Dragons v Cowboys: Suli, Couchman return; Chester back from ban
The Dragons remain winless heading into Round 5 and a piece of unwanted history is staring them in the face on Easter Saturday.
Since the joint venture was formed in 1999 and they made a grand final in their debut season, St George Illawarra has never started a season 0-5.
If Shane Flanagan's men are to get on the board for 2026 they will need a vastly improved showing than the one they delivered last Sunday on the Gold Coast.
The stats sheet showed 31 missed tackles and 11 errors in the 22-14 loss to the Titans and a repeat of those numbers would see the lethal Cowboys attack put them to the sword.
After a sluggish start of their own, the Cowboys rallied to down the Titans in Round 3 before taking the massive scalp of the Storm on the back of brilliant displays by Jake Clifford, Scott Drinkwater, Braidon Burns and Jason Taumalolo.
Match: Dragons v Cowboys
Round 5 -
home Team
Dragons
17th Position
away Team
Cowboys
11th Position
Venue: St George Venues Jubilee Stadium, Kogarah, NSW
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
Team News
Dragons: Former Panther David Fale comes on to the wing and is set for his Dragons debut after scoring four tries in four games in NSW Cup. Lyhkan King-Togia will step into the No.6 jersey as Kyle Flanagan recovers from a concussion suffered in last week's loss to the Titans. Moses Suli is on track to return in the centres, while Toby Couchman is also back on deck after missing the Round 4 defeat due to concussion. No changes to the 19 in Friday's 24-hour update, with Kade Reed the man to remain in the extended squad.
Cowboys: Centre Tom Chester is set to come straight back onto the starting side in his return from suspension, with Zac Laybutt moving to the interchange as a result. North Queensland are a settled side as they chase a seventh-straight win over the Dragons. The Cowboys also remain 1-19 after the squad was trimmed to 20, Kai O'Donnell remains in the reserves.
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Dragons is number 1 Clinton GuthersonFullback for Cowboys is number 1 Scott Drinkwater
-
Winger for Dragons is number 2 Christian TuipulotuWinger for Cowboys is number 2 Braidon Burns
-
Centre for Dragons is number 3 Moses SuliCentre for Cowboys is number 3 Jaxon Purdue
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Centre for Dragons is number 4 Valentine HolmesCentre for Cowboys is number 4 Tom Chester
-
Winger for Dragons is number 5 David FaleWinger for Cowboys is number 5 Murray Taulagi
-
Five-Eighth for Dragons is number 6 Lyhkan King-TogiaFive-Eighth for Cowboys is number 6 Jake Clifford
-
Halfback for Dragons is number 7 Daniel AtkinsonHalfback for Cowboys is number 7 Tom Dearden
Forwards
-
Prop for Dragons is number 8 Emre GulerProp for Cowboys is number 8 Coen Hess
-
Hooker for Dragons is number 9 Damien CookHooker for Cowboys is number 9 Reed Mahoney
-
Prop for Dragons is number 10 Toby CouchmanProp for Cowboys is number 10 Jason Taumalolo
-
2nd Row for Dragons is number 11 Luciano Leilua2nd Row for Cowboys is number 11 Heilum Luki
-
2nd Row for Dragons is number 12 Jaydn Su'A2nd Row for Cowboys is number 12 Sam McIntyre
-
Lock for Dragons is number 13 Hamish StewartLock for Cowboys is number 13 Reuben Cotter
Interchange
-
Interchange for Dragons is number 14 Jacob LiddleInterchange for Cowboys is number 14 Soni Luke
-
Interchange for Dragons is number 15 Blake LawrieInterchange for Cowboys is number 15 Griffin Neame
-
Interchange for Dragons is number 16 Jacob HalangahuInterchange for Cowboys is number 16 Thomas Mikaele
-
Interchange for Dragons is number 17 Hame SeleInterchange for Cowboys is number 17 Matthew Lodge
-
Interchange for Dragons is number 18 Josh KerrInterchange for Cowboys is number 19 Zac Laybutt
-
Interchange for Dragons is number 19 Tyrell SloanInterchange for Cowboys is number 20 Kai O'Donnell
Reserves
-
Reserve for Dragons is number 21 Kade Reed
Dragons Ins
- David Fale
- Kade Reed
- Moses Suli
- Toby Couchman
Cowboys Ins
- Tom Chester
Dragons Outs
- Hayden Buchanan
- Kyle Flanagan
- Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga
Cowboys Ins
- Liam Sutton
Match Officials
- Referee: Wyatt Raymond
- Touch Judge: Belinda Sharpe
- Senior Review Official: Adam Gee
Last updated:
Stat Attack
- The Dragons have lost their last eight NRL games.
- The Cowboys have won their last six games against the Dragons.
- The Dragons are aiming to avoid a 0-5 start for the first time in the joint venture’s history.
- Cowboys halfback Tom Dearden has scored five tries in his last three games against the Dragons.
- Dragons winger Christian Tuipulotu has scored five tries in his last five games at Jubilee Stadium.
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.
