Cronulla Sharks vs Manly Sea Eagles

Thursday April 21 | PointsBet Stadium | 7.50pm AEST

Cronulla has won its last seven night matches at this venue and is clearly a team on the rise this year. But they go into this clash with some important injuries that will no doubt bring Manly back into this match. Manly has really steadied the ship after looking shaky early in the season, and are now gunning for five wins in a row. The Sharks were pursuing five in a row last week but failed against the might of the Melbourne Storm. As previously mentioned, they’ll have to attempt getting back in winning form without key personnel, most notably Dale Finucane and Braden Hamlin-Uele. Despite Cronulla winning the last fixture between these two, it’s been Manly who have had the ascendency across most recent encounters. I think this will be close and the Manly head start looks the way to go.

Suggested bet: 0.5 Manly +6.5 at $1.90

Brisbane Broncos vs Canterbury Bulldogs

Friday April 22 | Suncorp Stadium | 7.55pm AEST

A good chance for either of these sides to break early season losing streaks, with the Broncos succumbing in their past five and the Bulldogs unable to prevail at their latest four. So, it comes down to which team has been most ‘honourable’ in these losses? Even that is brutally tough to assess. Both sides can be highly competitive or highly uncompetitive. There are some COVID concerns for the Dogs and Payne Haas returns for the Broncos. But it’s still hard to take the $1.25 on offer for the Broncos, especially with this being a Bulldogs home game.

Suggested bet: 0.5u Bulldogs win at $4, 1u Bulldogs +11.5 at $1.90

North Queensland Cowboys vs Gold Coast Titans

Saturday April 23 | Queensland County Bank Stadium | 5.30pm AEST

North Queensland enjoys a handy record against the Titans – winning the past eight out of nine matches between the two on their home deck. Whilst the Titans have lost their past two, they’ve been highly competitive against good sides in Parramatta and Manly. The Cowboys now sit 3-3 after a come-from-behind win over the Raiders last week and this is a big opportunity to set themselves up for a somewhat surprising tilt at the finals. I think the market has this one about right with the Cowboys slight favourites.

No suggested bet

Wests Tigers vs South Sydney Rabbitohs

Saturday April 23 | CommBank Stadium | 7.35pm AEST

The Tigers come off a stirring win over the Eels but now comes the challenge of proving it was no fluke by taking it to the Rabbitohs. It’ll be no easy feat as the Rabbitohs have won this clash the past four times they’ve met. And now the Rabbitohs will be hungry to cement some momentum after two wins over the Dragons and Bulldogs to kickstart their previously lacklustre start to the season. It’s hard to see the Tigers pulling off another upset and the Rabbitohs should be winning this quite easily.

Suggested bet: 1u Rabbitohs -11.5 at $1.90

Newcastle Knights vs Parramatta Eels

Sunday April 24 | McDonald Jones Stadium | 2.00pm AEST

It’ll be interesting to see how the Kalyn Ponga contract circus plays out for Newcastle as they take on Parramatta. I’m sure it’s been a distraction this week for the Knights and they now take on an Eels side embarrassed last week when becoming the Tigers’ first scalp of the season. I’m curious to see how the Eels respond but I’d be shocked if they didn’t come out all guns blazing. Parramatta also has such a good record in this fixture, even in the Hunter. They should be winning and making a statement.

Suggested bet: 2u Parramatta -7.5 at $1.90

Penrith Panthers vs Canberra Raiders

Sunday April 24 | BlueBet Stadium | 4.05pm AEST

Two sides in very contrasting positions, with the Panthers unbeaten this season and the Raiders in the midst of a three-game losing streak. With the Raiders likely to lose this clash, they’ll be 2-5 and it makes finals a tough ask. The Panthers have prevailed the past two times these two have met, but before that it was the Raiders who took the points back in 2019. Interestingly, they still remain the last team to beat Penrith on their home turf. And whilst the Raiders have lost their past three, they’ve been mostly competitive against decent sides. The weather looks to be wet for this clash so I think Canberra at the plus is a good bet.

Suggested bet: 1.5u Canberra +18.5 at $1.90

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Sydney Roosters

Monday April 25 | SCG | 4.00pm AEST

The Roosters go into this looking to make it eight wins in a row against the Dragons. After a slightly shaky start to the season, the Roosters are now looking at four on the trot, while the Dragons shocked the Knights to avoid five losses in a row. The Dragons go in unchanged but the Roosters will benefit from Paul Momirovski and Siosiua Taukeiaho returning. This will likely be played in slippery conditions but I still think the Roosters will be way too good with those key inclusions.

Suggested bet: 1u Roosters -11.5 at $1.90

Melbourne Storm vs New Zealand Warriors

Monday April 25 | AAMI Park | 7.00pm AEST

Melbourne is looking to continue its dominance over the Warriors by extending its win streak to 12 matches. As always, the Warriors continue to be a tricky side to follow, but they appear a little bit more consistent in 2022. They took it to the Roosters for the most part last week, however just couldn’t get across the line to string together four straight wins. It gets no easier here as the Warriors take on a Storm team which has been their bogey side in recent years. The Storm has won this clash by 22 or more points the past four times they’ve met. Ryan Papenhuyzen and the Bromwich brothers are also set to return to further bolster the Storm after they disposed of the Sharks last week. Despite this, the head start for the Warriors of more than three converted tries looks attractive as they appear a better side than recent years.

Suggested bet: 1u Warriors +18.5 at $1.90

 

Overall results: -5.05u

  • Week 6: -2.95u
  • Week 5: -2.2u
  • Week 4: +0.5u
  • Week 3: +2.65u
  • Week 2: -0.6u
  • Week 1: -2.52u