Preview: Cowboys v Roosters

VENUE & TIME: Dairy Farmers Stadium, Saturday, September 4, 7.30pm (AEST)
COVERAGE: Fox Sports
HEAD TO HEADPlayed 25, Roosters 19, Cowboys 6
LAST TIME: Cowboys 32 – Roosters 14 at SFS, Round 14, 2010

WALKING WOUNDED: For the Cowboys, Anthony Watts returns to the squad this week on the interchange bench, while Shannon Gallant misses out in favour of a return to the full-back position by veteran Matt Bowen. The Cowboys are missing a host of players for their final game of the season. The Roosters will be without prop Daniel Conn after he was given a one-week suspension for a high shot on Manly's Brent Kite. Rookie full-back Jono Ford picked up a dislocated knee last Sunday, but he will be conveniently replaced by club stalwart Anthony Minichiello, who missed the Manly game due to injury. Boom rookie Kane Linnett is not far off a return from a knee injury.

FORM: The Cowboys missed 51 tackles on their way to a lifeless 44-point hiding at the hands of the Raiders last Saturday night. Had it not been for Melbourne's salary cap rorts, this club would have claimed the dreaded wooden spoon and deservedly so. Thankfully, they have purchased quite well for next season, giving their loyal fan base hope of a major improvement in 2011. The Roosters were headed for a fourth-straight loss in the shadows of half-time last week against Manly, but a try virtually on the bell gave them renewed hope at the break and they came out firing in the second half to put the fading Sea Eagles away. They were both brutal and flamboyant during the second stanza – two contrasting qualities of this side heading into the finals. They are still a remote chance of a top-four spot, but have the potential to slip as low as eighth if the results this weekend fail to go their way.

WHO'S HOT: There is at least something to cheer about in Cowboy-land this weekend, with full-back Matt Bowen celebrating his 200th first-grade game for the club. The guy is an icon up north and it would be fitting if his teammates could pick themselves up off the canvas in order to make Matty's milestone a memorable one. Shaun Kenny-Dowall is proving to be one of the real strike centres in the NRL and his ability to pull off a long-distance try is becoming par for the course in matches. He bagged a hat-trick for the Roosters against Manly last Sunday to mount an almost irresistible case for Kiwi selection in the up coming Four Nations tournament.

WE THINK: The end of the season couldn't come quick enough for the Cowboys and they will finally be put out of their misery on Saturday night by a Roosters side that got back its mojo last weekend and is now primed confidence-wise to make a real go of it in the finals. The Cowboys have well over a million dollars of talent on the sidelines and there is unrest at the club on all levels – they are no hope. This is the no-brainer of the weekend, although the hosts could be spurred on by the emotional farewells of Steve Southern (not playing), Luke O'Donnell (not playing), Ty Williams and Carl Webb. Roosters by 24.

TEAMS
North Queensland Cowboys:
Matthew Bowen, Michael Bani,