Well, we are living in a weird world, aren’t we? The Dragons sit on top of the ladder, there are no undefeated teams left, the Tigers beat the Cowboys away from home and the Warriors have now won two on the trot.
Welcome to The Roar‘s NRL expert tipping for Round 7.
Before we get on to the footy, Tim took out last round with a brilliant score of five alongside The Crowd, and so all of the experts have now won a round. Doesn’t save him from the bottom of the pile though.
The Broncos got last weekend underway with a huge victory over the Roosters before the Knights almost pulled off their second win of the season against a Bulldogs outfit lacking plenty.
An Adam Reynolds field goal was the difference between the Rabbitohs and Panthers before the Dragons rose to the top of the table with a thumping win at Lottoland. With the Storm later losing to the Sharks in a soccer scoreline game, the Dragons kept the top of the table by virtue of for and against – and who was expecting that six weeks ago?
The Raiders, Warriors and Wests Tigers were the other sides to pick up victories.
A Good Friday triple-header kickstarts Round 7, with the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs set to renew their rivalry, the Knights out for a victory over the Roosters and Broncos hosting the brave Titans.
Manly will then host Melbourne on Saturday before the Raiders take on the Warriors who will face their toughest test yet and the Dragons host the Johnathan Thurston-less Cowboys in Wollongong.
Sunday will see the Penrith Panthers with their suspended players returning host premiers the Sharks before an Easter Monday clash pits the desperate Eels against the rejuvinated Tigers.
Don’t forget that on the form below, you can put your own tips in on behalf of The Crowd. Tipping will close later at 1pm (AEST) on Friday this week due to there being no Thursday game, so be sure to have them in before then. Who knows, The Crowd might prove themselves to be better than the experts.
Tim’s up first this week.
Tips: Rabbitohs, Roosters, Titans, Storm, Raiders, Dragons, Panthers, Tigers
Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Rabbitohs. Both these sides aren’t in great nick in spite of the recent victories. I’m tipping the Rabbitohs because Klemmer is out.
Newcastle Knights vs Sydney Roosters
Roosters. Some big ins for the Knights, but I just reckon the Roosters will pip them on the road. Their pack is better.
Brisbane Broncos vs Gold Coast Titans
Titans. Two schools of thought here: Milford will go wild in the absence of Hunt or he’ll go quiet because of it. I’m going Titans for the upset victory.
Manly Sea Eagles vs Melbourne Storm
Storm. They won’t lose two in a row. Martin Tapau and Nate Myles being out doesn’t help the Sea Eagles either.
Canberra Raiders vs New Zealand Warriors
Raiders. Canberra to win at home because… I don’t have an end to that sentence. Don’t care. Raiders to win.
St George Illawarra Dragons vs North Queensland Cowboys
Dragons. The Dragons will continue marching in, especially with Thurston out. And don’t the Dragons owe the Cowboys.
Penrith Panthers vs Cronulla Sharks
Panthers. Penrith are going to beat the Sharks in a tight one with Moylan repaying the fans for his poor form and suspension
Parramatta Eels vs Wests Tigers
Tigers. They will make it two in a row to give Ivan Cleary a dream start. Tigers are playing to win and that’s when they play their best footy.
Tips: Bulldogs, Roosters, Broncos, Storm, Raiders, Dragons, Sharks, Tigers
Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Bulldogs. I don’t rate either side highly, but the Bulldogs look a bit better than the Rabbitohs, who wouldn’t have beaten the Panthers last week had Matt Moylan been playing.
Newcastle Knights vs Sydney Roosters
Roosters. Very disappointing against the Broncos last week and no doubt it has been extra serious at training since. The Knights have been honest for the most part, but they can’t hold the Roosters for 80 minutes.
Brisbane Broncos vs Gold Coast Titans
Broncos. Excellent win over the Roosters last week. The loss of halfback Ben Hunt is obviously significant, but Kodi Nikorima is a handy replacement who won’t make the mistake of getting in Anthony Milford’s way.
Manly Sea Eagles vs Melbourne Storm
Storm. The Sea Eagles are likely to bounce back from their heavy loss to the Dragons, but I’m tipping the Storm to bounce back even stronger from their loss to the Sharks. The Storm didn’t lose two in a row all last season.
Canberra Raiders vs New Zealand Warriors
Raiders. The Raiders are easing into their season now and have won two in a row for the first time, beating the Eels and the Titans. They’ll get their chances against a Warriors side that still doesn’t play for 80 minutes.
St George Illawarra Dragons vs North Queensland Cowboys
Dragons. The Dragons have won four in a row and look the real deal. That was a tremendous effort by them to clean up the Sea Eagles last week. Losing Johnathan Thurston is obviously a huge blow to the Cowboys as well.
Penrith Panthers vs Cronulla Sharks
Sharks. Fabulous effort by the Sharks to beat the Storm in Melbourne. The Panthers will bounce back from last week’s loss to the Rabbitohs with Matt Moylan among several players returning, but it still won’t not be enough.
Parramatta Eels vs Wests Tigers
Tigers. The Eels have some excuses for their recent run of losses, but for large chunks of games they have played poorly as well. They will badly miss Bevan French at the back. The Tigers kept it simple against the Cowboys and it worked, so expect them to do it again here.
Tips: Bulldogs, Roosters, Broncos, Sea Eagles, Raiders, Dragons, Panthers, Tigers
Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Bulldogs. With Souths still missing some key players and a Bulldogs team that always aims up for good Friday, I’m going with the blue and white.
Newcastle Knights vs Sydney Roosters
Roosters. I would love to tip the Knights, but it’s impossible. Roosters to break their two game losing streak.
Brisbane Broncos vs Gold Coast Titans
Broncos. The Titans still have an injury headache and while they will perform bravely, the Broncos will be too strong.
Manly Sea Eagles vs Melbourne Storm
Sea Eagles. I’m tipping the upset here. The men in maroon will be keen to bounce back after a disappointing loss to the Dragons and at home, they could do so.
Canberra Raiders vs New Zealand Warriors
Raiders. Everyone knows the Warriors don’t travel well! Enough said.
St George Illawarra Dragons vs North Queensland Cowboys
Dragons. Cowboys without JT? I’m picking the Dragons every day of the week, particularly given their impressive form line.
Penrith Panthers vs Cronulla Sharks
Panthers. Tough game to tip. I’ll take the Panthers with a man of the match performance from Matt Moylan who will be keen to bounce back after having to play reserve grade last week.
Parramatta Eels vs Wests Tigers
Tigers. I’m tipping the Tigers here for self-preservation. If the Eels win I’ll be happy to get the two points – if the Tigers win I’ll get a point in my tipping.
Tips: Bulldogs, Roosters, Broncos, Storm, Raiders, Dragons, Sharks, Tigers
Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Bulldogs. It’s tough to tip either of these sides. Both are coming off victories, but neither of them were what you would call convincing. I’ll take the Bulldogs because their pack will do the job. Should be a close game though.
Newcastle Knights vs Sydney Roosters
Roosters. I almost tipped Newcastle, but got burned by them last week. If they can work on staying competitive in games during the first 20 minutes of the second half, a win is just around the corner. For the Roosters though, this is as close to must-win as it gets this early in the season after a couple of unconvincing wins and two straight losses.
Brisbane Broncos vs Gold Coast Titans
Broncos. The Titans will fight hard, and with Nathan Peats back it will add an extra element to their attack. Playing at Suncorp against a Broncos side who through caution out the window last week though, it’s hard to tip them.
Manly Sea Eagles vs Melbourne Storm
Storm. Manly won’t be nearly as bad as they were against the Dragons last week, but the Storm are still the competition marking pole and won’t lose two in a row.
Canberra Raiders vs New Zealand Warriors
Raiders. This could get a little ugly. The Warriors might have won two in a row with Kieran Foran back on the park, but they have beaten the Titans and Eels – neither of them convincingly and both at home. The Raiders pack will run riot here.
St George Illawarra Dragons vs North Queensland Cowboys
Dragons. Sitting top of the table with the best attack – it’s almost too good to be true as a supporter. No Johnathan Thurston, Matt Scott or Lachland Coote and a tough road trip for the Cowboys will be a bridge too far here.
Penrith Panthers vs Cronulla Sharks
Sharks. Their defence was back at its best last week and they looked something like the side who won the premiership last year. Penrith’s returning stars won’t be able to stop the men from the Shire.
Parramatta Eels vs Wests Tigers
Tigers. The Eels are not playing well in the slightest at the moment and while they might improve against the defensively vulnerable Tigers, the visitors should take it out in a high-scoring affair.
| Round 7 | Tim | Greg | Mary | Scott | The Crowd |
| BUL V RAB | RAB | BUL | BUL | BUL | BUL |
| KNI V ROO | ROO | ROO | ROO | ROO | ROO |
| BRO V TIT | TIT | BRO | BRO | BRO | BRO |
| SEA V STO | STO | STO | SEA | STO | STO |
| RAI V WAR | RAI | RAI | RAI | RAI | RAI |
| DRA V COW | DRA | DRA | DRA | DRA | DRA |
| PAN V SHA | PAN | SHA | PAN | SHA | SHA |
| EEL V TIG | TIG | TIG | TIG | TIG | TIG |
| Last week | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Total | 24 | 29 | 26 | 25 | 32 |
Now it’s your turn to try and beat the experts. Using the form below, select your tips for the weekend ahead and we will have the results at 1pm (AEST) on Friday.
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