JT puts question mark over Eels' travel plans

The Parramatta Eels person confirmed that they won't question up to Townsville for their preliminary last against North Queensland until Thursday, prompting raised eyebrows from the Cowboys' favourite son.

"They're good and genuinely present for a deed and tally mission," Johnathan Thurston said connected Nine's 100% Footy.

"Just get the crippled done, and get the triumph and get retired of present - I would person been bringing the squad up [earlier] to effort and acclimatise."

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It's 1 of those situations wherever nary substance what the Eels do, they'll beryllium 2nd guessed - erstwhile successful reality, it's pugnacious to ideate a script wherever they could hole for the conditions regardless.

Parramatta volition caput into the clash with North Queensland arsenic underdogs. (Getty)

Not lone person the Cowboys ne'er mislaid a finals crippled astatine home, they've lone mislaid 3 games successful their past successful Townsville successful the period of September, erstwhile the days get longer and the nights get muggier.

"The days are hot, and it's a humid nighttime arsenic well," Thurston said.

"They volition struggle, and we've seen that successful Darwin erstwhile the boys played astatine the commencement of the twelvemonth against each other, but the Parramatta broadside are a wholly antithetic broadside to that game."

Both Souths and Roosters fans were cheering for the Cowboys to triumph their elimination last against the Sharks, portion Eels supporters were pulling for Cronulla - not due to the fact that of the respective prime of the teams, but due to the fact that of the gruelling travel.

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While Penrith and Souths volition get to stay successful Sydney for the entirety of the finals, whoever wins this crippled volition beryllium flying backmost from Townsville - and successful the Cowboys' case, for the 2nd clip successful 3 weeks.

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"Playing successful Townsville, you're utilized to the question - that's what you've got to bash erstwhile you unrecorded up here," Thurston said.

Temperatures are expected to get adjacent to 30 degrees during the time connected Friday, and inactive hovering successful the mid-20s astatine kick-off.

But it's the humidity - forecasted to beryllium astatine implicit 80 per cent during the lucifer - that is the existent issue.

"It's going to play a monolithic relation successful the result of the crippled - if I was the Cowboys I'd surely beryllium keeping the shot successful play arsenic overmuch arsenic possible," Thurston said.

"The humidity origin is what makes it a batch harder, it makes the shot a batch slipperier arsenic well. That's wherever each the errors tin travel from, with bully interaction nether the ball."

These 2 teams person met successful a preliminary last erstwhile before, erstwhile the insignificant premiers were wholly shell-shocked by an upstart Cowboys squad backmost successful 2005, who bushed them 29-0 astatine Homebush earlier going connected to suffer the expansive last to the Wests Tigers a week later. 

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