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NRL

The Sydney Roosters will try to grab their first win of the National Rugby League 2016 season when they visit the North Queensland Cowboys at 1300SMILES Stadium on Thursday.

Sydney and North Queensland are heading into their Round 3 clash, both coming off defeats. The Roosters came up short in recording their first win of the season after suffering a close defeat against the Canberra Raiders 21-20, while the Cowboys succumbed to an upset against the Parramatta Eels 20-16.

The Roosters will have a tough road trip as they meet a North Queensland squad who are looking to bounce back from their mistake against the Eels earlier this week. Roosters coach Trent Robinson admitted the club was having a slow start into the season, but insisted his team will keep improving as the season goes on.

“We’ve had a slow start, but we want to improve each week,” Robinson said, reports The Australian. “There’s wins and losses, but the team that improves the best between round one and round 26 will go a long way towards winning the comp. If we do that, we’ll be good.”

With Mitchell Pearce, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Boyd Cordner out for the Roosters, the club would expect Kane Evans and Dylan Napa to once again lead the charge for Robinson's side.

Meanwhile, Cowboys coach Paul Green has decided to deploy the same lineup that was beaten by the Eels in their Round 2 action at Pirtek Stadium. Green said their tight game loss against Parramatta did not display much of the defending champs’ identity on the pitch. Against the Roosters, this game could be where North Queensland dictates the tempo.

"Some of it is concentration with some simple unforced errors there tonight, which is a little bit unlike us," Green said, reports SBS. "That part of our game disappoints me because that's been one of our strengths and tonight it wasn't there."

North Queensland Cowboys lineup

Lachlan Coote, Kyle Feldt, Justin O'Neill, Kane Linnett, Antonio Winterstein, Michael Morgan, Johnathan Thurston, Matthew Scott, Jake Granville, James Tamou, Gavin Cooper, Ethan Lowe, Jason Taumalolo Interchange: Rory Kostjasyn, John Asiata, Scott Bolton, Ben Hannant Coach: Paul Green

Sydney Roosters lineup

Latrell Mitchell, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Blake Ferguson, Dale Copley, Daniel Tupou, Jayden Nikorima, Jackson Hastings, Kane Evans, Jake Friend, Dylan Napa, Aidan Guerra, Mitchell Aubusson, Sio Siua Taukeiaho Interchange: Isaac Liu, Sam Moa, Ian Henderson, Mitchell Frei, Eloni Vunakece, Brendan Elliott Coach: Trent Robinson

Live streaming info and play-by-play updates

Watch NRL 2016 season Round 3: North Queensland Cowboys vs Sydney Roosters live via NRL Digital Pass. Play-by-play updates will be available during game time on Fox Sports AU.

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