It’s going to be a showdown on Saturday when the North Queensland Cowboys lock horns with the Brisbane Broncos at Queensland County Bank Stadium. Both of these teams are in top form lately, with the Cowboys sitting at third on the ladder and Brisbane in fifth.
The Queensland derby has an extra incentive as the Cowboys go for the season sweep following their 38-12 win at the end of March.
North Queensland finds themselves just two points back from Melbourne for second place on the ladder, but the Broncos, in turn, are just two points behind them heading into round 16 rugby betting predictions.
Last Game Records
The entire NRL was idle last week for Origin play, and that has given North Queensland some time to catch their breath after a thrilling 28-26 comeback win over Manly in their last game. The Cowboys tallied three tries in the final seven minutes to complete the unlikely victory.
North Queensland has now won 9 of their last ten games. Aside from a 22-0 defeat to Penrith (who everybody is losing to this season), the Cowboys’ last ‘poor’ outing was a 25-24 loss to the New Zealand Warriors way back in early April.
While North Queensland is hot, the Broncos are playing well also despite a 32-20 loss to Melbourne in their last game. Brisbane had won seven straight prior to that defeat against the #2 team in the NRL ladder.
Brisbane lost by 26 as hosts in March but did pick up a win in two of their last three visits to Townsville. These two teams split their 2021 series, with the Cowboys just edging out for a 19-18 victory at home.
Cowboys vs. Broncos Betting Analysis
North Queensland is a -5.5 favorite in the round 16 rugby betting odds, which just goes to show how close these two teams are. Aside from Penrith, they could be considered the two hottest teams in the NRL, combining to win 16 of their last 18 matches.
The Cowboys are -205 on the moneyline for Saturday’s rugby betting picks. The last two meetings have been blowouts both ways, with the Cowboys winning by 26 in March and Brisbane taking a 37-18 victory last July. Prior to that, five of the previous seven meetings were decided by seven points or less.
Saturday’s total is set at 40.5, a number that the total score has gone ‘over’ in four of the previous five head-to-head matchups.
North Queensland Staying in Contention
It doesn’t seem like anybody is going to catch 14-1 Penrith this season, but there’s a nice battle brewing between Melbourne and North Queensland, who are both 11-4. The Cowboys showed resilience in their comeback win over Manly, adding another type of win to their 2022 resume.
The only real injury the Cowboys are dealing with is Ruben Cotter remaining out with a hamstring strain. Otherwise, they made it through Origin without issues and will have nearly the full lineup from the team that trounced Brisbane earlier in the season.
Jeremiah Nanai will try to repeat his performance against the Broncos back in March when he scored a hat trick. One new face for North Queensland is Luciano Leilua making his club debut after a midseason exit from Wests Tigers.
Reynolds Back for Broncos
Brisbane put up a valiant effort against Melbourne but to no avail, but now the key task is to avoid a losing streak. The Broncos are tied with the Sharks for a top-four position, but Cronulla should stroll to victory against the Bulldogs in this weekend’s rugby betting predictions.
One solid way to avoid a losing streak is to get Adam Reynolds back in the fold as he returns from a rib injury. Reynolds has been the biggest reason that the Broncos have turned their fortunes around after consecutive 17-loss seasons.
Chad Townsend has been a big offseason acquisition for North Queensland as well, which is why many experts are calling Reynolds vs. Townsend the bragging rights matchup for ‘buy of the year.’
Cowboys vs. Broncos Betting Preview
In this matchup of surging teams, do the Cowboys get the edge in the rugby betting predictions just because they are on their home turf?
North Queensland is also the healthier team, including the third-leading scorer in the NRL, Valentine Holmes, making it through Origin with no injury issues.
Cowboys vs. Broncos Betting Prediction
This contest should be close up to the half, as most of these all-Queensland meetings are, but the Cowboys look to be the team more likely to pull away late.
How to bet on Cowboys vs. Broncos
Take North Queensland -5.5
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