NRL Round 10 Preview
With what seemed to be an overall success filled round with some jaw dropping performances we take a look at how teams will back up from the excitement of the inaugural magic round and what we think will happen in round 10.
Melbourne Storm ($1.23) vs Wests Tigers ($4.15)
Thursday, 16th May 7:50pm, AAMI Park
It’s safe to say that when Craig Bellamy speaks, and speaks so intently as he did after their loss to the Sharks, that the Melbourne Storm players listen just as intently. This was proven with a jaw dropping 64-10 victory over the previously 5th placed Parramatta Eels, which reaffirmed Melbourne as one of the leading threats in the competition and sounded alarm bells for Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire ahead of their Thursday night blockbuster. Thankfully for Michael Maguire he can take comfort in the 14 minute period early in the first half last week where his team put on 5 unanswered tries against the Penrith Panthers in an almost equally scintillating performance. On the back of this performance Maguire has named an unchanged starting side with the only change being Josh Aloiai returning from concussion on the bench in place of Oliver Clark. On the other hand the Storm will be without live wire fullback Jerome Hughes and strike centre Curtis Scott as Ryan Papenhuyzen, who was impressive last week when called upon, and Marion Seve replace them at fullback and in the centres respectively. In last years fixtures between these two teams the Tigers took out both games by a combined total of 3 points in a result that saw them being the only team to beat the Storm both times they came against them but before that Storm had won their last 4 meetings. Despite the key outs it is hard to tip against the Storm after a performance like last week and we are predicting them to back it up with another convincing win.
Recommended Bet: Melbourne Storm 13+ $2.00
Penrith Panthers ($1.72) vs New Zealand Warriors ($2.12)
Friday, 17th May 6:00pm, Panthers Stadium
What is going on at Penrith in 2019? After a pre-season where they were touted as one of the competition heavy weights with the depth of their roster and the signing of Ivan Cleary as coach they find themselves with only 2 wins from their opening 9 games and in an almost do or die scenario each week if they want to play finals football. Thankfully for them they come up against a side who hasn’t been too much better in the New Zealand Warriors who currently sit with only 3 wins from their opening 9 games but showed their capabilities with an impressive come from behind victory against the Dragons last week. Both teams have shown their capabilities in patches this season but with disappointing starts it is to no surprise that Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has swung the selection axe by recalling Dylan Edwards, Waqa Blake and Sione Katoa whilst handing Brian To’o his debut and welcoming Liam Martin back from suspension. The seriousness of this situation for the Panthers can be summed up by the dropping of two former Australian representatives and fan favourites in Josh Mansour and Reagan Campbell-Gillard. At the other end of the spectrum are the Warriors who have found no reason to change anything from a winning side and have kept the same 17 from last weeks 26-18 victory. When looking at recent history between these two sides it is interesting to note than in 4 of the last 5 matches the total match points has covered the 39.5 total points set for this week and with that in mind as well as the shaky defences of both teams we are leaning towards another high scoring encounter between these two teams.
Recommended Bet: Total Match Points Over 39.5 $1.90
Brisbane Broncos ($2.70) vs Sydney Roosters ($1.46)
Friday, 17th May 7:55pm, Suncorp Stadium
Broncos fans can breathe a sigh of relief as their team posted their 3rd win of the season against a depleted Manly Sea Eagles and in doing so halted a concerning slide towards the bottom of the table. Unfortunately that breath of relief won’t last for too long as they come up against one of the competitions form sides and the defending premiers in the Sydney Roosters who despite being seriously injury ravaged and at one stage only having one player on the bench managed to hold off a fast finishing Canberra Raiders side who sit inside the top four. To make matters worse for the Broncos is that 6 weeks ago the Roosters demolished them 36-4 in what was an embarrassing efforts where the Broncos missed a whopping 54 tackles and made 17 errors. Whether this loss plays on their mind remains to be seen but the Broncos can take confidence that they have won the last 5 matches played at Suncorp Stadium against the Roosters, with the Roosters last win coming in round 3 of 2014. The Broncos will have to do so this week without the services of arguably their best backline member for 2019, in Jack Bird, who unfortunately suffered an ACL injury, which sees Jamayne Isaako return to the side and for the Roosters they will be without NSW blues captain Boyd Cordner who is out with concussion after receiving a nasty head knock against the Raiders. Despite Brisbane’s impressive home record against the Roosters it is hard go past a team that has won 8 straight as the Broncos still look a couple of good performances away from a team that you can say has turned the corner into a top 8 side.
Recommended Bet: Sydney Roosters 1-12 $2.80
Gold Coast Titans ($1.62) vs Canterbury Bulldogs ($2.30)
Saturday, 18th May 3:00pm, Cbus Super Stadium
A battle of the current cellar dwellers is brought to us with the first game of Saturday as the 16th placed Canterbury Bulldogs travel to Cbus Super Stadium to take on the 14th placed Gold Coast Titans. In last weeks fixtures both teams put in gallant performances in losses as the Titans led 18-10 to the Sharks to only go onto lose 26-18 whilst the Bulldogs went down 22-10 to the Knights and without a contentious call going the Knights way they could have had the chance to tie the game up with the score still 16-10 until the last 2 minutes of the game. This week sees a host of changes for both teams as Titans lose veteran Michael Gordon to a leg injury as he is replaced by AJ Brimson, Tyrone Roberts returns to the halves and Shannon Boyd moves to the bench. For the Bulldogs impressive signing Corey Harawira-Naera returns, Rhyse Martin is recalled to the bench and Adam Elliot is dropped in place of Danny Fualolo. The affect of the consistent changes to the Bulldogs side has been seen in recent weeks with their attack only managing 20 points whilst their defence conceding 40 points in the last 2 rounds and this spells concern for Bulldogs fans. The Titans on the other hand have been steadily improving despite not managing to put together an 80 minute performance and with the return of Tyrone Roberts to the halves coupled with their impressive opening 40 minutes last week we are tipping them to notch up a close win against the Bulldogs.
Recommended Bet: Gold Coast Titans 1-12 $2.85
North Queensland Cowboys ($1.68) vs Parramatta Eels ($2.18)
Saturday, 18th May 5:30pm, 1300SMILES Stadium
A crunch game for both teams comes to us in the penultimate game on super Saturday as the North Queensland Cowboys welcome the Parramatta Eels to 1300SMILES stadium. Both sides will be eager to avenge their losses last week as the Cowboys showed a spirited effort in a 32-16 loss to the Rabbitohs, a game where they well and truly in it until some Damien Cook brilliance, and the Eels will have plenty to prove after succumbing 64-10 to the Melbourne Storm. The Eels effort was particularly poor as they missed a humongous 51 tackles, made 10 errors and made 900m less than the Storm as they struggled to maintain possession and trouble the Storm defence. This would frustrate coach Brad Arthur as his team hasn’t put together back to back wins since the opening two rounds of this year and as a result centre Michael Jennings has been dropped in place of Josh Hoffman, George Jennings replaces the suspended Maika Sivo, Jaeman Salmon is dropped for Will Smith and Mana Ma’u starts in place of Tepai Moeroa. For Cowboys fans they will be pleased to see that their only change is premiership winning hooker Jake Granville returning to the starting lineup in place of Kurt Baptiste as it was the 30 minute period that Granville was on last week where the Cowboys worried the South Sydney defence thanks to his speed out of dummy half. Last year these two teams won one game each but it is the recent form of the Eels in Townsville that is of interest as they have only won 1 game out of their last 7 trips up north and with that in mind combined with the tenacity that the Cowboys forwards played with last week we are predicting a North Queensland win.
Recommended Bet: North Queensland Cowboys -2.5 Line $1.90
Canberra Raiders ($2.12) vs South Sydney Rabbitohs ($1.73)
Saturday, 18th May 7:35pm, GIO Stadium
Arguably the game of the round as the 2nd placed South Sydney Rabbitohs travel down to Canberra to take on the 4th placed Canberra Raiders in a telling game for both sides seasons. South Sydney are coming off their 5th consecutive win in a Damien Cook and Sam Burgess inspired 32-16 rout of the North Queensland Cowboys in the final game of magic round whilst the Raiders fell agonisingly short against the top of the table Sydney Roosters as they went down 30-24 and were a forward pass away from having the scores tied with a last minute try. Despite the Raiders going down to the Roosters it is fair to say that they lost no supporters as the spirit and courage they showed to come back from 30-6 down showed a fight that previous Raiders teams have struggled to exhibit. This weeks match sees both teams make some key personnel changes as South Sydney fullback Alex Johnston is out with a knee injury as Corey Allan shifts to fullback and Mawene Hiromi comes onto the wing for his 2nd NRL game and the Raiders again lose star winger Jordan Rapana to a knee injury as Bailey Simonsson comes into his spot from the bench. Surprisingly, the Raiders have dominated this contest winning 4 of the last 5 matches including South Sydney having not won at GIO Stadium since 2014 and with both teams ranking 2nd and 5th for points scored this year you can bet that there will be some points in this contest. With that in mind and the fact that both teams are coming off games that easily cleared the total points market for this week we are happy to look at the overs line for this week.
Recommended Bet: Total Match Points Over 42.5 $1.90
St. George Illawarra Dragons ($1.68) vs Newcastle Knights ($2.18)
Sunday, 19th May 2:00pm, Glen Willow Oval
The first of two blockbuster games on Sunday sees the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Newcastle Knights travel out to Glen Willow Oval in Mudgee as apart of the NRL’s regional initiative in what should prove an enthralling contest for two teams currently placed 9th and 10th on the ladder. Despite both teams being side by side on the ladder they come in with two completely different form lines as the Knights are riding a 3 game win streak that has turned their season around whilst the Dragons have slumped to a 3 game losing streak, which has been highlighted by a number of early leads being squandered in the second half. Last week saw the Dragons lead the Warriors, who previously had only 2 wins, by 12 points at half time only for them to fail to register a point in the second half as they went down 26-18. On the other hand the Knights registered a comfortable 22-10 win against the Bulldogs on the back of a one try, one try assist and one line break effort from fullback Kalyn Ponga. Last time these two teams met was a mere 6 weeks ago when the Dragons beat the Knights at their home ground thanks to an 88th minute golden point field goal from Corey Norman, which extended the Dragons winning streak to 3 against the Knights and you can bet that the Knights will be eager to avenge that loss. Thankfully for the Knights they have named an unchanged team to the one that has brought them their last 3 victories and with the stability in their side we are predicting them to post their 4th successive victory for the first time since 2015.
Recommended Bet: Newcastle Knights $2.18
Cronulla Sharks ($1.53) vs Manly Sea Eagles ($2.50)
Sunday, 19th May 4:05pm, PointsBet Stadium
The final game of the round is a clash of two of Sydney’s premier clubs who are both well entrenched in the top 8 with a 5-4 record thanks to a number of impressive performances despite a host of serious injuries to both squads. Thankfully for the Sea Eagles they welcome a number of big names back this week as Dylan Walker returns for his first game of 2019, Addin Fonua-Blake returns from a knee injury, Jorge Taufua returns on the wing and Lachlan Croker returns to the halves in what proves a scary prospect for the Sharks. On the other hand the Sharks will look to take the same 17 that scored a come from behind victory against the Titans despite losing their two front rowers in Andrew Fifita and Matt Prior within the first 20 minutes of the clash. In recent history these two teams have played some enthralling contests with Manly running out 33-32 victors against the Sharks in their last trip to PointsBet Stadium in round 21 of last year and they boast an impressive 9 wins from their last 10 matches against the Sharks, including the last two at PointsBet Stadium. With this in mind combined with the confidence that Manly are playing with despite their injuries we are tipping an upset victory to the Sea Eagles thanks to some much needed inclusions.
Recommended Bet: Manly Sea Eagles $2.50
