Three rounds to play, 24 games to tip. Welcome to Round 24 of NRL 2015 and The Roar’s NRL Expert NRL tips.
It all begins with a sheepish Paul McGregor and his St George Illawarra Dragons at home to the struggling Penrith Panthers. Will ‘Mary’ pull another selection shock and replace the entire team with the 1899 Cleveland Spiders?
South Sydney and Canterbury clash in a huge blockbuster clash at ANZ Stadium the following evening (you’d think the home ground advantage will get the Bunnies across the line) while Sydney Roosters and the Brisbane Broncos face off in an even bigger grudge match on Saturday evening at Allianz.
You could say the other matches are fait accompli’s but there is no such thing in the NRL.
Good luck to you and your team in Round 24 of the NRL.
Ryan O’Connell
Tips: Dragons, Bulldogs, Sharks, Cowboys, Roosters, Raiders, Eagles, Storm (Powerplay).
“Interesting round of footy, with a couple of (cliché alert) ‘statement games’ for a few clubs.
“The grand final rematch should give us an indication of where the Dogs and Bunnies are, a few weeks out form the finals. I always tip the Dogs, so no real insights for me to share in that game, but it should be a cracker.
“The Dragons, Sharks will and Cowboys should bounce back from reality-check losses last week. The Roosters have a chance to stamp their authority on the competition, while Brisbane can silence the doubters once and for all but I’ll go the Chooks.
“Raiders have been unlucky this year, but should get a win against the Gold Coast, while Manly will march on with their impressive run, beating the Eels.
“Lastly, Melbourne will build on their good on Monday night to hand the Knights yet another loss.”
Mary Konstantopoulos
Tips: Dragons, Bulldogs, Sharks, Cowboys, Roosters, Titans, Eagles, Storm (Powerplay).
“The Dragons have got too much to lose and I am tipping them to beat the Panthers in a close one while the Rabbits will miss Issac Luke and I am tipping the Bulldogs forward pack to out muscle them in what should be a rough and tough tussle.
“The Sharks will bounce back from their loss to the Storm and beat the Tigers who will miss the go forward of Wood, The Warriors host the Cowboys and I am tipping a big win to the Cowboys with JT to have a blinder. The Roosters play the Broncos and this shapes up as one of the matches of the season. I think with Maloney calling the shots and RTS in superb form, the Roosters will win quite easily and establish themselves as Premiership favourites.
“The Titans play the Raiders and I am tipping an upset with the Titans to win. Manly will beat the Eels at Brookvale but I am tipping this one to be a lot closer than most people think.
“Finally the Storm will trounces the Knights in Monday night football; Will Chambers to score a double.”
Dane Eldridge
Tips: Dragons, Rabbitohs, Sharks, Cowboys, Roosters, Raiders, Eagles, Storm (Powerplay).
“I’ve got a bone to pick with you guys. How can you all look at yourselves in the mirror after refusing to intervene last week when I selected the Dragons? Where was the duty of care when I chose a side playing the Broncos in Brisbane, and worse still, without Benji Marshall and with a nouveau pirate at halfback? I thought we were all friends?
“With that sorted, now it’s down to this week’s tips.
“Firstly, I will be taking the Dragons to defeat Penrith on Thursday night. I’m confident we’ve all learnt some stiff lessons from last week and they’ll be too strong in The ‘Gong. This will be followed by incident-free victories to Souths, Cronulla, North Queensland, the Roosters, Canberra, Manly and Melbourne.
“With only three rounds to go, I still believe I can fly! If I can somehow jag three perfect rounds, pay off Curtis, and then pray that Tim Gore mistakenly lodges AFL teams in the NRL comp for the rest of the year, then I just may have a chance.”
Tim Gore:
Tips: Panthers, Bulldogs, Tigers, Cowboys, Roosters, Raiders, Eagles, Storm (Powerplay).
“Penrith v Dragons is tough. Nothing to play for versus everything to play for. I’m going with my Panthers who have a great record away to the Dragons.
“On Friday I think Doggies will beat Souths. Good Friday revenge?
“Sharks to lose to Wests Tigers narrowly, not sure why, North Queensland to despatch the Warriors from the finals race and find their mojo in the process, Roosters to beat the Broncs by a bit and Raiders to defeat the Titans because they are on the road.
“Manly to take out Parramatta and Melbourne to smash Newcastle.”
Curtis Woodward
Tips: Dragons, Rabbitohs, Sharks, Cowboys, Broncos, Raiders, Eagles, Storm (Powerplay).
“How much are you offering Dane?
“Some huge matches this week but none bigger than Sydney versus Brisbane at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night. Wayne Bennett loves nothing more than bringing his Broncos down to Sydney and this should be a classic.
“Too much to play for for Canberra, Manly and Melbourne while St George Illawarra, Cronulla and North Queensland will be desperate to hit back against lowly opposition.”
| Round 24 | Tim | Mary | Ryan | Curtis | Dane |
| DRAvPAN | Panthers | Dragons | Dragons | Dragons | Dragons |
| RABvBUL | Bulldogs | Bulldogs | Bulldogs | Rabbitohs | Rabbitohs |
| SHAvTIG | Tigers | Sharks | Sharks | Sharks | Sharks |
| WARvCOW | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| ROOvBRO | Roosters | Roosters | Roosters | Broncos | Roosters |
| TITvRAI | Raiders | Titans | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders |
| EAGvEEL | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| STOvKNI | Storm | Storm | Storm | Storm | Storm |
| POWERPLAY | Storm | Storm | Storm | Storm | Storm |
| LAST ROUND | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| OVERALL | 123 | 117 | 114 | 110 | 108 |
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
This effort just about summed up the Dragons' defence against the Warriors. They held their opponents to their equal-lowest score this season in a…
Zac Lomax has added further to his Origin case with another strong performance in the Dragons' stunning 30-12 boilover win over the Warriors in…
Not what the Warriors needed down 22-6... Roger Tuivasa-Sheck not only ruined his side's chances of pinching the ball back but gifted the Dragons…
The Dragons star became the eighth player to nail a two-point field goal since its introduction and the Fox League crew were highly impressed.…
You've got to try your luck! Hame Sele has only scored two tries in his career - and the Dragons forward tried his best…
Have to show off that footwork! The Warriors star opened the scoring in Wollongong, crossing over untouched and improving his goal-kicking position.
