South Sydney Rabbitohs will be looking to move into the play-off places this weekend when they take on North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday.
At the start of the season there were high expectations coming out of the Bunnies camp that could finally bring home a title - but things haven’t actually gone according to plan.
Souths owner Russell Crowe brought in new head coach Michael Maguire and winger Matt King from Super League sides Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves respectively to team up with the likes of Sam Burgess, Dave Taylor and Greg Inglis.
The Bunnies are currently in 12th place on the rankings ladder with six points - the same number as Manly Sea Eagles who are in the final play-off spot.
One shining light in the Bunnies season has seen Maguire move giant centre Inglis to full-back and he has starred in that position and hopefully the results will start to follow suit.
The Cowboys are once again having a steady season and are in fourth place thanks to four wins from their opening seven matches and will be confident of grabbing another win to keep up with the leaders.
The Cowboys can constantly rely on the likes of Jonathan Thurston and Matty Bowen to pull a rabbit out of the hat at crucial times - but if either player gets an injury then the Cowboys’ hopes of a top four finish could reduce dramatically.
These two last met in round 24 last season when the Bunnies pulled off a remarkable 26-24 golden point win at the ANZ Stadium.
The Bunnies will be hoping Nathan Merritt passes a late fitness test in order to take his place on the bench, while youngster Josh Starling is hoping for some game time.
North Queensland have opted not to tinker with their team with co-captain Matthew Scott unlikely to feature after failing to recover from a foot ligament injury.
Luxbet have the Cowboys as the favourites to win the match at $1.88, while the Bunnies are on offer at 1.95.
Watch live NRL by following these simple steps:
- Go to Bet365
- Sign-in & select Bet365 > live streaming > rugby league
- Watch the NRL Live
