Arguably the biggest crunch game in a round brimming with them, with North Queensland and Parramatta among three teams tied for seventh spot on the table.

The Cowboys were widely written off following a horrific 66-18 loss to the Tigers.

But since a spirited response in a 24-16 loss at Parramatta a week later, they have gone 5-0 with upsets of the Storm, Panthers and Rabbitohs, a 74-0 revenge rout of the Tigers and a 19-8 defeat of the Sea Eagles.

Last week’s win at Manly underlined their recovered defensive resolve, while the individual brilliance of Valentine Holmes and Scott Drinkwater proved the difference.

Todd Payten has stuck solid with the same 17, with Reuben Cotter returning to the starting line-up and Jake Granville going back to the bench.

The Eels have won six of their last seven, responding to their 46-10 Origin-depleted loss to the Warriors with a nerve-shredding 25-24 eclipse of the Titans last Sunday.

A pair of sin-binnings – with both resulting in four-game bans – put them on the back foot before the class of Clint Gutherson and Mitch Moses got the blue-and-golds home in a late surge.

Ofahiki Ogden will start in the Parramatta front-row for the suspended Reagan Campbell Gillard, while Waqa Blake and Haze Dunster are the contenders to come onto the wing for the suspended Maika Sivo.

The eight-point defeat (with a four-strong Queesland contingent absent) in Round 13 was the Cowboys’ fourth loss from the last five matches between the clubs – a run that includes the Eels’ come-from-behind 24-20 win in last year’s Townsville-hosted preliminary final.

The Cowboys certainly have the edge in terms of recent form and line-up disruption, with the Eels reeling from the punishment dished out to RCG and Sivo.

But expect the tight nature of the club’s recent encounters to continue in a finals-like atmosphere at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

The post North Queensland Cowboys vs Parramatta Eels Tips and Odds – NRL 2023 Round 21 first appeared on JustBetting.com.au.