Cowboys v Sharks: Katoa gets NRL debut, Hampton at fullback

North Queensland Cowboys veteran half Johnathan Thurston has been named to play in his 300th NRL game, the 30th player to reach the milestone in Australian rugby league.

Ben Hampton is the surprise inclusion in the starting team for the Cowboys, named at fullback with Lachlan Coote out of the side due to a hamstring strain.

Te Maire Martin is named as the bench utility for the Cowboys beating out young gun Kyle Laybutt.

Sione Katoa has been named to make his NRL debut on the wing for the Cronulla Sharks, beating out recruit Aaron Gray.

Big gun recruits Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan will play at five-eighth and centre respectively, with fellow recruit Ava Seumanufagai also named to play off the bench.

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Key match-up: Jason Taumalolo v Paul Gallen. Whichever of these two beasts can lay a platform for their halves to operate on will go a long way to securing the points. With round one games rarely looking polished, good field position is all the more important and these two are arguably the best in the business at chewing up metres.

For the Cowboys to win: Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott's returns to the NRL will need to be excellent for the Cowboys to get over the Sharks. Similarly Ben Hampton will have to be talkative at the back and have good defence to stifle the Sharks' attack.

For the Sharks to win: If the visitors want to take home the two competition points their new combinations will have to gel. Matt Moylan, Josh Dugan and Chad Townsend will undoubtedly turn the Sharks' backline into an attacking weapon as the year progresses, but it will need to go a long way towards that in Round 1 for them to get through the Cowboys' defence.

Cowboys Stat Attack: In 2017 The Cowboys kicked for 13,314 metres, equal that of premiers the Melbourne Storm. The development of Michael Morgan has added an extra kicker to their repertoire, which will help them with field position on Friday night. 

Sharks Stat Attack: In 2017 the Sharks won 10 of their 12 away games. They love to travel and won't have any issues with the climate in Townsville. If the Cowboys think the home ground advantage will get them across the line, they'll be staring down the barrel of a loss to start their run this year.

And another thing… Johnathan Thurston's 300th NRL game should have all of Townsville trying to pack itself into the stands of 1300 SMILES Stadium, giving both sides a bumper start to the 2018 season.