The Eels travel to tropical North Queensland for their Round 8 blockbuster clash with the reigning premiers. The Eels will be buoyed by the fact that they already have one victory against the Cowboys this year when they prevailed 20-16 in Round 2. The Eels put their new-found steely grit on show in the upset victory, frustrating the life out of Jonathan Thurston and the Cowboys. Brad Arthur’s men will be looking to bring the same defensive intensity to the table on Saturday night as they look to down the Cowboy in prime time footy and sweep the 2016 match-ups between the two teams.

The Eels and Cowboys have played a total of 34 games with Parramatta holding an 18 – 15 lead. but across the last 10 clashes the Cowboys hold a 6-4 advantage. At 1300 Smiles Stadium these two teams have played 14 times with the Cowboys having an 8 games to 5 lead. In the last 10 games played in Townsville the Cowboys have dominated Parramatta coming away with 8 wins from the last 10 starts.

When we break down the 2016 results for both teams into quarter-based time periods per match we see some interesting results. Both sides are very similar in their ability to ‘win’ a given quarter of a game save for one key difference. In the 60-80min quarter the Cowboys have won 7 from 7 in this period compared to the Eels who have won the final quarter just 2 times in the same stretch. This is when the Eels will need to lift and hold their line on Saturday night as the Cowboys will certainly be looking to finish the game strongly. Parramatta did this in Round 2 and will need to do it again.

No doubt the Eels defence has improved since Round 2 but so too has the attack of the Cowboys. The trying North Queensland conditions will also play a major factor into how long both teams, especially the Eels, can maintain their defensive intensity.

The Cowboys two losses this year have come from them being behind at half time. Putting the Cowboys behind on the scoreboard at ‘oranges’ can frustrate them into playing catch up footy and as a result, lead to uncharacteristic handling errors and ill-discipline – as we saw in Round 2. So if Parra can go into the sheds leading at half time, fingers crossed, this should be enough to take the 2 points!

Stats courtesy of Champion Data. All these stats and more can be viewed on our match centre at http://mc.championdata.com/nrl/ including live game stats. Or download the Telstra Sportsfan app and/or Triple M NRL app.

– Colmac

Follow @championdatanrl

mc.championdata.com/nrl/

Apps: Telstra Sportsfan, Triple M NRL

Credit to the Parramatta Eels for images used.

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