After a Thursday night thriller between the Storm and the Roosters, the rest of the Round 8 action has a lot to live up to! Here’s our preview of the remaining NRL Round 8 matches.
Friday
6:00pm Canberra Raiders vs St. George Illawarra Dragons
After a tough couple of weeks for the Green Machine, they’ll finally return to GIO Stadium on Friday night. They’re coming off a golden point loss to the Eels, which was pretty lucky considering they were down 24-12 with a few minutes remaining.
While the Dragons couldn’t hold off the Roosters last week, they’re starting to show signs of form after a team reshuffle such as moving Ben Hunt to the bench. They’ve won 2 of the last 3 at this venue so the Dragons should be confident.
The Raiders get Tapine back from injury and Curtis Scott’s poor form has sent him to the bench. Bailey Simonsson comes in for Rapana and Oldfield will lineup in the centres. Meanwhile, the Dragons are unchanged.
Canberra have actually struggled at home as they’ve lost 3 of their last 5 at GIO. St. George have a good recent record here and should be a good value bet at the underdog line after keeping up with the Roosters last week.
Prediction: Dragons +9.5 @ $2.00
7:55pm Parramatta Eels vs North Queensland Cowboys
Are we set for a Friday night points-fest at Bankwest?
The Eels are coming off a scary golden point victory over the Raiders at this venue after they let a 12 point lead slip in the last few minutes. They also lost halfback Mitchell Moses to a calf injury.
North QLD are proving to be a hard team to predict after their last 2 performances. After conceding 34 first-half points against Wests, they returned the favour against the Knights on the weekend with a 26-0 lead after 40 minutes.
As mentioned, Moses is out and Jai Field will wear the #7 jersey for the home side. The Cowboys have lost Jordan McLean and Molo will start. Valentine Holmes could be a late in before kick-off.
Eels winger Maika Sivo has an incredible try-scoring record at Bankwest (15 tries in 16 games) and we like his chances of dominating the Cowboys edge defence.
Prediction: To Score a Try – Maiko Sivo @ $1.80
Saturday
3:00pm Gold Coast Titans vs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Rugby League returns to the Gold Coast on Saturday with the Titans hosting the Sharks.
Gold Coast smashed the Broncos last week and should be confident of back to back victories as they return to Robina this Saturday.
The Sharks season is back on track after two straight wins and a 40-22 crushing win over Manly last week.
The Titans will move Peachey back into the centres for the injured Dale Copley. Bryce Cartwright also returns on the bench. Andrew Fifita gets the start at prop after coming off the bench for a few weeks. Nene Macdonald could come into the team if Dugan is ruled unfit.
Sione Katoa is absolutely on fire at the moment with 6 tries in 3 games and he should be a great bet to score against the usually weak Titans edge defence.
Prediction: To Score a Try – Sione Katoa @ $1.80
5:30pm New Zealand Warriors vs Brisbane Broncos
Who can disappoint their fans more on Saturday night?
The Warriors sacked Stephen Kearney before their matchup with the Storm and it didn’t change a thing as they were humbled 50-6. But can they continue the Broncos’ woes?
It’s fair to say the Broncos have been disappointing this season but losing 30-12 against the inconsistent Titans at Suncorp couldn’t be much lower.
There’s plenty of team news with these two teams. Firstly, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is out with suspension and Hiku will play fullback. Wayde Egan is back at hooker and David Fusitu’a should lineup on the wing. The Broncos have lost Matt Lodge to injury and Thomas Flegler will get the start. Isaako will also play on the wing in-place of Oates.
This could be a tough game to watch and predicting a winner is basically a toss of a coin. However, lost in the Broncos poor season is the impressive form of Payne Haas. With Lodge out, he should get back to playing 80 minutes and that makes him a good value bet for most run metres.
Prediction: Most Metres – P. Haas @ $2.00
7:35pm Wests Tigers vs Penrith Panthers
We have a Top 8 encounter to conclude Super Saturday with the Tigers taking on the Panthers.
The Tigers have punished the Cowboys and Bulldogs in back-to-back weeks and now sit 6th on the ladder. So they’re in good enough form to give the Panthers a scare.
Penrith are coming off impressive wins over South Sydney and Melbourne as they sit 3rd on the ladder with 5 wins on the season.
Wests will likely run with the same 17 as last week. Meanwhile, the Panthers should get Josh Mansour back from injury.
This should be a really close battle between two in-form sides and we see good value in either team winning this one by under 6.5 points.
Prediction: Either Team Under 6.5 Points @ $2.60
Sunday
4:05pm Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles vs Newcastle Knights
NRL action returns to Brookvale with two old rivals facing off on Sunday.
Manly were simply off the pace against the Sharks last week in the 40-22 defeat. But they’ll be looking forward to a home game at Brookvale for a bounce-back performance.
The Knights basically didn’t show up in the first half against the Cowboys and it showed with a 26-0 deficit. They made a game of it in the second half but ultimately couldn’t recover from the first 40 in the 32-20 loss.
The Sea Eagles get Moses Suli back in the centres and Martin Taupau returns to the starting 13. Bradman Best returns for the Knights and Herman Ese’ese will take Glasby’s place at lock.
Both sides were awful defensively last week but with Manly playing at home and considering they’ve won 9 of the last 11 against the Knights, we’re tipping an upset.
Prediction: Sea Eagles WIN @ $2.06
6:30pm Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Old foes meet at Bankwest on Sunday night.
There are not many positives about the bottom-placed Bulldogs at the moment. To be fair, it’s pretty tough for their backline when they seemingly have a different lineup every week.
South Sydney will be well rested from their Thursday night loss against the Panthers and they’ll be expected to smash the Bulldogs here.
Once again, the Bulldogs backline is all over the shop. They’ve lost Hopoate, Averillo and Holland. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak will switch to fullback again as a result. Souths have James Roberts back in the starting lineup for Burns.
The likes of Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker will be extra dangerous against the Bulldogs inexperienced backline and that spells trouble for the Dogs here. This could get ugly in what should be a big win for the Rabbitohs.
Prediction: Rabbitohs 13+ @ $1.96
