NRL Rd 24

[Bird]

Expecting some hard fought games this weekend with plenty on the line in all the matches. Storm 1-12 The Dragons need to show some spine here and I expect that they will against a Storm side without Cronk, Lowrie, Duffie and Woolnough, bu I'll side with the Storm who even short of troops have proved their mettle this season. Storm by 7 Souths - 3.5 The Bunnies have scored 137 points in their last 3 matches and look great which is a bad sign for the Cowboys who are playing away from home and leaking on average 20 ppg. Momentum is with the Bunnies and they have won their last 3 at home when the Cowboys have come visiting. Souths by 13 Titans 1-12 The Titans have been dreadful this season but then again so have the Raiders, I'm siding with the Titans to give their fans something to cheer about this afternoon, Prince is not there but then again so is Duggan, Tilse, Miller and Butriss for the Raiders, The Titans have faced the Raiders 3 times at Skilled Park and are yet to lose, I'll take them to make that 4 from 4 this Saturday. Titans by 7 Warriors 1-12 If the Storm and Rabbitohs win on Friday night then this game is huge for the Warriors as a win puts them in 4th place with their last 2 matches against both the Cowboys and Dragons their competition for 4th place. The Warriors welcome back both Hohaia and Taylor while the Panthers have Jennings back but are still without Lewis and Coote. If the Warriors want to be taken seriously then this match is a must win for them and I am going with them to get a win here, but I doubt it will be by much. Warriors by 8 Roosters 1-12 The Roosters would be over the moon with their win over the Dragons last weekend while the Sharks have had a month to forget results wise. The Roosters get Kenny-Dowall back and should be on a high, however fixtures between these two sides tend to be close and split, the Sharks won this fixture last season by plenty while the Roosters had won the previous 4 all by 12 or less. Roosters by 10 Manly 1-12 It's do or die for the Bulldogs today and I'm guessing it will be die, Manly will be without Hopoate while the Dogs could be without Pritchard. Manly should be warm favs for this match but past results show that the Bulldogs have a decent record against the Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval, This fixture has been win, loss for either side in recent times with the Bulldogs winning this match last season, in the last 6 times this match has been played the Sea Eagles have won the next fixture when losing the previous, each time by 12 or less, Lets see if history repeats today. Sea Eagles by 12 Wests 1-12 These two sides have only played at the SFS twice in recent years with either side winning one a piece, both fixtures were close with the margin being 1-12 in either game. The Tigers are on a roll though and I expect them to win but again the Eels do hang in games and I expect them to do that again in this fixture. Tigers by 8 Broncos 1-12 Yow-Yeh and Hannant are out for the Broncos while the Knights remain unchanged from last weeks loss to the Warriors. The Knights have won their last two against the Broncos at home and have it all to play for here tonight, but it's hard to go past the Broncos here in a thriller. Broncos by 1

[blackcrow]

Re: NRL Rd 24 Rabbitohs -3.5 @ 2.10 centrebet Souths have been flying of late as their forward pack has been belting the opposition, but they are up against another big and solid forward pack, with the result being that not much will separate them up front. With very wet and slippery conditions, this should favour the Rabbitohs backs as Sandow in particular should continue his very good form here, while Luke out of dummy half can catch the Cowboys forwards out. The other one is Merritt who has been scoring tries for fun and has the knack of supporting those players who have made a bust through the lines. As for the Cowboys, they will rely on Thurston and Bowen, and apart from that, there is not much else to rely on, as the rest are solid players without being gamebreakers themselves. Souths have won 5 of the last 6 meetings and hard to ignore the form they are in. Dragons @ 2.19 centrebet There is a due factor for both sides in this game, with the Storm due for a loss after 12 consecutive wins while the Dragons are too good a side to continue a 4 game losing streak. For the Storm, they are without Cronk, which puts much more focus on the other two star players, Smith and Slater to make to hings happen. The rest of the side is solid players who are playing at the peak of their abilities, and have done well this season, but they are due for a let down and believe this will be the game where it happens. The Dragons have been uncharacteristically sluggish and making errors, which have allowed some soft tries to the opposition. Plenty of comments have been fired at them this week, and believe that they will be fired up themselves to go out and win this game. They do have more players than the Storm of making things happen, and with the focus of the Dragons on stopping Smith and Slater from making things happen, unless someone else steps up, the Dragons, though they are not playing the best, do have some quality to turn things around for them.

[blackcrow]

Re: NRL Rd 24 Rabbitohs -3.5 @ 2.10 :( Won by only 2 points Dragons @ 2.19 :( Lost by 2 points

[blackcrow]

Re: NRL Rd 24 Titans -3.5 @ 2.05 centrebet Both sides have key players out due to injury. Not much separates these two sides as both defences leak points. Looking for the one player to beak this open could be Campbell at half back for the Titans, as he has that bit could make a difference. Titans have won all 3 games against the Raiders at home, and in a battle of two poor teams, think the home team edges this. Roosters -9.5 @ 2.09 centrebet With both sides out of semi finals contention, the only thing they have to play for in this game is to see who goes ahead of the other as both teams have the same number of points. The Roosters were huge improvers last week as they outplayed the Dragons, and like them to continue from there. Their forwards match up well with the Sharks forwards, but it is in the halves where they have a good advantage as Pearce and Anasta look to have it over their younger rivals. With the Sharks struggling to put any sort of decent performances together, like the Roosters, on the back of a major confidence boost of beating the Dragons, to look to win two games in a row. Warriors -9.5 @ 2.05 centrebet A massive game for the Warriors with the Dragons and Cowboys losing last night, so a win here and they climb into 4th spot on the ladder, so expect them to primed for this game. Their forwards have been giving them the yards for their halves to set up their attacks, and with a Panthers side without Lewis, they look vulnerable around the rucks as Maloney, Johnson and Heremaia will run the lumbering Panthers around to expose holes in their defence. Also Lewis is a key for them in attack and without him, they look clueless in attack. The Panthers are a pretty one dimensional side that tends to bomb on the last tackle and the Warriors have a good back three to defuse these bombs. Warriors look too strong here

[Lahrio]

Re: NRL Rd 24 Just a heads up on the Titans - Raiders game BC. Titans are struggling to even field a team. Bird is playing with a broken finger and Toopi on the bench most likely won't play a minute.

[Lahrio]

Re: NRL Rd 24 Didn't matter in the end. :p

[blackcrow]

Re: NRL Rd 24 Titans -3.5 @ 2.05 :D Roosters -9.5 @ 2.09 :D Great comeback by the Roosters Warriors -9.5 @ 2.05 :D

[blackcrow]

Re: NRL Rd 24 Sea Eagles -12.5 @ 2.10 centrebet Manly look to hold on to second spot here and at the same time, pretty much knock the Bulldogs out of semi final contention. They have plenty of size in the forwards but they are very good at quick play the ball and in wet and slippery conditions, like the Sea Eagles dummy halves to catch them out. They also have some good size and pace in the backs, and the Bulldogs do not have the calibre of players to stay with them. Manly are tough to beat at home and though the Bulldogs have a good record there, class should prevail here Tigers -12.5 @ 2.20 centrebet The Tigers have won 5 straight and are looking hard to beat in the run home. They need to keep winning to get in the top 8 and are up against an Eels side that looks like they have packed it in. With the wet conditions, the more mobile Tigers pack should get some good yards down the middle, and expect Farah to also find the holes around the rucks. This will leave Lui and Marshall to find the hole runners out wide. With 6 of the last 8 games being decided by more than 12 points then liking the Tigers to not only win this, but also win it well

[blackcrow]

Re: NRL Rd 24 Sea Eagles -12.5 @ 2.10 :( Needed another two points Tigers -12.5 @ 2.20 :D

[blackcrow]

Re: NRL Rd 24 Broncos win by 1-12 margin @ 2.90 centrebet Both teams are in good form, with good forward packs who pick up some good metres as well as both sets of backs are scoring tries. So expecting this to be a close game with not much between the two sides, but favouring the Broncos here, as Lockyer (the master) up against Stig (would be apprentice) it seems this is the one key position where they have a significant edge over them. Another fact that gives the Broncos the edge here is that the Knights have won just 2 out of their 11 games against teams who are currently in the top 8. Not a good stat especially when up against a good solid side like the Broncos

[blackcrow]

Re: NRL Rd 24 Broncos win by 1-12 margin @ 2.90 :eyes Broncos far too strong for them