Once again, Penrith feature in a blockbuster to open the round, as they clash with the red-hot South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Panthers have had all the answers recently against the Bunnies, having won seven of their past eight meetings. Latrell Mitchell poses as the key difference maker this time around.
The North Queensland Cowboys will be aiming to get back to winning ways against a New Zealand Warriors side who boast an impressive recent record against them, while Melbourne will attempt to make it 12 straight wins against Brisbane on Friday night.
Elsewhere, Aaron Woods will be hoping his 250th milestone match is a memorable one, when the Dragons host the Titans.
Here’s Sporting News’ betting predictions for this round of NRL action.
Odds courtesy of TAB.
South Sydney stop the rot
Penrith are unbeaten in the last five matches against South Sydney. But their winning run is in serious danger of coming to an end, due to injury and suspension damaging their momentum heading into finals.
Without Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai, the Panthers struggled to break down Melbourne’s defence last week, despite controlling possession and field position for extended periods of the game.
At Accor Stadium, the Bunnies are an extremely difficult proposition having won nine of their past ten matches there.
With Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker firing on all cylinders, South Sydney have the opportunity to inflict rare back-to-back defeats on Ivan Cleary’s men.
Latrell Mitchell 1st or last try - $6.50
Jeremiah Nanai has the last laugh
Against the Sydney Roosters last weekend, North Queensland struggled. Perhaps no player more so than Jeremiah Nanai who barely touched the ball.
Nanai and his Cowboys teammates will have a chance to bounce back against the Warriors in the comfort of Queensland Country Bank Stadium where they have won six of their last seven matches.
Todd Payten’s men have made a habit out of being the last team to score this season, having done so on 15 occasions.
Nanai is one of the main reasons for this, with the backrower having notched the last try in five separate matches.
Last try-scorer Jeremiah Nanai - $9.00
Parramatta fightback through Clint Gutherson
Parramatta’s form continues to swing from one extreme to the other. They were beaten 26-0 by South Sydney last weekend, after easily beating the reigning premiers a fortnight earlier.
Revenge will be on the Eels’ mind after they suffered one of the biggest shock losses of the season against the Bulldogs. Back in round 14, Canterbury battered them 34-4.
Parramatta have never lost consecutive matches at CommBank Stadium and their captain Clint Gutherson loves playing against the Bulldogs. He has scored four tries and provided two assists during his last four appearances against them.
C Gutherson 1+ try/ Par win - $2.25
Roosters make light work of Tigers
It’s fair to say the Sydney Roosters have been dominant over the Wests Tigers. In fact, they have won 15 of their past 16 meetings with them.
The Roosters have been able to pile on the points against their struggling opponents, while also restricting them in defence. They haven’t conceded 20 points or more against the Tigers in a decade.
Trent Robinson finally has his attack firing and in James Tedesco, they have a metre-eating machine who always gets their sets off to a strong start. He is one of only two players to average 200 running metres or more per game so far this season.
Away exact points: Wests Tigers 0-10 - $2.30
Canberra win in unfamiliar surroundings
The Raiders haven’t faced the Newcastle Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium since round 10, 2017.
But if it is unfamiliar surroundings for Canberra, the stadium poses as an unhappy one for the Knights. They have won just one of their last nine fixtures at home, leaking an average of 35 points per game during that period.
Newcastle looked devoid of attacking ideas last week in their loss to the Broncos, and this will only be made worse by the absence of gun centre Bradman Best due to disciplinary issues.
Since the conclusion of the State of Origin series, the Knights have struggled to score four-pointers. They have been able to register just 11 in two months, which is the lowest amount in the competition.
Total match tries: 0-5 tries - $4.80
