NRL Round 17, June 28th
Canterbury Bulldogs vs. Cronulla Sharks
June 28th
Round 17 of the NRL season kicks off with a mouthwatering duel between the Canterbury Bulldogs and Cronulla Sharks – two sides firmly entrenched in the top eight.
The Sharks, who lost three of their previous four games prior to last week’s bye, enter the match as $1.53 favourites. The market clearly believes they can bounce back into form with fresh legs after the week off and the fact they had no representatives in Origin II. Teig Wilton makes his return from a shoulder injury, but all eyes will be on star half-back Nicho Hynes as he laces up for his first game since being dropped by the Blues.
The Bulldogs will be looking to maintain their unbeaten run at home, with their 6-0 record catapulting them into sixth spot on the ladder. With 11 tries in his past 14 games at Accor Stadium, Cameron Ciraldo will be crossing his fingers and toes that skipper Stephen Crichton backs up from Wednesday’s Origin.
Having averaged 35 points in their past three games against the Bulldogs, the Sharks are well-placed to recapture their winning ways.
Suggested Bet:
Sharks win at $1.53
New Zealand Warriors vs. Brisbane Broncos
June 29th
The most interesting match-up of the round pits the the wildly out-of-form Warriors against a Broncos team gutted by likely Origin-enforced omissions.
The 13th-placed New Zealanders have been disappointing on all fronts this season. They sank to a season-low last weekend, however, when they lost to the Titans by 60 points. While they can now take stock and reload at home, they must overcome a poor 2-4 record at Go Media Stadium. Shaun Johnson has been sidelined with an Achilles injury, but his loss will be offset somewhat by the return of Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (suspension).
The news no Broncos fans wanted to hear has been circulating – Reece Walsh, Pat Carrigan and Payne Haas are all unlikely to back-up from Origin II. The loss of their star trio gives opportunities to Tristan Sailor, Xavier Willison and Kobe Hetherington, but won’t help the fact they have conceded 80 points in three consecutive losses.
As tight as any game this weekend.
Suggested Bet:
D. Watene-Zelezniak to score 2 tries at $3.75
Melbourne Storm vs. Canberra Raiders
June 29th
Can the Melbourne Storm start to rebuild their poor recent home record against the Raiders?
While Craig Bellamy’s Storm side have won six of their past eight games against the Green Machine, there’s no ignoring the gruesome fact the Raiders have a 5-1 recent record at Aami Park. However, the ladder leaders are in impressive form right now and Maroons pair Xavier Coates and Harry Grant are expected to back-up.
As for the Raiders, it’s been a tough fortnight with losses to the Cowboys and Wests Tigers. They conceded 82 points in those two games. Ricky Stuart will undoubtedly be buoyed by their recent record in Melbourne, but they will need to replace winger Nick Cotric as he misses with an ankle injury.
The Storm to hit back in a big way.
