The Cowboys sit comfortably in third position on the ladder with 10 wins as they continue a remarkable revival from last year's disastrous 15th place finish.
Todd Payten's men have won five from seven away games in 2022 so a trip to Manly's spiritual home shouldn't faze them, although the loss of young gun Heilum Luki for the season presents a significant challenge after a relatively injury-free run to date.
The Sea Eagles have had their own setbacks with superstar Tom Trbojevic and workhorse Karl Lawton gone for the season but Des Hasler won't be making any excuses if his team misses out on finals for the second time in three years.
With Haumole Olakau'atu and Josh Aloiai leading the way up front the Sea Eagles were way too good for the Tigers on Sunday and they will look to carry that momentum into two huge games against the Cowboys and then the Storm, both in front of the 4 Pines faithful.
The Rundown
Team news
Sea Eagles: Skipper Daly Cherry-Evans is back after missing the Tigers game with a quad injury so Kieran Foran shifts back to five-eighth, Josh Schuster goes to the bench and Ben Trbojevic to the reserves. Taniela Paseka is 18th man. No changes to the squad on Thursday when it was trimmed to 19.
Cowboys: Maroons star Reuben Cotter is back on deck at prop so Coen Hess reverts to the bench. Jeremiah Nanai also returns after an ankle injury suffered in Origin One kept him out of the Dragons game. Nanai replaces Tom Gilbert, who is out with an eye injury. Rising star Heilum Luki (knee) is out for the season so Connelly Lemuelu moves into the starting side. No changes to the squad when it was trimmed 24 hours before kick-off.
Key match-up
Jake Trbojevic v Jason Taumalolo: The heart and soul of their respective teams. Both are highly respected and hugely important to their club's chances of premiership glory. Trbojevic was enormous against the Tigers with 120 run metres and 38 tackles and a similar performance will have him banging down the door for a recall to the NSW side for Game Two in Perth. Taumalolo tormented the Dragons with 23 hit-ups for 207 metres and threw in 32 tackles for good measure. Sit back and enjoy the showdown between two ultimate professionals who'll move mountains to get a win for their side.
Stat Attack
The Cowboys (171) and Penrith (152) are the only sides to have conceded less than 200 points in 2022. Remarkably the Cowboys have conceded just 48 second-half points all season at a tick over three points per second half.
Story first published on NRL.com
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