THE LONG HARD LOOK WITH MIKE WILSON
Canberra Raiders v Nth Queensland Cowboys
Canberra Stadium, 2pm
The Cowboys head south of the border to Canberra Stadium where in recent years they have had little success. The Cowboys are in the midst of a purple patch and their charge has been led by none other than Johnathan Thurston. Thurston is leading the comp for line break assists averaging about 1.5 per game. The Raiders had been fairly hopeful in the weeks leading up to this encounter that their star 5/8th Terry Campese would make his long awaited return, but at this stage he has not been named. The Cowboys should get an edge in this one with their superior attacking arsenal. The obvious advantage for the Raiders is the home ground factor but I always find that those benefits abandon the Raiders when the games are played in the daylight hours.
Watch out for a working man contest between the two men locking the scrum in Shaun Fensom and Dallas Johnson. So far in 2011 the two combined are averaging about 86 tackles a game.
So it’s Cowboys to win and for a bit of fun I’ll be having a crack at Johnathan Thurston for first and last try scorer.
Mike’s Best Bet: $57 on the Cowboys +6.5 @ $1.81 (Centrebet)
