NRL Round 13, Tips and Previews
Dragons v Broncos
June 3rd
Thursday night the Dragons, who haven’t had a single player selected for Origin, take on the understrength Broncos, who have been generally bad when they have been at full strength.
It’s amazing to think they could be hit so hard by Origin given the year they have had at Red Hill. The Dragons have not won since round nine but they haven’t had a better chance than this. The Broncos are beatable on their best day but when they are weakened it is a golden opportunity.
The Broncos will be without their major strike weapon this week, Xavier Coates as well as their primary enforcer, Payne Haas.
It would take a herculean effort from the Broncos, and there’s zero chance I will be touching them here.
SUGGESTED BET:
St George Illawarra -12.5 @ $2.29
Tigers v Panthers
June 4th
Wests Tigers get the opportunity to hand the Penrith Panthers their first loss of the season when the two clubs clash at Leichardt Oval on Friday night.
The opportunity does however come with the risk of being smacked by the best team in the competition.
The Tigers have been on the up throughout the last few weeks but this is a much sterner test than they have faced so far. Penrith are head and shoulders above the rest and it’s hard to see the Tigers being the side who knocks them off.
They face a Panthers side who will be without Brian To’o, Jarome Luai, Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin, Kurt Capewell and potentially Api Koroisau. State of Origin has done a fair number on a very good team.
They have depth and a lot of up-and-coming talent in the wings and their system is so strong I don’t think they will miss the outs as much as most teams would.
SUGGESTED BET:
Total Points Over 40.5 @ $1.92
- Suggested Same Game Multi:
- Leg 1: Panthers Win
- Leg 2: Total Points Over 40.5
- Leg 3: Matt Burton Anytime Tryscorer
- Combined odds = $5
Storm v Titan
June 5th
Melbourne Storm and the Gold Coast Titans on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday night as the Storm continue to play away from Victoria.
The Melbourne Storm are another side who are typically impacted during the State of Origin period, but their incredible depth means that they still have a host of stars available for selection.
They have also been doing this for years now and Craig Bellamy knows how to deal wit the mass exodus that comes every season. The Bromwichs are in, so is Nicho Hynes and they haven’t lost the experience of Jahrome Hughes in the halves.
The Storm are rarely affected too much in this time and they don’t look to be too impacted now such is the depth of their talent.
The Titans look miles out of their depth here and it would be something special if they were to grind out a win somehow. They just don’t have the cattle to compete even with a depleted Storm squad.
SUGGESTED BET:
Storm -24.5 @ $1.89
Knights v Eels
June 6th
It’s probably the most intriguing match of the round, but the Eels are still clear favourites. On the other hand, the Knights have been just plain awful in 2021.
They have been disappointing in 2021 after it seemed like they were ready to go for it all in the pre-season. Instead they have floundered away and are nowhere near the team we all expected.
They’ve suffered a few key injuries and have been unable to cover for them at all. They look a long way off finals and it’s almost impossible to trust them with my money.
They did return one of their better performances of the season to halt the high-flying Sea Eagles last week but that looked more like the anomaly as opposed to the new standard. I don’t see them backing that up again.
Parramatta will be without a couple of key players due to Origin, but they still look too good here for the Knights. I expect Parramatta to bounce back and put right some of the wrongs from last week.
SUGGESTED BET:
Parramatta Win @ $1.48
- Suggested Same Game Multi:
- Leg 1: Parramatta Win
- Leg 2: Mako Sivo Anytime Tryscorer
- Leg 3: Clint Gutherson Anytime Tryscorer
- Combined odds = $7
