Brisbane Broncos Vs Sydney Roosters
Thursday 6 April, 7:50pm, Suncorp Stadium
This should be a cracker of a game to kick off round 6 with two quality sides coming off last start losses.
The Broncos are 2-3 to start the season with what has been arguably the toughest draw to start the season in the competition. They have faced all four of last year’s semi-finalists in the first four games of the season and took on an under-sieged and desperate Bulldogs side in atrocious conditions last week. Their form line doesn’t read too badly however another loss here and a 2-4 start to the season would mount unnecessary pressure on the side. All eyes will be on Anthony Milford who has been in the headlines of late and is yet to replicate his red hot form of 2016.
The Roosters went into last week’s encounter against the Sea Eagles as short priced favourites after starting the season 4-0. They were somewhat ambushed by the northern beaches boys with Dylan Walker putting a man of match performance to seal with win for the Sea Eagles. The Roosters lose the services of Dylan Napa due to a leg injury so expect the big Jared Warea-Hargraves to step up to the plate.
Look for a tight defensive game with both teams going back to basics after their respective losses last week.
Brisbane 1.75
Sydney 2.10
Best Bet – Total Points Under 35.5 $1.90
Newcastle Knights Vs Canterbury Bulldogs
Friday 7 April, 6:00pm, McDonald Jones Stadium
The Knights nearly pulled off the biggest upset in recent years when they took it to the reigning premiers at Shark Park last week. It took a cool James Maloney field goal inside the last 10 minutes to fend off the Novocastrians who were gallant in defeat. They have improved enormously over the past 12 months under the management of Nathan Brown. They are in a well documented ‘rebuilding phase’ however if they continue to improve at the same rate and add a bit more firepower to their roster, they’ll be playing finals footy sooner rather than later.
An 'ugly start' to the season would be an understatement for the Bulldogs. Their two victories this year (Warriors, Broncos) have been patchy at best though they showed great desire in their win against the Broncos last week. A big focus will be on Moses Mbye who returns after a week suspension with a big question mark around the Bulldogs’ attack. Halves partner Josh Reynolds was best on ground last week and it is time for Mbye to pull his share of weight particularly with the ball. Waiting in the shadows is Matt Frawley who put in a strong performance on debut in cyclonic conditions last week.
Knights to continue to improve and put their best foot forward at home.
Newcastle 2.70
Canterbury 1.47
Best Bet – Newcastle +6.5 $1.80
Penrith Panthers Vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Friday 7 April, 7:50pm, Pepper Stadium
Team list Tuesday threw up a massive spanner in the works with Matt Moylan, Waqa Blake and Peta Hiku all dropped from Penrith line up for disciplinary reasons. Coach Anthony Griffin has drawn a line in the sand showing he won’t be compromised with discipline from his playing squad. It is a huge risk as with the trio in, the Panthers were 10 points favourites against a struggling Rabbitohs side. The Panthers would have been confident to bag the two competition points here. Instead they’ll be turning to three rookies to fill the void. The line is -10.5 into -5.5.
Souths form line is somewhat flattering having won 2 from 5 to start the season. Those two wins have come against a severely weakened Manly side and the lowly ranked Newcastle Knights. They have glaring deficiencies up front and it appears it is all up to Sam Burgess to shoulder the workload for the Bunnies. The return of younger brother George from suspension will benefit the front row greatly (provided he holds on to the pill). They have had a few favours handed to them again this week with the demotion of the aforementioned Panthers trio as well as injury to gun centre Tyrone Peachey.
Despite being outsiders, this game is now South’s to lose. They’ve been gifted a terrific opportunity to pinch two points at the foot of the mountains where it is traditionally difficult to win – can they take advantage of the opportunity?
Penrith 1.60
South Sydney 2.35
Best Bet – Souths win $2.35
Manly Sea Eagles Vs St George Dragons
Saturday 8 April, 3:00pm, Brookvale Oval
Manly will be looking for 4 wins on the trot when they host the Dragons on the first game on Super Saturday and shapes up to be a terrific clash between two in form sides.
The Sea Eagles are coming off strong victories against Cowboys, Bulldogs and Roosters last week. Trent Barrett’s men looks to have finally found the best positions for his young spine after some planned and unplanned experimenting with positions last year. Daly Cherry Evans looks to be playing his best football in a number of years. Tom Trobjevic appears to be playing injury free and is firing on all cylinders while Blake Green provides terrific experience in the halves. They boast a terrific record at home against the Red V having won 5 of the last 6 at Brookvale and will be very hard to beat.
The Dragons have been the biggest surprise packets of the competition. They sit second on the ladder behind only the Melbourne Storm and have racked up the most points in attack this season. Unbelievable. They have the most in-form pack in the competition laying a terrific foundation for Gareth Widdop to pull the strings and unleash his outside backs. Josh Dugan has been in career best form in both attack and defence and will be sorely missed this weekend. Jason Nightingale will deputise for Dugan however it’s Dugan’s 3-4 try saving efforts that will be missed the most.
They’ve been up for a while now the Dragons and will be ripe for a loss without Dugan at Fortress Brookvale.
Manly 1.60
St George 2.60
Best Bet – Manly -5.5 $1.80
Gold Coast Titans Vs Canberra Raiders
Saturday 8 April, 5:30pm, Cbus Super Stadium
The Titans were gallant in defeat across the ditch last week. They simply can’t take a trick in relation to injuries with Tyrone Roberts joining an ever-growing injury ward. Despite their injuries they continue to put their best foot forward with their young halves Elgey and Taylor steering a tight ship. Former Panther Chris Grevsmuhl will make his debut for the Titans and provide much needed reinforcements up front for the Titans.
The Raiders come of a strong victory over the Eels at home last Saturday night. They were the Raiders of 2016 showing their razzle dazzle in a comprehensive victory. They’re red hot favourites once again this week and the challenge will be for them to get ‘up’ for the game on the road. They’re yet to put back to back wins on the board this year but will get their best chance to do so this weekend.
Gold Coast 2.95
Canberra 1.40
Best Bet – Gold Coast +7.5 $1.90
North Queensland Cowboys Vs Wests Tigers
Saturday 8 April, 7:30pm, 1300Smiles Stadium
Some many talking points in this one centring on the Wests Tigers tumultuous start to the season. How will Cleary go in his first game in charge? How will Mitch Moses play following his contract release request? How will the other players perform with all these talks around contracts?
It has been a tough period for the Tigers side and signing Ivan Cleary is the first step to fixing the club’s problems. It may be ugly now but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel with Cleary at the helm. Next step is to sort the contracts of Tedesco, Woods and Moses and from there they can move forward. With all that is going on, it’s difficult to see the Tigers being able to play at their best in what was already a tough road trip.
For the Cowboys it will be all about not being distracted by the other mob. They are sitting pretty in equal second on the ladder despite a number of key injuries and suspensions throughout the season. Hooker Jake Granville is out for six weeks in what is a huge blow however given the Tigers’ woes, the Cows should put them to the sword.
North Queensland 1.15
West Tigers 5.50
Best Bet – North Queensland -14.5 $1.80
New Zealand Warriors Vs Parramatta Eels
Sunday 9 April, 2:00pm, Mt Smart Stadium
The Warriors celebrated the debut of Kieran Foran with their second win of the season last week. Foran showed his class and took the game by the scruff of the neck when in the balance during the second half. He is the perfect player to compliment the talents of fleet flooted Shaun Johnson and they’ll have a great opportunity to record back to back victories this week. Captain Roger Tuivasa-Shek and hooker Isaac Luke also look to be playing into some form. With their spine settled, perhaps we’ll finally see the best of the Warriors outfit to continue to disappoint despite the talent on their roster.
The Eels have fallen into a massive hole after looking the form team after two rounds of the competitions. They missed Corey Norman in round 3 and haven’t looked the same since his return. He looked every bit a Dally M hopefully in the first two rounds but appears to be playing somewhat injured in the last three. Injury or not, they desperately need him at his best to get their season back on track.
While they’ve lost their last three, the Eels still have a formidable team on paper and also welcome back hulking Tepai Moeroa this week. They gave the Warriors a 22 point hiding at Mt Smart in their last encounter here.
New Zealand 1.74
Parramatta 2.10
Best Bet – Parramatta +2 $1.90
Melbourne Storm Vs Cronulla Sharks
Sunday 9 April, 4:00pm, AAMI Park
What a game we have to close out round 6. The unbeaten Melbourne Storm take on the reigning premiers in a classic Sunday afternoon grand final rematch – it doesn’t get much better.
The Storm have been in terrific form to start 2017. The Smith, Cronk and Slater combination is firing on all cylinders and showing very few chinks in the armour. It is their defence that has been most impressive conceding just 48 points through 5 matches. Despite recording the 4th most missed tackles in the competition, it’s their scramble defence which sets them apart. While they continue to turn up in defence for one another as they have been, they’ll continue to be mighty hard to beat. Whether they say publicly or not, they’ll be desperate to seek revenge on the grand final loss.
Cronulla were lucky to get away with the win against the Knights last week with only a James Maloney field goal separating the teams. You could nearly forgive them for having one eye on this fixture against the Storm. Their form has been patchy at best this year though they appear to finally able to put their strongest side on the field. Look for sharp improvement this week.
Melbourne 1.44
Cronulla 2.80
Best Bet – Cronulla +6.5 $1.90
For the latest NRL Round 6 markets, click here.
