Cronulla have long had the wood on North Queensland but in the throes of an arduous period of travel, the Sharks look vulnerable to a team that is in a prime bounceback spot.
Best Bet
North Queensland were terribly disappointing in the opening round against Manly with their first half effort abhorrent.
Todd Payten has wasted no time in making changes to the team though with Jeremiah Nanai rightfully dropped for some pathetic attempts in defence.
Whether the Cowboys are good enough to win or cover is one question – but one thing we can expect is that there will be a much bigger effort from the Cowboys. They should also see a fair bit more of the ball.
Early season home underdogs of a try or more cover at 65% while the Cowboys are good team off a bad loss, covering 12 of 18 off a double digit defeat and going 5-0 ATS off a loss of 30 or more.
The Cowboys are a quality bet to cover and to win.
Same Game Multi
Braidon Burns has had his career rejuvenated at the Cowboys with six tries in five games.
Briton Nikora has been a tryscoring machine of late with 10 tries in his last 15 matches.
Value Bet
There were very few positives to come out of the Cowboys performance but the look of Viliami Vailea was certainly one. He is stripping as fit as he has ever been and showed plenty of toe when in open pastures. He is not a renowned tryscorer with just 10 in 36 games but he is likely to have his best tryscoring season in 2025.
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