NRL Round 21, Tips and Previews
Knights vs. Broncos
August 5th
Newcastle Knights go toe to toe with Brisbane on Thursday night after stopping Canberra in its tracks last week.
The Knights made sure the winning streak of Canberra came to a with a 34-24 victory.
Brisbane found some wining form of its own as well after a big 37-18 against intrastate rival North Queensland.
Interesting formlines here, but the Knights have more to play for with finals on the line.
SUGGESTED BET:
Newcastle Knights -12.5 at $1.90
Raiders vs. Dragons
August 6th
Canberra tries to pick up speed after hitting a road bump against Newcastle in Round 20.
The Raiders will face St George Illawarra who was played off the park by premiership contender South Sydney to fall 50-14.
It was the Dragons who defeated the Raiders in a tight tussle 22-20 earlier this year and they might just be the value again here.
SUGGESTED BET:
Dragons +11.5 at $1.90
Eels vs. Rabbitohs
August 6th
Parramatta needs to pick up the pieces of a form slump if it wishes to lock in a double chance during finals.
A game against an in-form South Sydney is probably not what the Eels had pencilled in as their ideal game coming off a 28-0 thumping against Sydney Roosters, but that is reality.
The Rabbitohs hit this contest coming off a 50-16 victory over St George last week and seem to be in much better form than their Parramatta counterparts.
SUGGESTED BET:
Rabbitohs -10.5 at $1.90
Warriors vs. Sharks
August 7th
It might have been a case of too little too late for New Zealand after bucking a seven-game losing run against Wests Tigers last week, but it will be on the hunt to put a dent on Cronulla’s final hopes this week.
The Warriors fought tooth and nail to get up with a 18-16 victory over Wests to send a warning to the Sharks that they are not done with just yet.
But even though the Sharks fell well short of a rampant Manly 40-22, its form has been superior to that of New Zealand this season who have been ravaged by injury.
SUGGESTED BET:
Sharks -9.5 at $1.90
Roosters vs. Panthers
August 7th
After being on receiving end of a vicious Melbourne Storm assault, Penrith has to muster up the challenge to Sydney who put aside injury clouds to thump Parramatta 28-0.
The Panthers were left to lick their wound following a 37-10 win against outright premiership favourite Melbourne, but this might just be the chance they get to find winning form again.
Josh Morris will miss for the Roosters and that will leave a sizeable gap in attack.
Panthers can bounce back here.
SUGGESTED BET:
Panthers -9.5 at $1.90
Sea Eagles vs. Storm
August 7th
Danger, danger, danger.
That is not a message to Manly, it is a message to Melbourne who, despite sitting pretty atop of the ladder, face a Sea Eagles team striving for a big finals push.
The Sea Eagles proved any doubters wrong in Round 20 with a big win over Cronulla and must be fancied a big chance to knock off Melbourne who did make it 16 wins in a row last week.
The Storm did win the last time it played against Manly but Turbo Tom was not present and his presence this time around will be felt.
SUGGESTED BET:
Sea Eagles head to head at $3.75
Bulldogs vs. Tigers
August 8th
The wooden spoon is now all but confirmed for Canterbury as it heads towards this clash against Wests Tigers.
Both teams have been poor for the majority of the season; probably the understatement of the year.
Wests suffered a defeat to a Warriors team who had lost seven games in a row, while Canterbury suffered another heavy loss this time against Gold Coast.
The Tigers have won the last two encounters, but that loss last week could absolutely deflate them for the rest of the year.
SUGGESTED BET:
Bulldogs head to head at $2.70
Titans vs. Cowboys
August 8th
You would have been far fetched to suggest Gold Coast are on the verge of a finals berth over a month ago, but here we are.
The Titans get their chance to solidify a spot inside the top eight with a win against domestic rival North Queensland.
North Queensland was left in tatters by Brisbane last week, while Gold Coast stormed away from wooden spoon bound Canterbury.
The desire for the Titans not to be heartbroken like they were last year should be enough to click them into gear again.
