Arguably the match of the round pits two top-five teams against each other in the top end as the Eels make their annual pilgrimage to Darwin.
The Eels shook off both their shocking backline injury toll and a scrappy Easter Monday loss to Wests Tigers to put together a hugely disciplined and professional 80 minutes against the Knights.
Meanwhile this year's surprise packets the Cowboys continue to impress, proving far too strong for a disappointing Titans outfit in Anzac Round.
The standard goes up this week but the North Queenslanders should adapt well to Darwin's heat and humidity; it's a ground they have won two of their three previous trips while the Eels have won six of seven - with their only loss coming against the Cowboys in 2017.
Match Rundown
Team news
Eels: Unchanged after last week's big win over Newcastle, with Dylan Brown again in the centres.
Cowboys: Todd Payten has named the exact same 17 he named this time last week, although there could again be some late reshuffles with the likes of Reuben Cotter and Tom Gilbert a chance of starting over Coen Hess and Heilum Luki. No changes to the squad in Friday's 24-hour update.
Key match-up
Nathan Brown v Jason Taumalolo: Brown has worked into the season nicely for Parramatta after a delayed start while Cowboys wrecking ball Taumalolo has really come into some form over the past few weeks. Brown possesses a bit more ball-playing finesse than the North Queensland skipper, who on his day is one of the most damaging ball-carriers in the NRL.
Stat attack
In-form Eels halfback Mitch Moses continues to stretch his lead atop the season try-assist tally, with one more against the Knights taking him to 13 - five clear of next-best Cameron Munster and Ben Hunt.
Story first published on NRL.com