Broncos, Sydney Roosters, the St. George Illawarra Warriors, and most recently, the Sydney Roosters. It has been established that Penrith possesses the depth necessary to cover during Origin time, and I anticipate that they will do it once again this weekend. In 2023, the Panthers have a perfect defensive record, which will serve them well against a Cowboys offense that is not as strong as it once was. When both Cleary and Luai were held out of action, the Panthers went on to win four of the six games they played. It has been determined that Moses Leota will serve as the starting prop. In addition, Zac Hosking, who had a week off the previous time, is scheduled to come back and take his spot in the second row when the match begins. During the 2023 season, the Panthers allowed an average of 11.5 points per game.

Since the year 2019, the Cowboys and the Panthers have competed against each other six times, with Penrith claiming victory on four occasions and North Queensland on two. In their most recent match, which took place in round 25 of 2022 in Townsville, the Cowboys won by a comfortable margin of 38-8. However, the Panthers chose to rest 13 players because they had already clinched the minor premiership.

Both of these teams are missing a number of players who are expected to be unavailable for the upcoming match. The North Queensland Cowboys have a high level of inconsistency, and I believe that the Panthers forwards will still be too powerful for the Cowboys. The Cowboys will greatly miss the speed in the play of the ball that Cotter and Robson brought to the team. Therefore, Penrith Panthers should have the ability to beat the Cowboys while covering the spread of 3.5 points and keeping them under 18.5 total game points.