Tag: Manly

NRL Telstra Premiership Round Six Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

NRL Telstra Premiership Round Six Preview. All round six matches previewed, check out the team lists and odds right here.

With half the round five matches predicted we take a more objective approach to the term “underdog” with our picks this week. Enjoy!

 

Brisbane Broncos v Sydney City Roosters

Broncos – $2.00

Roosters – $1.75

The Roosters lost tought last week and will be looking to get their season back on track but a tough assignment lay ahead of them with an inform Broncos side playing some exciting rugby league. Tuivasa-Sheck has announced he will be leaving the Roosters for the Warriors in 2016 for 3 years, this could be incentive to rally the troops or create dismay in the ranks. Broncos look too good, by 1-12.

 

Broncos

1 Lachlan Maranta 2 Corey Oates 3 Jack Reed 4 Dale Copley 5 Daniel Vidot 6 Anthony Milford 7 Ben Hunt 8 Josh McGuire 9 Andrew McCullough 10 Sam Thaiday  11 Alex Glenn 12 Matt Gillett 13 Corey Parker (c)

Interchange
14 Jarrod Wallace 15 Mitch Garbutt 16 Mitchell Dodds 17 Kodi Nikorima 18 Francis Molo
Roosters

1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 2 Daniel Tupou 3 Michael Jennings 4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall 5 Nene Macdonald 6 James Maloney 7 Mitchell Pearce (c)                                           8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9 Matt McIlwrick 10 Sam Moa 11 Boyd Cordner 12 Mitchell Aubusson 13 Isaac Liu

Interchange
14 Willie Manu  15 Dylan Napa 16 Kane Evans 17 Sio Siua Taukeiaho
 

Cronulla Sharks v Newcastle Knights

Sharks – $1.80

Knights – $1.95

The Sharks return home this weekend to Remondis hoping to bring with them their form and flare in which they dominated the more fancied Roosters side. Barba returns to the bench as Jack Bird retains his spot. Tariq and Korbin start for the first time together at Newcastle as Beau Scott is out with an ankle injury bringing in Chris Housten. With so many big aggressive men it’s going to come down to who can control the emotion and winning the contact, it will be tight but Sharks by 1-12.

 

Sharks

1 Valentine Holmes 2 Sosaia Feki 3 Gerard Beale 4 Ricky Leutele 5 Michael Gordon 6 Jack Bird 7 Jeff Robson 8 Andrew Fifita 9 Michael Ennis 10 Chris Heighington 11 Luke Lewis 12 Wade Graham 13 Paul Gallen (c)

Interchange
14 Ben Barba 15 Anthony Tupou 16 Matt Prior  17 David Fifita 18 Tinirau Arona 19 Jayson Bukuya

Knights

1 Kurt Gidley (c) 2 James McManus 3 Dane Gagai 4 Joseph Leilua 5 Akuila Uate 6 Jarrod Mullen 7 Tyrone Roberts 8 Kade Snowden 9 Adam Clydsdale
10 Korbin Sims  11 Chris Houston 12 Tariq Sims 13 Jeremy Smith

Interchange
14 Tyler Randell 15 David Fa’alogo  16 Joseph Tapine 17 Jack Stockwell 18 Sione Mata’utia

 

Parramatta Eels v Gold Coast Titans

Eels – $1.42

Titans – $2.70

Both teams losing last round, the Eels blowing hot and cold early into the season with the Titans sitting 2nd to last courtesy of the Sea Eagles having a shocker of a 2015 so far. Eels are moving Reece Robinson back to the wing and Dave Gower onto the bench but the Titans are starting big man Dave Taylor which puts Pettybourne on the bench. Depending on what Eels side turns up we could see a big win from the Eels or we’ll get a low scoring scrap what the Titans will take. Titans by 1-12.

 

Eels

1 Will Hopoate 2 Bureta Faraimo 3 Ryan Morgan 4 John Folau 5 Reece Robinson 6 Corey Norman 7 Chris Sandow 8 Darcy Lussick 9 Nathan Peats 10 Tim Mannah (c) 11 Manu Ma’u 12 Tepai Moeroa 13 Anthony Watmough

Interchange
14 Isaac De Gois 15 Joseph Paulo 16 Danny Wicks 17 David Gower 18 Peni Terepo

Titans

1 Josh Hoffman 2 Anthony Don 3 James Roberts 4 William Zillman 5 David Mead 6 Aidan Sezer 7 Kane Elgey 8 Luke Douglas 9 Kierran Moseley
10 Nate Myles (c) 11 Ryan James 12 Dave Taylor 13 Greg Bird

Interchange
14 Eddy Pettybourne 15 Agnatius Paasi 16 Lachlan Burr 17 Ryan Simpkins 18 Matt White

 

New Zealand Warriors v Wests Tigers

Warriors – $1.42

Tigers $2.70

The Warriors return home after being beaten comprehensively by the Storm, and the Tigers on a roll after doing the same to the Eels last round. For the Warriors their only change is Albert Vete for Dom Peyroux, Hurrell retains his spot after a poor comeback from injury. Tigers are unchanged. The Warriors must remain focused around completing the tackle and marking up as the likes of Farah, Halatau and co will be looking to expose the Warriors big men to gain valuable meters. Warriors at home are tough, it’ll be tight, but Warriors by 1-12.

Warriors

1 Tuimoala Lolohea 2 Jonathan Wright 3 Konrad Hurrell 4 Solomone Kata 5 Manu Vatuvei 6 Chad Townsend 7 Shaun Johnson 8 Jacob Lillyman
9 Thomas Leuluai 10 Ben Matulino 11 Bodene Thompson 12 Ryan Hoffman 13 Simon Mannering (c)

Interchange
14 Nathan Friend 15 Sebastine Ikahihifo 16 Sam Lisone 17 Albert Vete 18 Dominique Peyroux

Wests Tigers

1 James Tedesco 2 Kevin Naiqama 3 Tim Simona 4 Chris Lawrence 5 Pat Richards 6 Mitchell Moses 7 Luke Brooks 8 Aaron Woods 9 Robbie Farah (c) 10 Keith Galloway 11 Curtis Sironen 12 Kyle Lovett 13 Martin Taupau

Interchange
14 Dene Halatau 15 Ava Seumanufagai 16 Jack Buchanan 17 Sauaso Sue
18 Asipeli Fine

 

Penrith Panters v Manly Sea Eagles

Panthers – $1.47

Sea Eagles – $2.55

Pepper Stadium hosts the Panthers and Sea Eagles. Manly sitting at the bottom of the competition, racked by injuries and player speculation which doesn’t help with losing again last round to the Raiders.. Penrith coming off a drubbing courtesy of the Cowboys have had mixed season so far. Dean Whare is out with injury which places Idris back at centre with Waqa Blake. Big man Sika Manu is starting in the second row. No changes for the Sea Eagles, Lyon and Matai still injured. Even though the Panthers looked average last weekend, Manly have some real issues at the moment, Panthers 13+.

 

Panthers

1 Matt Moylan 2 Josh Mansour 3 Waqa Blake 4 Jamal Idris 5 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 6 Apisai Koroisau 7 Peter Wallace (c) 8 Sam McKendry
9 James Segeyaro 10 Jeremy Latimore 11 Sika Manu 12 Isaah Yeo
13 Elijah Taylor

Interchange
14 Tyrone Peachey 15 Nigel Plum 16 Reagan Campbell-Gillard 17 Bryce Cartwright

Sea Eagles

1 Brett Stewart 2 Cheyse Blair 3 Brayden Wiliame 4 Peta Hiku 5 Tom Trbojevic 6 Kieran Foran 7 Daly Cherry-Evans 8 Luke Burgess 9 Matt Ballin 10 Willie Mason 11 Jamie Buhrer 12 Tom Symonds 13 Dunamis Lui

Interchange
14 Jesse Sene-Lefao 15 Ligi Sao  16 Justin Horo 17 Jake Trbojevic

 

Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm

Raiders – $2.45

Storm – $1.50

Both sides coming off very good wins in round 5 meet at GIO stadium. For the Raiders Jordan Rapana is serving a suspension which brings in Jeremy Hawkins. The Storm only change is losing Billy Slater for four weeks after a scan revealed his injured shoulder was worse than first thought. Expect to see Kurt Mann move to fullback. The hosts will look to expose and put a lot of pressure on whoever fills Billy’s spot. Whilst this could be a weakness for the Storm the Raiders need to ensure Cronk, Harris, and Smith are looked after on attack if they want to stay in the game. Should be an exciting fixture, for me Billy is a crucial loss for the Storm, Raiders by 1-12.

 

Raiders

1 Jack Wighton 2 Edrick Lee 3 Jarrod Croker (c) 4 Sisa Waqa 5 Jeremy Hawkins 6 Blake Austin 7 Sam Williams 8 Josh Papalii 9 Josh Hodgson
10 Dane Tilse 11 Jarrad Kennedy 12 Iosia Soliola 13 Shaun Fensom

Interchange
14 Glen Buttriss 15 Frank-Paul Nuuausala 16 Paul Vaughan 17 Mark Nicholls

 

Storm

1 Billy Slater 2 Mahe Fonua 3 Will Chambers 4 Kurt Mann 5 Marika Koroibete 6 Blake Green 7 Cooper Cronk 8 Jesse Bromwich 9 Cameron Smith (c) 10 Jordan McLean 11 Kevin Proctor 12 Tohu Harris 13 Dale Finucane

Interchange
14 Ryan Hinchcliffe 15 Tim Glasby 16 Dayne Weston 17 Felise Kaufusi

 

St George Illawarra Dragons v Canterbury Bulldogs

Dragons – $1.87

Bulldogs – $1.87

The Dragons boasting 3 wins on the trot, hosting a rather hard done by Bulldogs outfit racked by suspension and injuries from their encounter with the Bunnies. The Dragons are unchanged whilst the Doggies have lost James Graham, Dave Klemmer, and Sam Kasiano to suspension. Brett Morris and Tim Lafai are out with injuries. The Dragons have not scored a lot of points so far this season but they have shown a lot of heart on defense. Whilst the Bulldogs do still have playmakers on the pitch the players absent will make it an uphill batter.  Dragons by 1-12.

 

Dragons

1 Josh Dugan 2 Etonia Nabuli 3 Euan Aitken 4 Dylan Farrell 5 Jason Nightingale 6 Gareth Widdop 7 Benji Marshall 8 Leeson Ah Mau
9 Mitch Rein 10 Mike Cooper 11 Tyson Frizell 12 Joel Thompson
13 Trent Merrin

Interchange
14 George Rose 15 Jack de Belin 16 Jake Marketo 17 Heath L’Estrange
20 Rory O’Brien

Bulldogs

1 Sam Perrett 2 Curtis Rona 3 Josh Morris 4 Moses Mbye 5 Corey Thompson 6 Josh Reynolds 7 Trent Hodkinson 8 Aiden Tolman (c)
9 Michael Lichaa 10 Tim Browne 11 Josh Jackson 12 Tony Williams 13 Greg Eastwood

Interchange
14 Lloyd Perrett 15 Antonio Kaufusi 16 Frank Pritchard 17 Chase Stanley
19 Danny Fualalo

 

South Sydney Rabbitohs v North Queensland Cowboys

Rabbitohs – $1.70

Cowboys $2.05

After a tight win under controversial circumstances the Rabbitohs come into round six top of the table and the Cowboys lingering in the bottom half but looking to make it 3 wins in a row. The Rabbitohs lost Adam Reynolds last week which brings John Sutton into the halves and big George Burgess is cleared to play after successfully challenging his dangerous contact charge. Cowboys unchanged. Thurston is playing some good rugby league right now behind a charging pack, the Rabbitohs need to win the contact and keep Thurston quiet. We predict a bruising encounter which should provide a lot of entertainment, match of the round material. Cowboys big men to be the difference, Cowboys by 1-12.

 

Rabbitohs

1 Greg Inglis (c) 2 Alex Johnston 3 Daryl Millard 4 Bryson Goodwin 5 Joel Reddy 6 John Sutton 7 Luke Keary 8 George Burgess 9 Issac Luke 10 Dave Tyrrell               11 Glenn Stewart 12 Chris McQueen 13 Jason Clark

Interchange
14 Ben Lowe  15 Chris Grevsmuhl 16 Tim Grant 17 Thomas Burgess 18 Cameron McInnes19 Nathan Brown

 

Cowboys

1 Lachlan Coote 2 Matthew Wright 3 Tautau Moga 4 Kane Linnett 5 Antonio Winterstein 6 Michael Morgan 7 Johnathan Thurston (c) 8 Matthew Scott (c) 9 Jake Granville 10 James Tamou 11 Gavin Cooper 12 Ethan Lowe
13 Jason Taumalolo

Interchange
14 Rory Kostjasyn 15 John Asiata 16 Scott Bolton 17 Ben Hannant 18 Glenn Hall

NRL Telstra Premiership Round 5 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

After a mixed round of predictions last week, we bring you our NRL Telstra Premiership Round 5 Preview hoping for a perfect 8.  Check out the rounds matches and teams below:

 

Canterbury Bulldogs v South Sydney Rabbitohs

Bulldogs $2.30

Rabbitohs $1.57

 

Both teams sitting inside the top 4 (Rabbitohs 3rd & Doggies 4th) we should see a physical match up with both sides harboring very big packs and quality spread throughout the ranks. The Rabbitohs will need to their head back in the game after being out-played by the Eels last weekend, the Doggies winning in golden point after a grinding 80 should have them ready for the Rabbitohs backlash. Rabbitohs 1-12.

 

Bulldogs

1 Brett Morris 2 Curtis Rona 3 Josh Morris 4 Tim Lafai 5 Sam Perrett 6 Josh Reynolds 7 Trent Hodkinson 8 Aiden Tolman 9 Michael Lichaa 10 James Graham (c)
11 Josh Jackson 12 Tony Williams 13 Greg Eastwood

Interchange
14 Sam Kasiano 15 David Klemmer 16 Frank Pritchard 17 Tim Browne 18 Moses Mbye 19 Corey Thompson

Rabbitohs

1 Greg Inglis (c) 2 Alex Johnston 3 Daryl Millard 4 Bryson Goodwin 5 Joel Reddy 6 Luke Keary 7 Adam Reynolds 8 George Burgess 9 Issac Luke 10 Dave Tyrrell       11 Glenn Stewart 12 Chris McQueen 13 Tim Grant

Interchange
14 Cameron McInnes 15 Ben Lowe 16 Chris Grevsmuhl 17 Thomas Burgess 18 Jason Clarke 19 Nathan Brown
Gold Coast Titan v Brisbane Broncos

Titans $2.40

Broncos $1.52

 

Both teams coming off hard fought wins in round 4, the Broncos appearing to be the stronger looking side in the campaign so far. Brisbane stalwart Justin Hodges is out with a hamstring issue however Dale Copley will have plenty of support as he fills he place. Nate Myles leads his team with an impressive forward pack support in Dave Taylor and Greg Bird; we should see a very even match with both teams squaring up across the park. The Titans need to clean their discipline up if they want to stay in the match as Corey Parker is sure from anywhere inside his range. Broncos 1-12.

 

Titans

1 Josh Hoffman 2 Anthony Don 3 James Roberts 4 William Zillman 5 David Mead 6 Aidan Sezer 7 Kane Elgey 8 Luke Douglas 9 Kierran Moseley 10 Nate Myles (c)
11 Ryan James 12 Dave Taylor 13 Greg Bird

Interchange
14 Eddy Pettybourne 15 Agnatius Paasi 16 Ryan Simpkins 17 Matt Srama 18 Matt White 19 Lachlan Burr

 

Broncos

1 Jordan Kahu 2 Corey Oates 3 Jack Reed 4 Dale Copley 5 Lachlan Maranta 6 Anthony Milford 7 Ben Hunt 8 Josh McGuire 9 Andrew McCullough 10 Sam Thaiday   11 Alex Glenn 12 Matt Gillett13 Corey Parker

Interchange
14 Jarrod Wallace 15 Mitch Garbutt 16 Mitchell Dodds 17 Kodi Nikorima
18 Francis Molo

 

Manly Sea Eagles v Canberra Raiders

Sea Eagles $1.55

Raiders $2.35

 

The Raiders are on a run of 3 consecutive defeats and the Sea Eagles a grinding win from round 4. The Sea Eagles season marred by speculation of player movement and injuries to key personnel however halves Cherry-Evans and Foran are keeping the wheels rolling. Without Jamie Lyon the Sea Eagles tend to struggle in the goal kicking department so they will focus on crossing the white wash rather than taking points. The Raiders were woeful last weekend and the Sea Eagles are trying to get back on board so expect to see a close game. Sea Eagles to pull through 1-12.

 

Sea Eagles

1 Brett Stewart 2 Cheyse Blair 3 Brayden Wiliame 4 Steve Matai 5 Peta Hiku 6 Kieran Foran 7 Daly Cherry-Evans 8 Luke Burgess 9 Matt Ballin 10 Willie Mason
11 Jamie Buhrer 12 Tom Symonds 13 Dunamis Lui

Interchange
14 Jesse Sene-Lefao 15 Jake Trbojevic 16 Justin Horo 17 Ligi Sao 18 James Hasson

 

Raiders

1 Jack Wighton 2 Edrick Lee 3 Jarrod Croker (c) 4 Jeremy Hawkins 5 Jordan Rapana 6 Blake Austin 7 Sam Williams 8 Josh Papalii 9 Josh Hodgson 10 Dane Tilse
11 Jarrad Kennedy 12 Iosia Soliola 13 Shaun Fensom

Interchange
14 Glen Buttriss 15 Frank-Paul Nuuausala 16 Paul Vaughan 17 Mark Nicholls

 

Newcastle Knights v St George Illawarra Dragons

Knights $1.42

Dragons $2.70

 

Both teams playing for the inaugural Alex McKinnon cup which will surely inspire and motivate both sides. The Knights will welcome Tariq Sims for his debut and the Dragons remain unchanged. Both teams coming off solid wins last week and the Knights looking the more convincing with their win and their physical approach to nullify the Penrith halves last weekend will have the Dragons cautious. Knights will be too strong, 13+ Knights

 

Knights

1 Kurt Gidley (c) 2 James McManus 3 Dane Gagai 4 Joseph Leilua 5 Akuila Uate 6 Jarrod Mullen 7 Tyrone Roberts 8 Kade Snowden 9 Adam Clydsdale                     10 David Fa’alogo 11 Beau Scott 12 Tariq Sims 13 Jeremy Smith

Interchange
14 Tyler Randell 15 Chris Houston 16 Paterika Vaivai 17 Jack Stockwell 18 Sione Mata’utia

 

Dragons

1 Josh Dugan 2 Etonia Nabuli 3 Euan Aitken 4 Dylan Farrell 5 Jason Nightingale 6 Gareth Widdop 7 Benji Marshall 8 Leeson Ah Mau 9 Mitch Rein 10 Mike Cooper 11 Tyson Frizell 12 Joel Thompson13 Trent Merrin

Interchange
14 George Rose 15 Jack de Belin 16 Jake Marketo 17 Heath L’Estrange 20 Rory O’Brien

 

Sydney City Roosters v Cronulla Sharks

Roosters $1.16

Sharks $4.75

 

Two confrontational packs with the likes of Paul Gallen, Wade Graham, Michael Ennis & the Fifita brothers up against Aidan Guerra, Boyd Cordner, Sam Moa & Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. Winning the collision and the hard yards will decide this match, expect fireworks and some red mst.

For the Roosters halves Maloney and Pearce are in fine form and with a pack going forward will put many points on any team. For the Sharks Gallen and Ennis will be crucial to keeping a lid on the game and their workman like play could be key to keeping the Sharks alive. Aslong as the Roosters keep their foot on the pedal and don’t blow over when niggled we should see the Roosters 13+

 

Roosters

1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 2 Daniel Tupou 3 Michael Jennings 4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall 5 Nene Macdonald 6 James Maloney 7 Mitchell Pearce (c)                                          8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9 Matt McIlwrick 10 Sam Moa 11 Boyd Cordner 12 Aidan Guerra 13 Isaac Liu

Interchange
14 Mitchell Aubusson 15 Dylan Napa 16 Kane Evans 17 Sio Siua Taukeiaho 18 Willie Manu 19 Lagi Setu

 

Sharks

1 Valentine Holmes 2 Sosaia Feki 3 Gerard Beale 4 Ricky Leutele 5 Michael Gordon 6 Jack Bird7 Jeff Robson 8 Matt Prior 9 Michael Ennis 10 Chris Heighington
11 Luke Lewis 12 Wade Graham 13 Paul Gallen (c)

Interchange
14 Jayson Bukuya 15 Anthony Tupou 16 Andrew Fifita 17 David Fifita

 

Parramatta Eels v Wests Tigers

Eels $1.75

Tigers $2.00

 

Both teams looking in good form and not afraid to run the ball, an Easter Monday fixture on the cards has an exciting prospect to it.

For the Eels an unexpected and impressive win against the Roosters last weekend will see them full of confidence to go back to back. The Tigers seeing the return of Aaron Woods and Dene Halatua from injury. Tigers halfback Luke Brooks had a good game last week and did look confident, his consistency is what often plagues the young half. Hopefully his form continues as this would certainly add fuel to a juicy fixture. The Eels confidence and form should carry through to this fixture to shut out the Tigers, Eels 1-12.

 

Eels

1 Will Hopoate 2 Bureta Faraimo 3 Ryan Morgan 4 John Folau 5 Reece Robinson 6 Corey Norman 7 Chris Sandow 8 Darcy Lussick 9 Nathan Peats                             10 Tim Mannah (c) 11 Manu Ma’u 12 Tepai Moeroa 13 Anthony Watmough

Interchange
14 Isaac De Gois 15 Joseph Paulo 16 David Gower 17 Danny Wicks 18 Peni Terepo

 

Wests Tigers

1 James Tedesco 2 Kevin Naiqama 3 Tim Simona 4 Chris Lawrence 5 Pat Richards 6 Mitchell Moses 7 Luke Brooks 8 Aaron Woods 9 Robbie Farah (c)                       10 Keith Galloway 11 Curtis Sironen 12 Kyle Lovett 13 Martin Tapau

Interchange
14 Dene Halatau 15 Ava Seumanufagai 16 Jack Buchanan 17 Sauaso Sue 18 Brenden Santi

 

Melbourne Storm v New Zealand Warriors

Storm $1.42

Warriors $2.70

 

The Storm host the Warriors at AAMI Park, traditionally the Warriors are the Storms bogey team and with returning son Ryan Hoffman now with the Warriors should add more excitement to this fixture. For the Warriors they need to be playing for 80 minutes, last week they were guilty of leaking tries early on and poor kick return defense. Johnson sparked midway through the game but he and Townsend need to complement each other and control their games, their pack will charge all night but they also need to control the urge to offload early in the set. Melbourne will look at Cronk and Smith to control play and much like the Warriors the Storm pack will be running hard to put Cronk and Smith on the front foot where they’re most dangerous. Storm offer a more complete game, it will be tight but the Storm will take it by 1-12.

 

Storm

1 Billy Slater 2 Young Tonumaipea 3 Will Chambers 4 Kurt Mann 5 Marika Koroibete 6 Blake Green 7 Cooper Cronk 8 Jesse Bromwich 9 Cameron Smith (c)           10 Jordan McLean 11 Kevin Proctor 12 Tohu Harris 13 Dale Finucane

Interchange
14 Ryan Hinchcliffe 15 Tim Glasby 16 Dayne Weston 17 Felise Kaufusi 18 Tom Learoyd-Lahrs 19 Hymel Hunt

 

Warriors

1 Tuimoala Lolohea 2 Jonathan Wright 3 Ngani Laumape 4 Solomone Kata 5 Manu Vatuvei 6 Chad Townsend 7 Shaun Johnson 8 Jacob Lillyman
9 Thomas Leuluai 10 Ben Matulino 11 Bodene Thompson 12 Ryan Hoffman 13 Simon Mannering (c)

Interchange
14 Nathan Friend 15 Sebastine Ikahihifo 16 Sam Lisone 17 Albert Vete 18 Sione Lousi

 

Penrith Panthers v North Queensland Cowboys

Panthers $1.50

Cowboys $2.45

 

Panthers are on a two game losing streak and come up against a Cowboys who look to have found some good form. The Cowboys will look to their pack again to lead the charge after impressive displays this year putting the likes of Thurston, Coote, and Morgan on the front foot to do some damage. The Panthers will need to muscle up against this hard running Cowboys outfit and the return of James Segeyaro should help with the hooker full of energy and exciting runs surely to catch the Cowboys pack napping. Whare and Idris combination should provide some supremacy for the Panthers but ultimately the Cowboys form and the packs confidence looks too good for this fixture. Cowboys 1-12

 

Panthers

1 Matt Moylan 2 Josh Mansour 3 Dean Whare 4 Jamal Idris 5 Dallin Watene Zelezniak 6 Isaac John 7 Peter Wallace (c) 8 Sam McKendry 9 James Segeyaro               10 Jeremy Latimore 11 Sika Manu 12 Isaah Yeo 13 Elijah Taylor

Interchange
14 Tyrone Peachey 15 Nigel Plum 16 Reagan Campbell-Gillard 17 Bryce Cartwright 18 Apisai Koroisau

 

Cowboys

1 Lachlan Coote 2 Matthew Wright 3 Tautau Moga4 Kane Linnett 5 Antonio Winterstein 6 Michael Morgan 7 Johnathan Thurston (c) 8 Matthew Scott (c)                   9 Jake Granville 10 James Tamou 11 Gavin Cooper 12 Ethan Lowe 13 Jason Taumalolo

Interchange
14 Rory Kostjasyn 15 Kelepi Tanginoa 16 Scott Bolton 17 Ben Hannant 18 John Asiata 19 Justin O’Neill

NRL Week One Finals Review

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

I must admit. I didn’t give Penrith much of chance against the Roosters.  I was of the belief that the Roosters would be too strong for their relative unknown pack given their dismantling of Sam Burgess’ Rabbitohs the week prior.

But that’s the beauty of the NRL year after year. Upsets occur as regularly as Taylor Swift breakups. The Bulldogs too surprised the perennial champions Melbourne at AAMI Park.

Here’s our take on week one of the finals.

Rabbitohs v Manly

Riding the pocket of a dominant forward performance Adam Reynolds dazzled in scoring 20 of Souths’ 40 points. Centres Dylan Walker and Kirisome Auva’a wrecked havoc on the edge and Greg Inglis enjoyed space in freedom in an impressive running display.

For Manly it appears the in-house fighting that has been widely reported involving Watmough, Cherry-Evans, Matai and Glenn Stewart has started to affect their footy. Cherry-Evans and Jamie Lyon had their worst games for some time and they’ll need to find a quick fix if their to have any chance against the Bulldogs in week 2.

Penrith v Roosters

In what can only be described as a freakish last minute play Dallin Watene-Zelezniak tiptoed the touchline to provide an assist for Dean Whare to tie the scores and lay the platform for some Jamie Soward field goal heroics. The heavily religious Watene-Zelezniak who is considering an NRL hiatus to head out on a Mormon mission, epitomized the Panthers new found dedication under Ivan Cleary. The unheralded Panthers could match their 2003 efforts and go all the way.

Cowboys v Broncos

The Broncos have always been my favourite Fantasy NRL team. Their forward pack is made up almost entirely of Fantasy keepers. Parker, McCullough, McGuire, Gillett are all heavy scorers, but it counted for nothing in Townsville on Saturday. The Cowboys started quickly and could not be caught. Thurston paved the way and expertly guided big forwards Jason Taumalolo and Gavin Cooper through a weak Broncos right side. The 18-0 lead after just 18 minutes was a bridge too far the Broncos who will turn their attention to the return of Wayne Benefit (and probably Darius Boyd too who is never far from his Skeletor lookalike father figure). The Cowboys on the other hand are one step closer to giving future immortal Thurston a deserved Championship ring.

Storm v Bulldogs

All the talk before the game was whether Cameron Smith would front for the Storm. He did but he couldn’t prevent a dominant Bulldogs side from piling on 24 unanswered points before the Storm finally crossed some 50 minutes in. They crossed shortly after in one of the all time great tries only for it to be ruled out in contentious fashion. It’s a shame the video ref took the wind out of their sails just as the Storm were starting to wrestle back some momentum.

The rest is Tim Lafai (hat-trick).

 

Next Week sees the Roosters v Cowboys in one Semi-Final and the Sea Eagles v Bulldogs in the other.   Check back in at the end of the week to see a detailed preview of the matchups, and some useful predictions.