It’s that time again; some best bets in what looms as an interesting week of rugby league.
Gold Coast Titans v St George Illawarra Dragons
This is the most Saturday 3pm game ever created, and I love it.
Honestly, a game I am looking forward to.
That first Saturday game where mediocre teams compete in the sun gets my gambling blood flowing.
Are the Dragons back, Kinda? They are coming off a morale boosting win against the Sharks, where they showed signs of promise.
Players like James Graham and Matt Duffy, who have been the butt of plenty of criticism showed that they are viable players within the Dragons system.
Graham was rewarded for his performance is he moves into the starting team, which is the only significant change for the Dragons.
While this is the tale of most Dragons seasons where they beat up on bad teams, it doesn’t mean we still cant make money off them.
The Titans on the other hand were handled easily by the Rabbitohs and did what most teams do after losses, sign Corey Thompson.
Both Phillip Sami and Brian Kelly move to the wing, because of Thompson putting the one jersey on and Dale Copley being out with an ankle injury
The Titans have shown fight this season, competing against some good teams.
However, they are still at the bottom of the ladder and that’s for a reason.
I was going to put on some stats to help prove this point, but they are legitimately are at the bottom of nearly every category.
Titans fans shouldn’t hang their head low as they do lead the NRL in charge downs.
I can’t believe I am betting on the Dragons again. I vowed to never bet on them again if they lost to the Bulldogs….
I guess I don’t have morals because -3.5 is a such a good number.
I believe the Dragons should carry some confidence going into this game and beat up on the charge down leaders of the NRL.
Dragons -3.5
Wests Tigers v North Queensland Cowboys
These teams are the definition of mediocre from both a team and managerial stand point.
The Tigers are falling apart, and I don’t understand what their management is doing with some of the players they have signed and for how much.
There is a lot of work for them to do with their team, but with that said they are still playing at a decent level which reflects the type of coach Michael Maguire is.
This team is very streaky and every few rounds they will play a great game, but then proceed to lose two in a row.
The Cowboys are in the same boat, as they have shown that Premiership hangover is a real thing.
Losing JT after that grand final really exposed plenty of holes within this team.
However, they have done well to combat this with some young players coming through the system and signing some key players.
The play here is simple, the under.
Two mediocre teams usually results in a mediocre game.
Both teams I believe don’t have the ability to run up the score and will be a defensive and possession based battle.
Under 38.5
Canberra Raiders v Manly Sea Eagles
Both sides are coming off wins, but it’s fair to say they both under-performed.
Ricky Stuart and Des Hasler will ensure that their sides will rectify their mistakes and bounce back in round 6.
Corey Horsburgh returns to the team along side the infamous eye poker Hudson Young.
Manly lose two key players in TMartin aupau and Moses Suli both with finger injuries, and this shuffles Brendan Elliot to centre and Addin Fonua-Blake to prop.
These are vital losses for Manly as it creates more vulnerabilities in their defence that both George Williams and Jack Wighton can take advantage of.
Raiders have better players at every position, besides where two brothers with the last name Trbojevic reside.
This game is a hard one to pick, because Manly can always upset teams at any time as they are able to step up even when key players are out.
But….
I don’t think this Raiders jersey and Stuart will allow Manly to upset them.
This is revenge for the Raiders who lost both games to Manly last year.
I feel like Ricky Stuart isn’t the type of person to forget.
He remembers losing to Manly twice last year, and I don’t think he will want to lose this Saturday.
Raiders -3.5
Other Plays
Broncos/ Knights 038.5
Rabbitohs/Warriors O41.5
Panthers /Storm O36.5
Bulldogs +4.5
