Dragons Prepare to Face Cowboys

The St George Illawarra Dragons have finished off five days of training in Cairns as they acclimatise and prepare for the first trial match of 2013, against the North Queensland Cowboys at Barlow Park, Cairns.

The Saturday night encounter for Coach Steve Price's charges will be the first outing for the team under the leadership of new Dragons Captain Ben Creagh.

The match also marks the first opportunity for new recruits Gerard Beale, Josh Drinkwater, Tyson Frizell, Bronson Harrison and Michael Henderson to pull on the famous Red V, as well as a chance for young Dragons Charly Runciman and Adam Quinlan to make their cases for a first-grade spot.

The trial looks certain to be a solid hit-out for the Dragons, but the Red-and-Whites may need to adjust their approach slightly with the Cowboys omitting Jonathan Thurston from their team late on Friday night, citing a hand injury.

Dragons fans outside Cairns can follow the action online with the Dragons Cairns live-blog, as well as catch up on the team's week in Cairns.

St George Illawarra Dragons vs North Queensland Cowboys
Barlow Park (Cairns)
Saturday, February 16
4.00pm – Gates open
5.30pm – NQ Cowboys Under 20s vs Skill360 Northern Pride
7.30pm – NQ Cowboys vs St George Illawarra Dragons

St George Illawarra Dragons Squad:

Gerard Beale
Matt Cooper
Ben Creagh (c)
Jack de Belin
Josh Drinkwater
Nathan Fien
Tyson Frizell
Bronx Goodwin
Bronson Harrison
Michael Henderson
Cameron King
Will Matthews
Trent Merrin
Brett Morris
Jason Nightingale
Matt Prior
Mitch Rein
Adam Quinlan
Charly Runciman
Todd Ryan
Jamie Soward
Chase Stanley
Jack Stockwell
Atelea Vea
Daniel Vidot

(Team to be confirmed pre-game)

North Queensland Cowboys:

1 Clint Greenshields
2 Wayne Ulugia
3 Antonio Winterstein
4 Curtis Rona
5 Kalifa Faifai Loa
19 Robert Lui
7 Michael Morgan
8 Matthew Scott (c)
9 Scott Moore
10 James Tamou
11 Gavin Cooper
12 Glenn Hall
13 Dallas Johnson
Interchange:
14 Ray Thompson
15 Kyle Feldt
16 Tariq Sims
17 Jason Taumalolo
18 Ashton Sims
20 Joel Riethmuller
21 Scott Bolton
22 Ricky Thorby