Stuck on your tipping? Not sure if picking your team or going against them is the right move? Trying to move up on your tipping ladder? The answer to all those questions and more will be answered by the tipping guru, Tipping Point. He casts his eye over the fixtures yet again, and here are his tips:
Round 5 Tips
Season: 20/32 (63%); last week: 5/8
At a glance: Rabbitohs, Broncos, Storm, Tigers, Cowboys, Roosters, Eels, Bulldogs
Sea-Eagles v Rabbitohs, Brookvale Oval
Round five kicks-off with two of the game’s heavyweights duking it out at Brookie. With two wins apiece both sides have had a patchy start to 2016, with the Bunnies’ superior for-and-against seeing them in seventh position while Manly sit in eleventh. I’m always wary of backing against Manly at Brookie, but the loss of DCE coupled with the return of Sam and Tom Burgess tilts the scales in Souths’ favour. Manly have looked all at sea in attack this season and without their #7 their offensive troubles will only worsen, and I think Souths will aim up after their last-start shellacking against the Dogs.
Tip: Rabbitohs
Titans v Broncos, Cbus Super Stadium
Friday night brings us another Queensland derby with the in-form Broncos taking on a Titans side that has quietly put together three good wins – not a bad effort from a team many had pegged as wooden spoon certainties in 2016. Once again the bookies are giving the Titans a big start at the line and while there’s definitely some value to be had there, I wouldn’t be going past the Broncos in straight head-to-head. As they showed last Friday, the Broncos are a quality outfit that have totally justified their tag as premiership favourites. With a good overall record against the Titans, the Broncos will get the job done.
Tip: Broncos
Storm v Knights, AAMI Park
The Storm were uncharacteristically poor against the Sharks last Monday night and I’m sure Craig Bellamy has flogged them at training all week. Melbourne rarely string together consecutive poor performances so I’m confident they’ll get the two points against a Knights side that is down on confidence, form and personnel. A word of warning though: the Storm dropped games against the side running last on six occasions last season so they are prone to the odd shocker against lowly opposition. I wouldn’t expect it to come this week though.
Tip: Storm
Tigers v Sharks, Campbelltown Stadium
This is a tricky match-up, and I think the betting is a touch misleading. While Cronulla are clear favourites I think the Tigers are a massive chance, especially with their strong recent record against the Sharks. Coming off two losses and playing at home as an underdog, I’m tipping Wests to return to their attacking best and put a few points on the Sharkies. The Sharks are still a bit clunky in attack, and coming off a tough Monday night fixture against the Storm they may be a bit underdone, although they will welcome back Paul Gallen which is a massive boost. I’ll take the Tigers in a close one.
Tip: Tigers
Cowboys v Dragons, 1300SMILES Stadium
Shut the gate, it’s the Cowboys all the way. Coming off a golden point loss to their arch-rivals, they’ll be primed for an epic performance at home. The Dragons will give them a good test, but even their rock solid defence will struggle to contain the Cows.
Tip: Cowboys
Roosters v Warriors, Central Coast Stadium
Central Coast hosts its first game of the season with the winless Roosters taking on the Warriors in 2016’s battle of the biggest disappointments. The Roosters came oh-so-close to breaking their season 2016 duck against Manly last weekend but should head to Gosford confident of picking up two points. While the Warriors did remove the bagel from their win column last weekend, it was not without a few anxious moments despite taking on the hapless Newcastle Knights. I really like the Roosters in this clash. It’s backs-to-the-wall stuff and I think they’ll throw the kitchen sink at a Warriors side that is notoriously unreliable when playing outside New Zealand.
Tip: Roosters
Eels v Panthers, Pirtek Stadium
I’ve got a bad feeling about this game. On form, it’s very hard to go past the Eels at home, but you get the sense that they’re probably due for a loss after three quality wins. After a close defeat to the Dragons last week and with Matt Moylan returning, the Panthers look capable of springing an upset – they’re a much better side than their solitary win in 2016 would suggest. If the game was at Pepper Stadium I’d probably back them in, but I can’t go past the Eels at Pirtek.
Tip: Eels
Bulldogs v Raiders, Belmore
This is a game that really tips itself. It would be a very brave tipster to take the Raiders in this clash, but it’s worth noting that the Green Machine won a bunch of road fixtures in 2015 that they weren’t supposed to. With Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer due to return, they’ll deliver a good account of themselves as they are probably one of the few teams that can match the physicality of the Dogs. But taking a similar approach to the Eels and Cowboys tips, you can’t go past a form team playing at home.
Tip: Bulldogs
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