Round 24, 2018: North Queensland 44 Parramatta 6

NRL.com

Cowboys v Eels: Taumalolo and Scott back; Eels lose Brown

Emotions will be high when the Johnathan Thurston 'farewell tour' stops at Townsville for one last time.

With both teams doing their utmost to avoid the wooden spoon, will the predicted capacity crowd ride the Cowboys to victory?

Parramatta have been impressive lately, especially Jarryd Hayne playing out of position on the wing.

This will be an open affair, with both teams traditionally renowned for their attacking flair - and this season, their poor defence.

Key match up: Jake Clifford v Jaeman Salmon. The respective five-eighths have both impressed after being handed opportunities in first grade late in the Telstra Premiership campaign. Both love to attack and this could be the first of many meetings over the next few years.

For the Cowboys to win: Ride on the Thurston emotion. The Cowboys haven't 'won' the wooden spoon since 2000 and they will be desperate to avoid the unwanted honour in their co-captain's final season.

For the Eels to win: Feed Jarryd Hayne. The X-factor has been at his scintillating best in recent weeks and is tipped to ink a new deal ahead of the 2019 Telstra Premiership campaign. His hat-trick in round 22 versus the Dragons showed the 30-year-old is still one of the leading players in the game.

Cowboys Stat Attack: Despite sitting in 16th spot, Paul Green's men boast the leading possession (52%), equal with the Dragons and Sharks. Johnathan Thurston has engaged the line more than any other player (115 times), with Jason Taumalolo the best post-contact metre-eater (1575m). Thurston also has the most line-break assists (20) and try assists (18) in the competition.

Eels Stat Attack: It won't surprise many that Parramatta have made 7732 tackles this year. Only the Tigers (7787) have made more after 23 rounds. Their set completion (78%) is impressive given where they sit in 15th spot on the ladder.

And another thing: This looms as a dream game for those who love end-to-end attacking footy. Look for Thurston to rally his troops one final time in front of an adoring home crowd, who will turn out in droves to farewell their best ever player.

Cowboys: Matt Scott returns at prop and Jason Taumalolo at lock, pushing Scott Bolton and John Asiata to the bench with Ethan Lowe and Corey Jensen dropping to the reserves.

Eels: Lock Nathan Brown is out injured with Peni Terepo promoted to the run-on side. Kane Evans returns at prop and Tim Mannah and Cameron King return on the bench. Tepai Moeroa shifts to second row, Brad Takairangi drops to the bench and last week's two debutants, Ray Stone and Oregon Kaufusi, both drop to the reserves.

Head-to-head: Played 39; Eels 20 wins, Cowboys 18 wins, 1 draw
Previous result: Eels won 20-14 in round 14
Points per game: Cowboys 17; Eels 16.3
Points conceded per game: Cowboys 22.2; Eels 21
Televised: Live on Nine, Fox League

Petero Civoniceva's prediction: Sure to be a great occasion in Townsville for Johnathan Thurston's final home game and his team-mates will feed off that emotion. The Eels were going along OK but I think last week's loss to Melbourne will have knocked the stuffing out of them. It has been a tough slog for the Cowboys in 2018 but this will be a special night for the club.

Tip: Cowboys by 12.

NRL.com

Arthur laments another heavy Eels loss

After being blown off the park by a Cowboys side high on emotion at farewelling Johnathan Thurston, the Parramatta Eels cut lonely figures as reality hit that the 2018 wooden spoon is most likely theirs.

Sitting in 15th spot before kick-off, the heavy 44-6 loss means the Eels not only dropped back to 16th but they will have to win their last Telstra Premiership season game against the Roosters by a huge margin.

The Roosters are one of three sides vying for the minor premiership, and even if the Eels did win, their points differential is still 52 behind the Manly Sea Eagles - now in 15th.

Coincidently it was Manly who handed the eels their worst defeat this year with a 54-0 tumbing in round two. Friday night's 38-point loss at 1300Smiles Stadium was their second worst.

The Eels' statistics speak for themselves. They could only muster 36 percent of possession, ran for almost 900 metres less than the Cowboys, made one line break to the home side's eight, made 300 less post-contact metres, missed 32 tackles, and conceded 11 penalties.

Coach Brad Arthur slammed his side's performance in no uncertain terms.

"It's embarrassing the score line, but we've got to deal with it, we've got to move on," Arthur said.

"They were just way too good for us tonight.

"With the weight of possession we just couldn't handle them, they just steamrolled us."

When asked if he thought his side deserved the wooden spoon, Arthur backed his side's resolve, but couldn't justify the results.

The Eels have only one six matches from 23 but have lost the same number by a converted try or less.

"Results determine that, so that's where we are," Arthur said.

"I think we've tried hard enough, we just haven't been able to get it right. The last two months the boys haven't gone away and there were plenty of reasons why we knew we were going to be up against it tonight."

Arthur broke into a wry smile thinking of how the end of the game was probably the Eels strongest passage.

"The last 20-odd minutes or so we finished Okay - at least we didn't concede any late tries," he said.