The Cowboys are riding a five-game winning streak and will relish the opportunity to make a statement against one of the heavyweights of the competition on Saturday night.
With Chad Townsend and Tom Dearden clicking in the halves, Murray Taulagi and Val Holmes on fire out wide, and Reuben Cotter playing out of his skin up front, North Queensland look every bit a premiership contender - a remarkable turnaround for a side that finished 15th in 2021.
The Storm did it tough without Ryan Papenhuyzen and Jahrome Hughes against the Panthers but Craig Bellamy's men rarely put two below-par performances back-to-back so Todd Payten's men need to be on high alert.
The 'house full' sign is expected to be posted at Queensland Country Stadium as the Townsville faithful get behind their team's bid to make it six in a row and catapult a number of their stars into the Maroons team for Origin One.
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The Rundown
Team news
Cowboys: Coen Hess has come into the starting side an hour before kick-off with Reuben Cotter shifting to the bench. Connelly Lemuelu is 18th man. The Cowboys can stake their claim as a genuine premiership threat if they can extend their winning run to six games in a row with victory over the Storm.
Storm: Craig Bellamy has shuffled his backline on game day with Harry Grant moving to halfback and Nick Meaney to fullback and Tyran Wishart to the bench. Tui Kamikamica will start at prop for the injured Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Brandon Smith goes to hooker. Chris Lewis has joined the bench.
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Key match-up
Tom Dearden v Cameron Munster: The Cowboys No.6 has grown in confidence with each passing week and is loving life in the halves alongside the ice cool Chad Townsend. With the veteran controlling the tempo, Dearden has been free to play what he sees and the results have been stunning for the Cowboys. Munster has been out of this world in a couple of the Storm's big wins, most notably against the Warriors on ANZAC Day where he had three try assists and seven tackle breaks, and round nine against the Dragons when he busted the line three times and had six tackle breaks.
Stat Attack
Since these sides met in the 2017 grand final they have clashed on six occasions with the Storm winning all six. The average winning margin across the six games has been eight points.
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