Penrith Panthers vs North Queensland Cowboys

Penrith won six from eight during round 11 to 18 however, including a win over a full strength Storm side, that had most thinking the Panthers may find themselves a position in the eight come round 26.
However, after a tough victory over Parramatta, the Panthers have been comprehensively beaten by Newcastle, Cronulla and last week, the Roosters each of whom scored 30 points or more in their victory.
The run of outs has seen the Panthers slide to eleventh spot on the ladder, three points off eighth placed Knights and needing to win here.
Despite a tumultuous week that started with a loss to Brisbane which spelled the end of their season, the announcement that current coach Neil Henry will not be required at the club next year and, the passing of former coach Graham Murray, the Cowboys dug deep to not only snap a three game losing streak, but defeated the competition front-runners at the time, South Sydney, in the process.
It was a smart performance by the Cowboys last week and would have had Henry and fans in-particularly, wondering where that calibre of performance had been for the previous twenty weeks!
If they can reproduce that this week against Penrith, whom they have defeated in each of the past three encounters, scoring 30 points in each game, the Cowboys will win.
Penrith appear to have lost their way when compared to a few months back and there has been little in recent performances that would suggest they can turn that around here against the Cowboys.