Match Preview

The premiers opened the round with an epic 17-16 loss to the Eels in a match that went down to the wire and beyond while the Raiders had a Sunday afternoon to forget as they gave up a 14-8 half-time lead to go down 24-14 to the Knights.

Compounding matters for the Raiders was the sin binning of five-eighth for high contact on Jackson Hastings, with the star No.6 charged on Monday and facing a two-game ban.

Halfback Mitch Moses stood tall with the match-winning field goal to ease some of the pressure on last year's runners-up after a shaky 0-3 start to the season.

With Ryan Matterson back on deck and Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard leading the way through the middle, the Eels got in the grind with the Panthers and were able to come out on top in a high-quality contest.

Canterbury haven't done that since way back in 2016, while for the Warriors it was 2018, and in both cases it marked the last time either club made the finals. 

The Warriors were impressive in a 26-12 victory over the Cowboys in the Townsville heat in Round 3, holding North Queensland scoreless from the 14th minute onwards and completing 19 of 23 sets in the second half. 

The two superstars haven't faced off in the NRL Telstra Premiership since Round 19, 2018, when Mitchell was playing centre for the Roosters and helped himself to 24 points in a 56-24 win over Turbo's Sea Eagles at Brookvale.

After falling six points short to the premier Panthers in Round 2 and just two points to their arch-rival Roosters on Friday, Jason Demetriou's men will be out to make amends when they host the undefeated Sea Eagles.

The Titans will be bouncing into training this week full of confidence after running in three tries in seven minutes to defeat Melbourne last week while the Cowboys will be hoping to make amends with their fans after falling to the Warriors at home.

The Cowboys have struggled to produce an 80-minute performance in their opening three games, with only one second-half scored compared to seven conceded and coach Todd Payten will be hoping to shore up their defensive efforts ahead of Saturday's Queensland derby. 

North Queensland will be hurting from last week's derby loss to the Broncos, which also saw them lose Scott Drinkwater (three games) and Peta Hiku (two matches) to suspension. 

The Warriors meanwhile were left to rue poor execution in the final quarter of their 20-12 loss to the Roosters on Saturday, after they had battled on valiantly in the face of losing Jackson Ford (head knock), Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (head knock) and Josh Curran (hip).

The Titans came back to earth at Kogarah on Sunday after an impressive start to the season while Melbourne copped more injury concerns in their loss to the Bulldogs but were otherwise beaten on enthusiasm. 

Craig Bellamy's men hold a dominant record against the Titans, particularly at Cbus Super Stadium, and with a few stars slated to return, they'll want to correct their efforts last week.

After upsetting the premiers in Round 1 the Broncos ran hot in a 28-16 victory over the Cowboys last week, with fullback Reece Walsh stealing the show in his club debut and Ezra Mam having a night out in the halves. 

The Dragons meanwhile defied pre-season expectations to overcome the Titans, with former Bronco Ben Hunt their standout player and Tyrell Sloan proving lethal at fullback. 

The Storm's last home game was an elimination final loss to the Raiders, who had also knocked them off in round 18, the day electric fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen suffered the knee injury that looks set to sideline him for at least another six weeks.

Even without their superstar No.1 the Storm still boast an array of match-winners in Cameron Munster, Harry Grant and Jahrome Hughes, all of whom came to the fore in the round one triumph against Parramatta.

Trent Robinson's side struggled to get things going in attack against the competition newcomers and shot themselves in the foot with a high error rate, while in addition losing 28-18 they had both Victor Radley and Matt Lodge fail head injury assessments, with the latter now set to undergo surgery on a facial injury this week. 

The Warriors on the other will be in high spirits after a 20-12 win in which they took the limited opportunities presented to them in attack and defended with true grit through prolonged periods camped in their own half.