NRL Round 9 Preview
The inaugural magic round sees all 8 games taken up to Suncorp Stadium in a bid to promote fans travelling from all over the country to witness the nations best footballers. Read on as we take a look at the fixtures from magic round and cast our thoughts over who will prevail.
Gold Coast Titans ($2.22) vs Cronulla Sharks ($1.66)
Thursday, 9th May 7:50pm, Suncorp Stadium
The first game of the first edition of magic round sees the Cronulla Sharks take on the Gold Coast Titans for the second time in 2019. The first time these two teams met came in round 2 at the Sharks home ground, PointsBet Stadium, where the Sharks ran out 20-6 victors on the back of a Sione Katoa double against an undermanned Gold Coast side. Unfortunately for Gold Coast they are again well under strength as they have lost star half Tyrone Roberts and utility back Phillip Sami to injury as young gun AJ Brimson will partner Ashley Taylor in the halves and Dale Copley returns on the wing for Sami. The Sharks have also made changes of their own from the side that impressively defeated the Melbourne Storm 20-18, although their changes are due to selection decisions rather than injury as Sosaia Feki returns to the wing and last matches hero, Sione Katoa, drops to the reserves. For the Titans it remains to be seen how the consistent changing of their team due to injury will affect them but there is cause for concern with Ashley Taylor and the Titans holding a significantly better win percentage when both Taylor & Roberts are in the halves. With this in mind and the Sharks winning the last two fixtures between these teams as well as coming off a morale boosting win against last years grand finalists we are predicting them to run away with this one in convincing fashion.
Recommended Bet: Cronulla Sharks 13+ $3.30
West Tigers ($1.98) vs Penrith Panthers ($1.83)
Friday, 10th May 6:00pm, Suncorp Stadium
Two teams who have been incredibly hard to pick form wise come together for the first match on Friday as we see the West Tigers take on the Penrith Panthers in a neutral game at Suncorp Stadium. Like the first fixture of round 9 this is the second time that these two teams have played each other this season with the first game going the way of the Panthers as they ran out 9-8 winners thanks to a Nathan Cleary field goal in golden point. Unfortunately for the Panthers that is the last time they have tasted victory as they have lost their last 4 matches, including 3 losses by 6 points or under. Similarly, the Tigers have been struggling to string together consecutive wins and have conceded a combined total of 93 points in their last two losses, a stat that a defensive minded coach like Michael Maguire would lose plenty of sleep on. Thankfully for Michael Maguire veteran half Benji Marshall has been named to return from a six-week injury layoff in a move that should relieve the pressure on Luke Brooks. There is a little less to smile about for Panthers fans who are likely to be without Viliame Kikau, have lost Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin, Malakai Watene-Zeleozniak and could be without NSW half James Maloney, who has to face the judiciary on Wednesday night, for this weeks match. With consistency a struggle for both these teams the significant losses that the Panthers face combined with the return of Marshall for the Tigers are swaying us towards the Tigers, albeit in a close match.
Recommended Bet: West Tigers 1-12 $3.30
Brisbane Broncos ($1.57) vs Manly Sea Eagles ($2.40)
Friday, 10th May 8:05pm, Suncorp Stadium
By the time that one third of the season had passed not many fans, experts or media personalities would have predicted that the Brisbane Broncos sat with only 2 wins in 13th position whilst the Sea Eagles had won 5 of their last 6 matches to sit in 6th spot. Strangely that is exactly the situation that we look at and as a result the Broncos are almost at a do or die scenario each week if they want to play finals football in 2019. On the back of this coach Anthony Seibold has swung the selection axe by dropping NSW blues centre James Roberts and Jamayne Isaako to reserve grade, relegating Tevita Pangai Junior to the bench and has unfortunately been forced into replacing experienced hooker Andrew McCullough due to injury. The Sea Eagles aren’t without their own injury issues at the moment too as powerful forward Addin Fonua-Blake and injury prone half Lachlan Croker join Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry Evans on the sidelines in a move that has seen premiership winning hooker Apisai Koroisau shift to the five eight position and Toafofoa Sipley move the starting prop position in what will be only his 15th game. Thankfully for Broncos fans they hold a strong record against Manly, winning 3 of their last 4 against them including a 48-16 thumping of them at Suncorp Stadium from last year. With Brisbane’s winning record against Manly and the deepening woes of Manly’s injury crisis we are predicting Brisbane to bounce back as they look to resurrect their season in front of their home fans.
Recommended Bet: Brisbane Broncos 1-12 $2.90
Canterbury Bulldogs ($2.40) vs Newcastle Knights ($1.57)
Saturday, 11th May 3:00pm, Suncorp Stadium
The first game of Saturday sees two NSW based teams come together for the first time at Suncorp Stadium as the Knights look to extend their two game winning streak whilst the Bulldogs are looking to improve on their one win from their last 5 matches. The Knights ran out resounding winners last week against the Warriors thanks to a Mitchell Pearce masterclass as they broke a losing streak in New Zealand that dated all the way back to 2012. The Bulldogs unfortunately fell to a seriously undermanned Manly side where they struggled to keep up with the tenacity of the Sea Eagles forwards and had some shaky defence out wide that gifted the Sea Eagles the 2 points. As a result Bulldogs coach Dean Pay has dropped Ofahiki Ogden to reserve grade and recalled Sauaso Sue to the bench as well as naming Kieran Foran on the extended bench for the 2nd week running in a move to improve an attack that is currently rated the worst in the league with only 104 points scored across the opening 8 rounds. Thankfully for Newcastle fans coach Nathan Brown has been able to name an unchanged side for the 3rd successive week as they look to break a 6 game losing streak dating back to 2013 against the Bulldogs. After their hoodoo breaking win last week against the Warriors the Knights are looking a much more confidence team and with the 7th best defence in the league coming up against the worst attack we are leaning towards the Knights to notch up their 3rd successive win.
Recommended Bet: Newcastle Knights -4 Line $1.90
New Zealand Warriors ($2.25) vs St. George Illawarra Dragons ($1.64)
Saturday, 11th May 5:30pm, Suncorp Stadium
For the first time in his career Kodi Nikorima will be wearing colours other than the Brisbane Broncos and ironically his first game in opposition colours comes at a ground he called home only 2 weeks ago in Suncorp Stadium as the New Zealand Warriors take on the St. George Illawarra Dragons. Both teams will be eager for this weeks matchup as they both lost in disappointing circumstances last week after both being locked at 18 all with only 30 minutes left in the game. To deepen the woes for both teams has been the loss of two star players as the Warriors will be without Adam Blair to suspension and the Dragons will be without five eight Corey Norman, who has arguably been one of their best players over the opening 8 rounds, and will be replaced by 21 year old Jai Field who will make his first appearance in 2019. In recent history the Dragons have dominated this fixture winning 7 of the last 10, although the Warriors have won the last 2 fixtures. To add to the confidence in the Dragons has been the fact they have won their last 2 games at Suncorp Stadium and we are predicting them to make it 3 straight at Suncorp as the Warriors are still figuring out the new halves combination between Blake Green and Nikorima.
Recommended Bet: St. George Illawarra Dragons 1-12 $2.95
Melbourne Storm ($1.44) vs Parramatta Eels ($2.77)
Saturday, 11th May 7:35pm, Suncorp Stadium
Potentially the match of the round is brought to us in the Saturday night time slot as the 4th placed Melbourne Storm come up against the 5th placed Parramatta Eels in what should be a telling contest of the premiership credentials of both teams. For the Storm they have endured a lean period of form with only one win from their last three games and they have felt the wrath of Craig Bellamy who questioned their mental resilience to close out games after their 20-18 loss against arch rivals the Sharks. On the other hand Eels coach Brad Arthur will be incredibly satisfied with his teams performance last round as they came back from 14-0 down to post an impressive 32-18 win against the Dragons. This week both teams welcome back important bench players as Brandom Smith returns for the Storm in place of Patrick Kaufusi and veteran Tim Mannah returns from an ankle injury, taking Kane Evans place. Over recent years the Storm have dominated this contest winning 7 of the last 10 games including an impressive 9 of their last 10 games at Suncorp Stadium, a ground that they almost call their second home. With this in mind and the fact that you very rarely see the Storm put together 4 poor games in a row we are leaning towards the Storm, albeit in a close one.
Recommended Bet: Melbourne Storm 1-12 $2.90
Sydney Roosters ($1.40) vs Canberra Raiders ($2.95)
Sunday, 12th May 2:00pm, Suncorp Stadium
Last round saw both the Sydney Roosters and the Canberra Raiders post impressive wins on the back of some starring individual performances. For the Roosters they continued to exert their dominance over the competition with a 42-12 win against the Tigers, which was led by a hat-trick of tries to Latrell Mitchell in a performance that cemented him as one of the few elite players in the competition right now. The Raiders also posted a convincing 30-12 win against the Panthers on the back of a one try and seven tackle break performance from one of the signings of the season, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. Unfortunately for the Raiders one of their other star off-season signings in Englishman John Bateman suffered a fractured eye socket in their win and has been sidelined for 6-8 weeks as well as star centre Joey Leilua also being out injured. Thankfully Jordan Rapana returns to the starting side for the Raiders this week as he looks to try and stop the electric Roosters back five that has them as the competitions leading attacking team in 2019. Despite this the Raiders can take confidence that they boast the best defensive record for 2019 as they have only leaked an average of under 13 points per game so far. In recent history the Raiders actually have the upper hand on the Roosters, winning 6 of the last 10 matches including their last 2 matches against them. Despite this record it’s hard to tip against the defending premiers as they continue to steamroll teams and we are confident they can continue their run of form with a couple key outs for Canberra.
Recommended Bet: Sydney Roosters -7.5 Line $1.90
South Sydney Rabbitohs ($1.30) vs North Queensland Cowboys ($3.50)
Sunday, 12th May 4:05pm, Suncorp Stadium
The final game of the inaugural Magic Round sees the second placed South Sydney Rabbitohs face the 11th placed North Queensland Cowboys, with both teams coming off impressive wins. For the Rabbitohs they dismantled the Brisbane Broncos in devastating fashion, winning 38-6, on the back of another superhuman performance from five eight Cody Walker. Thankfully for Cowboys fans they were able to post their 3rd win of the season against an injury ravaged Gold Coast Titans and they will be hoping that they can build on that as they come up against one of the competitions leading teams. For Souths Wayne Bennett returns to Suncorp Stadium for the first time since leaving the Broncos and he will be glad that he he has been able to name the same 17 for the second successive week as they look to continue a run that has seen them score 60 points in their last two games. For the Cowboys they unfortunately lose Australian forward Josh McGuire to a calf injury, giving Coen Hess the chance to stake his claim for an Origin spot, but also welcome back star winger Kyle Feldt for his first game in 2019 after overcoming a groin injury. The Cowboys will be hoping that they can avenge two 1 point losses against Souths from 2018 and post their second successive win for the first time in 2019 but unfortunately with the form of Souths and the Cowboys injury woes it is hard to go past Souths posting their 8th win of the season.
Recommended Bet: South Sydney Rabbitohs -9.5 Line $1.90
