2018 NRL season: Round 4 preview

Round four of the NRL will see a number of blockbusters, among them the Good Friday showdown between the Rabbitohs and Bulldogs, three other grand final rematches from 2016, 2002 and 1987, as well as a rare Sunday night south-east Queensland Derby.

After three rounds, the St George Illawarra Dragons and New Zealand Warriors remain the only two undefeated teams, and while the Dragons should continue on their merry way, the Warriors will have their work cut out taking on one of the powerhouse clubs in the NRL.

Conversely, the only two winless clubs, the Canberra Raiders and Parramatta Eels, will be hoping to break their season ducks when they face the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and Wests Tigers respectively.

Here is your full preview to Round 4.

Cowboys versus Panthers
After defeating the Sharks at home in Round 1, the Cowboys could consider themselves unlucky to have met two very good teams in the Broncos and Storm in the past fortnight.

Paul Green’s men came very close to knocking off the Broncos in Round 2, being denied by a deadly combination of the southern right-side goalpost of Suncorp Stadium and Broncos prop Tevita Pangai Junior.

Then, in the grand final rematch last week, the Cowboys were no match for the Melbourne Storm, despite posting a much better performance than last year’s decider in which they were easily beaten by 34-6.

After a fortnight on the road, the 2015 premiers return home to face a Penrith Panthers side still smarting from their heartbreaking loss to the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium last week.

For the third consecutive match, they trailed 14-0 in the first half, before getting back to within a converted try with less than ten minutes to go before crashing to their first defeat of the season.

Making things even tougher for the mountain men will be the fact that they will be without halfback Nathan Cleary for up to ten weeks after he suffered a knee injury during the match.

That has not only blown wide open the battle for the Blues’ number seven guernsey come Origin time, but also robbed him of the chance to oppose arguably the greatest player in the game – Johnathan Thurston.

Thurston and the Cowboys will be desperate to bounce back after two losses away from Townsville, and they should here against an injury-hit Panthers outfit.

Prediction: Cowboys by 14 points.

(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Rabbitohs versus Bulldogs
The first match on Friday sees the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs continue their tradition of clashing on the afternoon of Good Friday.

Both teams are coming off their first wins for the season, the Rabbitohs thrashing the Sea Eagles 34-6 and the Bulldogs surviving a fast-finishing Panthers side to claim a thriller 20-18.

For the Bunnies it was the perfect ending to the week from hell after captain Greg Inglis had been racially abused by a Panthers fan during the 18-14 loss to the mountain men the previous Saturday night.

As for the Bulldogs, it was a huge weight off their shoulders after consecutive 18-point thrashings by the Storm and Roosters to start their 2018 season.

It was the first successes for rookie coaches Anthony Seibold and Dean Pay respectively, setting the scene for what should be another spiteful and entertaining clash at ANZ Stadium on Friday afternoon.

Given it takes place at the same time as the ongoing Sydney Royal Easter Show, another huge crowd is expected for the clash of the 2014 grand finalists with both sides eager to square their season ledger at 2-all.

In the end, I have the Rabbitohs winning – but only by just.

Prediction: Rabbitohs by eight points.

Sharks versus Storm
It has been nearly 18 months since the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Melbourne Storm met in a memorable grand final, well at least if you are a Sharks supporter.

It was on that magical night at ANZ Stadium where the Sharks buried half a century of disappointment to win their first NRL premiership, doing so in front of over 80,000 pro-Sharks supporters.

Since then, both clubs have endured contrasting fortunes, with the Storm going on to win last year’s premiership and the Sharks beginning what appears to be a worrying regression, which has become somewhat of a trend among recent NRL premiers.

Craig Bellamy’s men have started their season with two wins from three starts, with victories over the Bulldogs and Cowboys coming on either side of a disappointing home loss to the Wests Tigers.

The Sharks, on the other hand, dropped their first two matches against the Cowboys and Dragons before breaking their season duck against the Eels at ANZ Stadium last Saturday night, to lift their percentage to an even 0 (44 points scored and 44 points conceded).

But while the 2016 premiers will be buoyed by the home ground advantage this Friday night, the Storm should continue to show why they have become the benchmark team in the NRL in recent years.

Prediction: Storm by six points.

Roosters versus Warriors
The first match on Saturday afternoon sees the Sydney Roosters look to continue their winning ways when they face the undefeated New Zealand Warriors in their third consecutive home match.

The Chooks have hit back hard in the past fortnight following their upset loss to the Wests Tigers in Round 1, putting the Bulldogs and Knights to the sword and scoring at least 30 points in both matches.

Just three matches in and already Cooper Cronk has made an impact for his new club, in particular taking the points in his duel with Knights halfback Mitchell Pearce in his side’s 38-8 win over the Novocastrians on Sunday.

While they should start favourites against the Warriors on Saturday afternoon, they’ll be wary of a side that have won their first three matches of a season for the first time in the club’s history.

Down 19-12 with less than five minutes remaining, a converted try, and then consecutive field goals from Shaun Johnson saw them edge out the Canberra Raiders 20-19 in the nation’s capital.

His importance to the team cannot be underestimated, especially after a knee injury he suffered in the second half of last season conspired against them as they lost their last nine matches of the year to crash to a 13th-place finish.

For Johnson, coming up against Cronk, who at 34 has continued to prove that he still has what it takes to perform at the top level, and a powerhouse club such as the Roosters will be an acid test as to where his side are at.

Eventually, the Warriors’ bubble will burst, and I think it will happen this Saturday.

Prediction: Roosters by 18 points.

(Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Sea Eagles versus Raiders
After three heartbreaking losses from as many matches to start the season, the Raiders’ bid to break their season duck continues when they make the trip to Lottoland to face a hot and cold Sea Eagles side.

Six days after thrashing the Parramatta Eels by a record 54-0 at home, the Sea Eagles were sent crashing back to earth when they lost to the previously winless Rabbitohs 34-6.

They return home this Saturday night to face a Raiders side which has without doubt been the hard luck story of the season so far, losing all three of its matches so far by a grand total of just five points.

This includes twice blowing an 18-point lead in their Round 1 loss to the Titans and a 19-12 lead against the Warriors at home with less than five minutes remaining last week.

They could so easily have been undefeated along with the Dragons and Warriors, but instead they sit in 15th place with only the Parramatta Eels languishing below them on the ladder.

Apart from attempting to bury the demons of their past three weeks, the Green Machine will also have their work cut out in trying to contain Sea Eagles halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, who in his previous appearance at Lottoland played a major role in their 54-0 demolition of the Eels in Round 2.

As much as the Raiders would love to bounce back this Saturday night, the Sea Eagles should prove too strong here.

Prediction: Sea Eagles by 10 points.

Dragons versus Knights
There is absolutely no disputing that the St George Illawarra Dragons are the hottest team in the NRL right now.

Just three rounds into the new season and already the Red V are shaping as the team to beat, and their undefeated start can already be attributed to the impact their halves in Gareth Widdop and Ben Hunt are having on the team.

Last Sunday, the Dragons racked up their biggest marginal win since 2004 when they thrashed the Gold Coast Titans 54-8, with Matt Dufty and Tim Lafai both scoring hat-tricks, and Widdop scoring a try off a Hunt kick.

In one match they doubled their points-for (they scored 34 and 20 in their first two matches) and also became the first team to crack 100 points for the season.

The 54 points they scored is the highest number of points they have scored in a single match since they thrashed the Canberra Raiders by 58-16 in Wollongong midway through the 2007 season.

Had Widdop not missed two conversions in the second half, the Dragons would have equalled the record for their most points in a match for the third time, the other time coming against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2002.

If the Dragons’ red-hot form is anything to go by, then the Newcastle Knights will definitely have their work cut out attempting to bounce back from their heavy loss to the Roosters, especially in Wollongong.

After two close wins to start the season, the Knights were sent crashing back to earth by the Chooks, only managing to score one try, through another ex-Rooster in Aidan Guerra.

And things will not get any easier for the Novocastrians, who are on the road for the third consecutive week and whose coach Nathan Brown will return to Wollongong for the first time since being sacked as Dragons coach in favour of Wayne Bennett at the end of the 2008 season.

Try as he could during his six years as Dragons coach between 2003 and 2008, but it was determined by the club’s board that despite boasting a talented playing list, they lacked the consistency to contend for the premiership (as best illustrated by preliminary final losses in 2005 and 2006).

While the Knights would love to bounce back, the Dragons should prove too strong in their first game in Wollongong for the season.

Prediction: Dragons by 20 points.

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Broncos versus Titans
A rare Sunday twilight clash at Suncorp Stadium sees the Brisbane Broncos host the Gold Coast Titans in a battle of two clubs which have endured contrasting fortunes in season 2018 so far.

After being thrashed by the Dragons in Round 1, the Broncos have hit back with narrow wins over the Cowboys and Wests Tigers, the latter coming despite failing to score a try in a match which was decided in extra time.

The Broncos’ 9-7 win resembled the final set of that classic 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, won by the Spaniard by that same scoreline.

After scores had finished at 7-all in a low-scoring struggle at the end of regulation time, a controversial penalty, which NRL officials conceded should never have been awarded, saw Wayne Bennett’s side home.

While their points differential is still in the red at -16, it should receive a significant boost when they face the Titans, who are coming off a humiliating 54-8 loss to the Dragons in Toowoomba last Sunday afternoon.

Garth Brennan’s side have become the first team this season to concede 100 points and that defeat, as well as against the Warriors in Round 2, is indicative of the daunting task that is ahead of him as far as rebuilding the club’s culture is concerned.

Additionally, their last clash against the Broncos ended in a 54-0 shutout on their home turf, a result which led to the sacking of predecessor Neil Henry, so there will be mental scars from that match for the side.

In the end, the Broncos should win easily and get their percentage back into the black.

Prediction: Broncos by 30 points.

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Wests Tigers versus Eels
Round 4 then concludes with the traditional Easter Monday clash between the Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels, in a match which should also draw a bumper crowd given it takes place at the same time as the ongoing Sydney Royal Easter Show.

After two narrow wins over the Roosters and Storm to start the season, the Tigers were extremely unlucky to have gone down to the Broncos at home in golden point extra time, with NRL officials conceding a penalty awarded against them should never have been done so.

After all, the Tigers scored the only try in another low-scoring match which speaks volumes of how their defence has improved this year under coach Ivan Cleary, conceding just 25 points in their first three matches.

But while they have the best defence in the competition, they have scored the second-least amount of points of any club, with just 27 points to their name (in fact, only their opponents this Monday, the Eels, have scored less with 18).

Following on from their horror show against the Sea Eagles in Round 2, things did not get any better for the blue and gold who went down to the Sharks by 14-4 at ANZ Stadium last Saturday night.

It was a better performance as far as defence was concerned, but their stocks will be tested with Jarryd Hayne to be sidelined for at least the next month due to a hip injury he picked up the match against the Sharks.

It will now remain to be seen how the Eels fare without him, with many claiming that not only has he been a liability to the team, he is also not the same player who has won the Dally M Medal twice, in 2009 and 2014.

The question now remains – can the Eels get on the board, or will the Tigers continue to grind out the wins?

Prediction: Wests Tigers by 14 points.