The NRL action continues in Round 6 with plenty of top 8 battles and rivalries around the grounds. The team at All Free Bets have provided a preview of this week’s action so check out the NRL sports betting tips for Round 6 below.
Thursday
7:50pm Newcastle Knights vs Brisbane Broncos
Death, Taxes and the Brisbane Broncos playing on Thursday night footy.
Newcastle were no match for the Storm in Saturday’s 26-12 defeat so they’ll look to get back on track against the Broncos on Thursday. The Knights are well favoured to come away with the win at odds of $1.43.
While it was good to see the Broncos find some points against Manly, they still managed to blow an 18-0 lead in the 20-18 loss! So it’ll be interesting to see how they respond after such a heartbreaking loss.
The Knights welcome back Lachlan Fitzgibbon into the forward pack and that will see Aidan Guerra on the bench / Brodie Jones miss out. Meanwhile, Brisbane’s woes continue with Kotoni Staggs doing a hammy and Herbie Farnworth moves into the centres. Oates is back in his favoured wing position. Alex Glenn and Tevita Pangai jnr are back to strengthen the forward pack.
The Broncos can give up plenty of points and we believe the Knights playmakers will be able to take advantage in what should be a high scoring clash. On the flip side, the Knights are coming off a short week and the Broncos showed signs of attacking life last week.
Prediction: OVER 38.5 @ $1.85
Friday
6:00pm South Sydney Rabbitohs vs New Zealand Warriors
The Rabbitohs and Warriors battle for a top 8 spot on Friday night.
A 3-game losing streak is over for South Sydney after an easy win over the Titans at this venue last week (32-12). Latrell Mitchell is on fire at the moment and the Rabbitohs welcomed back Cody Walker in style.
New Zealand took full advantage of the Cowboys defensive woes last week as they scored 37 points in their victory. They’ve gone win-loss-win over the last 3 weeks so by the law of averages, they should struggle to beat Souths. But in the NRL, you just never know!
In team news, both sides are unchanged at this stage. James Roberts continues to be a week-by-week proposition which would likely be Souths only late change.
It’s a tough job predicting the Warriors at the moment so we’d side with Souths at the line in this contest. However, we like the form of Mitchell in the #1 jersey at the moment and he offers nice value to score a try. Souths scored all 5 tries via an outside back last week and the Warriors have a few injuries in their edge defensive line.
Prediction: To Score a Try – Latrell Mitchell @ $2.40
7:55pm Penrith Panthers vs Melbourne Storm
Another Friday night thriller?
The Panthers had the Eels covered last week as they headed to the sheds up 10-0. But they couldn’t stop the Eels momentum in the second half as Penrith were held scoreless in a heartbreaking 16-10 loss.
Melbourne were at their clinical best on Saturday night as they beat the previously undefeated Knights 26-12. The GOAT Cameron Smith was at his usual best as the Storm overcame losing regular halfback Jarome Hughes last week by scoring their highest total of 2020.
Penrith will have Dylan Edwards at fullback this week and Liam Martin replaces the injured Kurt Capewell. Melbourne are unchanged and will likely give Brandon Smith the start at prop once again.
We’re really looking forward to this matchup of two pretty similar teams. However, the Storm have punished the Panthers in the last 5 years, which includes a 32-2 drubbing last season. So we can’t see Melbourne conceding many points in what should be a fairly comfortable victory. Their defence stopped the Knights after they had scored 30+ points against the Raiders and the Panthers are coming off a scoreless second half.
Prediction: Storm -4.5 @ $1.90
Saturday
3:00pm Gold Coast Titans vs St. George Illawarra Dragons
Suncorp Stadium features two desperate teams on Saturday.
The Titans of old returned last Saturday as they were simply outclassed by South Sydney in the 20 point defeat. Their outside defence just continues to lack any solidarity and when their attack can’t get going, it’s a recipe for disaster.
St. George are finally on the winners’ list in 2020 after a massive upset over the Sharks. A few key team changes seemed to give the Dragons spark, such as Hunt to the bench and Dufty back at fullback.
Gold Coast have recently added Corey Thompson to the fold and he’ll immediately start at fullback. That pushes Sami to the wing and Kelly into the centres. The Dragons have named Hunt on the bench again and Graham will return to the starting 13 at lock.
There’s usually points galore when these two sides meet and afternoon conditions at Suncorp should be perfect for both sides to find the try-line. Take the Over in what should be a very high scoring clash.
Prediction: OVER 42 @ $1.90
5:30 pm Wests Tigers vs North Queensland Cowboys
There’s a top 8 spot on the line for the Tigers and Cowboys on Saturday.
It’s been a tough few weeks for the Tigers and it showed on the field against the Raiders as they struggled in the 14-6 loss. But the Tigers have a clear advantage in Round 6 as they play at the same venue in back-to-back weeks.
While the Cowboys are just inside the top 8, they’re certainly not playing like a top 8 team. They’ve been poor against the Sharks and Warriors in recent weeks. Now with a growing injury list, they’re at long odds to cause an upset on Saturday.
The team changes continue at the Tigers with Lawrence, Seyfarth, Packer and Talau all missing out. Garner is back in the second row along with Jennings, Eisenhuth and McIntyre. North Queensland have lost Holmes and McLean to injury. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow wears the #1 jersey and Connelly Lemuelu will play on the wing.
With the Cowboys struggling to field their best team and their edge defence is all over the shop, the Tigers should take full advantage in a comfortable win.
Prediction: Tigers -2 @ $1.85
7:35pm Sydney Roosters vs Parramatta Eels
The Eels put their undefeated record on the line against the Roosters on Saturday night.
101-6 (59-0 & 42-6) sums up the Roosters dominance over the last 2 weeks after smashing the Broncos and the Bulldogs on Monday night. But will a few soft wins and a 4-day break be the Roosters downfall on Saturday?
Parramatta successfully continued their undefeated season with a stirring 16-10 comeback win over rivals Penrith at this venue last Friday. They have a great record at Bankwest and if they can bring their 100% best in defence, they’re a good chance of an upset.
In team news, Waerea-Hargreaves is back for the Roosters at prop and that moves Collins to the bench. Kane Evans is out for the Eels after suspension and Oregon Kaufusi will return to the bench.
The Roosters haven’t been challenged for a while and we believe the Eels can keep this close. But ultimately, the Over just looks like the better bet as both sides possess plenty of playmakers across the park.
Prediction: OVER 36.5 @ $2.00
Sunday
4:05pm Canberra Raiders vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
A top 8 matchup at Campbelltown Stadium kicks off Sunday’s action.
The Raiders rebounded from a poor loss against the Knights with a fairly comfortable victory over the Tigers at this venue last week. But Ricky Stuart will be looking for a full 80-minute performance against Manly because they’ve been a bit sloppy over the last 2 weeks.
Manly escaped with a 20-18 win over the Broncos last week but that shouldn’t overshadow the fact they were down 18-0 at one stage. But a sign of a good team is winning under adversity and Thursday’s win is a good sign for the Sea Eagles moving forward.
Corey Horsburgh is back for the Raiders and Dunamis Lui has been dropped as a result. Hudson Young is back from suspension and Bailey Simonsson moves to the bench. Some big outs for the Sea Eagles with injuries to Marty Taupau and Moses Suli. So Addin Fonua-Blake and Brendan Elliot move into the starting lineup. Curtis Sironen is also back from injury.
When the Raiders and Sea Eagles clash, there’s usually not much separating the two sides. So we love the value of the either team under 6.5 points, considering it’s saluted in 4 of the last 5 meetings.
Prediction: Either Team Under 6.5 Points @ $2.60
6:30pm Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
The 1-4 Sharks suffered an embarrassing loss to the Dragons last week and their season is quickly slipping away. So this is a must-win game against the struggling Bulldogs.
Canterbury were expected to struggle against the Roosters on Monday night and they didn’t disappoint as the tri-colours smashed them 42-6. The new rules probably haven’t helped a team without a whole lot of speed so it’s tough-going for Dean Pay’s men at the moment.
The Sharks have added some experience to the bench with Bryson Goodwin. Jack Williams will start at lock and Toby Rudolf is slated to start from the bench (could change). For the Bulldogs, Aiden Tolman remains out and Reimis Smith is back to replace Nick Meaney. Renouf To’omaga will start at prop and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has been moved into the centres.
Generally, games between the Sharks and Bulldogs have been low scoring and this seems like it’ll be a similar type of affair in night conditions between two inconsistent teams.
Prediction: UNDER 37.5 @ $1.90
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