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Dragons v Cowboys preview
St. George Illawarra Dragons v North Queensland Cowboys
WIN Stadium - Saturday 7:30pm 
Two of the in-form teams of the competition face off without their Origin stars.
After surprising many supporters with their tremendous start to 2015, the Dragons have been shaky in their past three performances, going down on each occasion, whilst being unable to maintain the impeccable defence that saw them lead the competition. With Josh Dugan and Trent Merrin out due to State of Origin, coach Paul McGregor has handed a debut to Yaw Kiti Glymin, a 21-year old Arnscliffe Scots junior, with Jason Nightingale shifting to fullback. The Dragons will be without their impressive second row, with Tyson Frizell and Joel Thompson out with injury, allowing Nathan Green, George Rose and Rory O'Brien to come into the squad after impressing in the NSW Cup. However, don't be surprised to see Mark Ioane or Luke Page line-up for their first games for the Dragons after securing mid-year releases from the Titans and Raiders respectively. Mitch Rein also returns following a one-match ban, with Heath L'Estrange moving back to the bench.
After putting together an 11-match winning streak, the Cowboys capitulated last Saturday after establishing an 18-0 lead, before going down to Cronulla at home. Without Johnathan Thurston, Matt Scott, James Tamou and Michael Morgan; the Cowboys will need to improve upon their unconvincing performance against Wests Tigers earlier in the season without their Origin quarter if they are to come away with the points on Saturday. Having spent the past three weeks sidelined with a cheek injury, Ray Thompson returns alongside Robert Lui in the halves, while Scott Bolton also makes his return to first grade after spending the past two months out injured. North Queensland have managed victories over the Dragons on their past two meetings at WIN Stadium, however in the corresponding fixture last season, the Dragons held on to prevail at Kogarah.
Last Meeting: Round 17, 2014 - St. George Illawarra Dragons 27 North Queensland Cowboys 24
Who to watch: Having started his career with the Dragons as a centre, Nathan Green will be looking to make the most of his first game of 2015 coming off the bench as a second rower. Following in the footsteps of fellow teammates Ben Creagh and Joel Thompson, Green will be out prove he is capable of making the transition into the forwards after spending the past year developing with the Illawarra Cutters in NSW Cup. Currently off-contract, the former Under 20's centre of the year will be out to impress in order to ensure he remains with the Dragons long-term.
After struggling early on in the season, former Melbourne flyer Justin O'Neill has shown glimpses in recent weeks of the form that saw him touted as a future Queensland representative. Averaging over 100 metres per game, the premiership winning winger has stepped up in defence for the Cowboys this season following the season-ending knee injury suffered by Tautau Moga. Since moving to the centres in Round 9, O'Neill has developed a solid combination with Matthew Wright which the Dragons will need to contain if they hope to stop the Cowboys.
The favourite: With the Cowboys without four of their best players, the Dragons are expected to come away with the win at home.
My tip: Having gone down in their last three matches, expect the Dragons to bounce back in front of a big Wollongong crowd.
1. Jason Nightingale 2. Yaw Kiti Glymin 3. Euan Aitken 4. Peter Mata'utia 5. Eto Nabuli 6. Gareth Widdop 7. Benji Marshall 8. Leeson Ah Mau 9. Mitch Rein 10. Ben Creagh 11. Will Matthews 12. Jake Marketo 13. Mike Cooper
Interchange: 14. Nathan Green 15. George Rose 16. Rory O'Brien 17. Heath L'Estrange 18. Craig Garvey
1. Lachlan Coote 2. Matthew Wright 3. Justin O'Neill 4. Kane Linnett 5. Antonio Winterstein 6. Ray Thompson 7. Robert Lui 8. Ben Hannant 9. Jake Granville 10. Sam Hoare 11. Gavin Cooper 12. Ethan Lowe 13. Jason Taumalolo
Interchange: 14. Rory Kostjasyn 15. John Asiata 16. Scott Bolton 17. Patrick Kaufusi 18. Glenn Hall 20. Ben Spina
Referees: Matt Cecchin, Gavin Reynolds; Sideline Officials: Russell Turner, David Ryan; Video Referees: Steve Chiddy, Ben Galea;