NRL Round 6 Preview
The traditional Easter round sees the return of a number of matches that have a rich history of rivalries and close encounters as well as the return of NRL to the Monday time slot in what proves to be an intriguing round spread across 5 days. Read on as we preview each of the 8 matches.
Cronulla Sharks ($1.65) vs Penrith Panthers ($2.20)
Thursday, 18th April 7:50pm, Shark Park
The rematch of last years golden point thriller from week 2 of the finals proves to be a match with huge bearings on each sides season and the confidence that they can take out of it. One of the early season favourites in the Penrith Panthers slumped to yet another loss last week leaving them with just 2 wins from their opening 5 games. Despite this, they remain only one win outside the top 8 and there were signs in last weeks outing that Nathan Cleary was beginning to regather the form that earned him his first NSW Blues jumper last season. For the Sharks they were staring down the barrel of a home humiliation from last years premiers when 30-0 down after just 50 minutes of play, thankfully they managed to score what turned out to be a trio of late tries that made the scoreline a little more respectable in 30-16. This weeks game will see the Panthers look to overturn a 4 game losing streak against the Sharks, 3 of which were last year, and they can take confidence that they boast a lot more attacking prowess across the park with the Sharks still lacking Matt Moylan and Wade Graham. On the back of this we are predicting that the Panthers can continue their slight improvement in form each week and notch up a 3rd win for season 2019 on the back of an improved performance from their incumbent NSW Blues halves.
Recommended Bet: Penrith Panthers $2.20
Canterbury Bulldogs ($3.30) vs South Sydney Rabbitohs ($1.32)
Friday, 19th April 4:05pm, ANZ Stadium
The return of the Good Friday clash between the Bulldogs and the Rabbitohs kickstarts what should be an interesting day of NRL thanks to the story lines behind the clubs involved. The Bulldogs and Rabbitohs have a history highlighted by the 2014 grand final, which marked the Rabbitohs first premiership in over 40 years and the infamous 2015 Good Friday clash that saw a controversial finish resulting in NRL officials being hit by bottles. Since then these two have come together 9 times with Souths winning 6, including the last 3, and Bulldogs winning 3. For the Bulldogs they will be hoping that they don’t slip into their bad habits from last week and the opening two rounds that saw them miss a large number of tackles and struggle to hold possession as they slumped to a combined loss of 116 points conceded to just 26 points scored from those 3 games. Unfortunately for them they are coming up against a team who are continuing to find a way to win despite not looking like they’ve completely gelled yet. Last week the Rabbitohs were able to overturn a 12 point deficit to wear down the Warriors thanks to a super human 4 try effort from Cody Walker. With Souths record against the Bulldogs and the fact they hold the second best attack in the competition we can see them continuing this run of form with a confident win.
Recommended Bet: South Sydney Rabbitohs -8.5 Line $1.90
Melbourne Storm ($1.90) vs Sydney Roosters ($1.90)
Friday, 19th April 7:55pm, AAMI Park
The rematch of last years grand final also sees the current first and second teams on the ladder come together in what proves to be the match of the round by far. The Roosters have arguably been the form team of the competition for the last two rounds as they dismantled two of last years finalists in the Broncos and the Sharks by 66 points to 20. This has been on the back of the competitions best attack that has been led by Luke Keary and James Tedescos dominance throughout the middle of the park. On the other hand the Storm are another team who are continuing to find a way to win despite not looking overly impressive over the last two rounds. There were stages in both the Bulldogs and the Cowboys matches where the Storm could have easily succumbed to 12 and 8 point deficits but like Storm outfits have been known to do they found a way to win on the back of some Cameron Munster and Cameron Smith leadership. The Storm hold the home advantage here and it is interesting to note that the Roosters haven’t won at AAMI Park since 2014 but with the faltering of the Storm over the last two weeks and the continued improvement of the Roosters we believe they will hand the Storm their first loss for 2019 and will gain top stop on the ladder for the first time in 2019.
Recommended Bet: Sydney Roosters 1-12 $3.00
New Zealand Warriors ($1.38) vs North Queensland Cowboys ($2.95)
Saturday, 20th April 5:30pm, Mt Smart Stadium
Panic stations are about to be reached for the North Queensland Cowboys as their depth is set to be seriously tested with the potentially season ending injury to star signing Nene McDonald and the absence of Kyle Feldt leaving their stocks in the outside backs looking incredibly thin. On the other hand the Warriors back 5 are continuing to prove their worth with another strong performance against the Rabbitohs despite losing and it poses an intriguing fixture between two teams who will be desperate for a win. The Warriors will be pleased to welcome back Blake Green who adds a wealth of experience into their halves, an area they sorely missed last week when leading the Rabbitohs by 12 points. For the Cowboys, round 6 marks the return of Scott Bolton from suspension as he looks to help tighten up a middle that has been severely exposed around the ruck by opposition teams. The Cowboys will be hoping this can help snap a 2 game losing streak against the Warriors as well have a 4 year losing streak in Christchurch and there were signs in their performance last week that they are not far from a win. The significant stat between these two teams although has been their defensive efforts over the opening 5 rounds. Both teams are averaging over 24 points conceded throughout this period and the with the totals mark set significantly below that we believe there is major value lying around that market this week.
Recommended Bet: Total Points Over 39.5 $1.88
St George Illawarra Dragons ($1.43) vs Manly Sea Eagles ($2.75)
Saturday, 20th April 7:35pm, WIN Stadium
Didn’t the Manly Sea Eagles silence a few doubters last weekend! By posting a win without Tom Trbojevic the Sea Eagles extended their winning streak to 3 games on the trot and knocked off the Knights, away from home, to help secure 6th spot on the ladder. For the Dragons they also showed a continued improvement in form as they posted their 3rd successive win in a barnstorming performance led by Ben Hunt as they piled on 40 points to 4 against the Bulldogs. Both teams will be pleased to name unchanged teams from last weeks victory in what proves to be an interesting contest towards the finals credentials of both teams. In recent history, the Dragons have dominated this contest having won the last 3 fixtures against the Sea Eagles including a dominant history against them at WIN stadium with the Sea Eagles having not won their in the last 6 years. On the back of this and the seemingly larger number of attacking threats the Dragons have across the park we are predicting them to continue on their winning ways in a close encounter.
Recommended Bet: St George Illawarra Dragons 1-12 $3.00
Gold Coast Titans ($1.90) vs Newcastle Knights ($1.90)
Sunday, 21st April 2:00pm, Cbus Super Stadium
The Titans will be brimming with confidence after posting their first win for 2019 last week on the back of an inspiring performance from Michael Gordon who led from the front in his 250th game. The Knights on the other hand are currently on a four game losing streak after a run of four of their first five games at home only managing to provide them with one win in what should spell reason for concern as they embark on a tough period of games on the road. For the Titans they have lost prop Jarrod Wallace to a two-week suspension and young gun AJ Brimson to a broken thumb but have welcomed back star signing Shannon Boyd to the starting pack and Phillip Sami comes onto the bench. The Knights will have to make do without former origin forward Aidan Guerra who looks to spend a lengthy period on the sidelines due to a serious ankle injury, he is replaced by formed Broncos forward Herman Ese’ese. In recent history the Titans have won four of their last six encounters, including the last 3 at Cbus Super Stadium, and with the Knights struggling to show any sort of form at home it is hard to trust them on the road so we will be leaning towards the Titans to extend their 3 match winning streak at home to 4.
Recommended Bet: Gold Coast Titans -1.5 $2.00
Canberra Raiders ($1.68) vs Brisbane Broncos ($2.25)
Sunday, 21st April 4:05pm, GIO Stadium
The Canberra Raiders continue to prove their doubters wrong as they now sit on a 3 game winning streak that was highlighted by their 19-0 shutout of the previously in form Parramatta Eels. This streak has been on the back on a complete change in philosophy from the traditional Raiders team that we have come to know as their free flowing attack has changed to a rock solid defence, which is currently the best in the league, averaging only 8.5 points conceded per match across the opening 5 rounds. The Broncos on the other hand have been stumbling with each week as they sit with only 1 win from their opening 5 games and have lost two games in close fashion as a result of some seriously poor game management from their spine and defensive skills from their middle forwards. Things don’t get any easier for the Broncos this week with the loss of Matt Lodge but they can take confidence in the fact that they have won their last three games in Canberra by a combined total of 82 points to only 36 points conceded. With their backs against the wall this week and their positive record against the Raiders we believe there is still a bit of life within them and enough to cause an upset in the penultimate game of the round.
Recommended Bet: Brisbane Broncos $2.25
Parramatta Eels ($1.80) vs West Tigers ($2.02)
Monday, 22nd April 4:00pm, Bankwest Stadium
The reinstatement of Monday footy returns this week as the traditional Easter Monday clash between the Eels and the West Tigers poses an intriguing matchup between two teams who sit within the top 8 after the first 5 rounds of action. Despite this, both teams are coming into this weeks fixture on the back of very different results. The Eels had a disappointing 19 point loss in which they didn’t manage to score a point against the Raiders defence as a result of a number of errors as they struggled to hold possession. The Tigers however scored a massive win at Suncorp Stadium against the Broncos thanks to a late Michael Chee-Kam try and a much more composed performance from their spine. This match also marks the unveiling of the Eels new Bankwest Stadium and they will be keen to kickstart their history there with a confident win in front of what will hopefully be a blockbuster crowd. Despite the homecoming for the Eels and their fans we believe that the Tigers host a much stronger outfit across the park and will ruin the Eels party as they look to avenge the 2 point loss they had to the Eels in Round 8 of last year.
Recommended Bet: West Tigers 1-12 $3.15
