NRL Round 9 Preview - Panthers v Cowboys @ Carrington Park

Penrith Panthers v North Queensland Cowboys @ Carrington Park
 
Preview - The Panthers shot the Cowboys in a battle of teams at opposite ends of the table on Friday night football at Carrington Park In Bathurst. The Panthers remained firmly entrenched in the Top 4 with a come-from-behind 22-14 victory. The Cowboys suffered another enormously disappointing defeat, failing to fire in going down 18-8 to the Raiders to leave them rooted in 15th spot with just two wins from the opening eight games in 2018. 
 
Penrith Panthers’ Scouting Report - Penrith are forced into a host of positional changes with Dallin Watene Zelezniak moving to the fullback role for Dylan Edwards who is out for up to six months in a cruel blow for Penrith. Tyrone Phillips comes into the backline on the wing for his Panthers debut, with Isaah Yeo moves into the centres, with Corey Harawira-Naera back in the second row. Experienced hooker Peter Wallace returns, which moves Sione Katoa back to the bench.
 
North Queensland Cowboys’ Scouting Report - The Cowboys have named an unchanged line up from the one which disappointed once again last week at home against the Raiders. Lachlan Coote has been out of sorts at fullback and there have been murmurs that Paul Green could shift Michael Morgan back to fullback to ignite the side’s attack. 
 
Verdict - Cowboys by 1-6 in a low scoring game

Hard to back against Penrith at home, having yet to taste defeat at Pepper Stadium this year however I just have a gut feeling the Cowboys might sneak home for an ugly win. The Cowboys perhaps meet them at the right time with Edwards and Cleary out, and with perhaps Morgan moving to fullback. The Cowboys will be desperate, so expecting this game to be quite low scoring and tight throughout.