The rep round is behind us, injuries have been obtained and the NRL is ready to start the run to the finals. Here to tell you who will win in Round 16 are The Roar‘s NRL expert tipping panel.
And can I just say I won a round. So there.
It doesn’t help me on the overall table though of course. I mean, it moves me out of last, but that can only get you so far in life. Especially when we are talking about sport.
At the top of the board, AJ and Tim are tied on 71, with The Crowd a further two tips back. Then it’s daylight before Tom and myself round it out.
By the end of this round, we can start singing ‘I’ve been everywhere man!’ We go to Auckland, Adelaide, Cairns, Wollongong, Newcastle, Brisbane and of course Sydney a pair of times.
This week kicks off in Wollongong. Isn’t that a nice play to be on a winter’s night? Although, to be fair, you could go for a swim in the lead-up, so what’s not to like. Eels fans might come up with one reason to hate the place by the end of 80 minutes though as the last-placed side take on the competition-leaders.
The Sharks will open Friday night footy by travelling across the ditch, complete with Aaron Woods in the squad to take on the in-form and surprisingly good Warriors, before we head to the mighty Adelaide Oval with the Melbourne Storm taking on the Sydney Roosters.
Saturday starts out at the foot of the mountains with the Panthers taking on the Sea Eagles, now without Jackson Hastings, before we head to Newcastle.
It could well be a contender for worst game of the season. The Bulldogs were already struggling but now have to do it without Moses Mbye, while the Knights haven’t been setting the world on fire either.
The late Friday Saturday game sees the Broncos host the Raiders, before Robbie Farah makes his return to the Lillyfield Rectangle where he will try to make the operators of the Wayne Pearce scoreboard rack up the points for the Tigers instead of chasing him off the thing.
The round finishes all the way up in Cairns as the Rabbitohs host the hapless Cowboys.
Don’t forget to submit your tips on the form below by 5pm (AEST) to be part of The Crowd as you take on the experts.
Tips: Dragons, Warriors, Storm, Panthers, Bulldogs, Raiders, Wests Tigers, Rabbitohs
Why will the Dragons beat the Eels? Because their pack is really, really good and the Eels pack isn’t. I mean, the Dragons have an actual hooker an stuff.
The arrival of Aaron Woods at the Sharks is just weird. While lots of the Warriors side has been in transit all week, the Sharks second row of Sorensen and Capewell just doesn’t look as good as Graham and Lewis. If the Luke and Hiku play I reckon the Warriors will win.
I’m going Storm Simply because Boyd Cordner isn’t playing and because Cam Smith is. Tim Glasby might want to get his name in front of QLD selectors by besting Dylan Napa too. This’ll be close but.
Regan Campbell Gillard is a big out for the Panthers but Kikau is back in. Manly will really miss Koroisau but the rest of their side is actually ok. I’m going Panthers because they are at home and I really like their halves. Manly could take this though.
The poor old Bulldogs. They are in all sorts. I feel really deeply for their poor fans and wish their club as speedy a recovery as is possible. Because it’s a strong club like the Dogs, with really staunch fans, I know they’ll be back sooner rather than later. And there is nothing more fierce than a cornered Bulldog. They’ll beat the knights this Saturday I reckon.
Who cares that the Raiders haven’t beaten the Broncos since 2013? Who cares that the Raiders haven’t won in Brisbane since 2010 and that was the only time out of the last ten encounters there they prevailed? The Green Machine will write their own history this Saturday night.
Take one Wests Tigers Bus. Hurt pride with big loss. Bring back Josh Reynolds from injury. Add the class of Moses Mbye and one prodigal son at hooker. Bake at home ground for 80 minutes for a win over the Titans.
I don’t care that the Rabbitohs are technically away to the Cowboys in this match at Barlow park. They look as good as the Cowboys look bad. The Rabbits will win this, barring disaster.
Tips: Dragons, Sharks, Roosters, Panthers, Knights, Raiders, Tigers, Rabbitohs
Let me just get this out of the way quickly: I told you so! To all you Queenslanders out there and all of you fair weather New South Wales supporters (The Barry, I’m looking at you), I told you that this was our year!! Well done to the Blues for a well-deserved series victory.
Now on to Round 16, which opens with a first v worst encounter that nobody saw coming during the preseason. Last placed Parramatta were tipped for big things in 2018, but for whatever reason, the players simply haven’t turned up. I’m predicting that happens again tonight against a well-oiled Dragons machine. Look for the Red V to ruin Bernie’s weekend with a 30 point drubbing.
On Friday night, the Warriors will look to continue their outstanding season when they host the 7th placed Cronulla Sharks. In a game that could easily go either way, I’m going to back the gritty Cronulla defence over the flashy New Zealand attack. Sharks by 4.
Back in Sydney, and the match of the round will feature the rising Roosters coming up against the struggling Storm. Usually I pick Melbourne regardless of their opponent, but I just don’t have the same faith in them this season. Buoyed by their Origin win, I’m predicting Tedesco and Mitchell get their club over the line in a nail-biter.
Penrith will take care of business against the floundering Sea Eagles, the Knights will be too good for the wilting Bulldogs, South Sydney will continue their march towards glory with a big win over the Cowboys, and the Wests Tigers will celebrate the return of prodigal son Robbie Farah with a resounding win against the Titans.
And in Tom’s “Rock Solid” tip of the week, I’m backing the Canberra Raiders to destroy the Broncos. The Raiders realise their season is essentially on the line this weekend, and I am predicting they rise to the occasion. With hooker Josh Hodgson back to full health, this is the team that most top 8 sides will be worried about playing in the lead up to the finals. Raiders by plenty.
Tips: Dragons, Sharks, Roosters, Panthers, Knights, Broncos, Tigers, Rabbitohs
Rep round, we barely knew ya. Just when we fall in love with international games and the women’s state of origin, they’re gone again. Then the Blues finally jag a series but we have to get back to business.
After all that excitement, I’m thankful for some predictable club rugby league. It feels comfortable, almost natural to pick the Dragons knowing that they’ll pummel the ‘Hapless Eels’ on Thursday.
Friday gives us a pair of belters over in NZ and in Adelaide. The unappreciated Aaron Woods (yeah I said it) suits up for his third club in 8 months and he’ll enjoy a hard-fought classic Cronulla grinding win across the ditch.
The Roosters and the Storm will put on a show in the city of churches and barrels. I sneak the men from the east ahead, just.
For Saturday, Penrith will destroy Manly, Newcastle will get past the ‘Hapless Dogs’ in a close one and I tip the Broncos in their match up with a resurgent* Canberra. This one shapes as the match of the round.
*May not actually be resurgent
The round will wrap up with the Tigers new crew getting over the line against the Titans in a sneaky good game, and Souths keeping the dream alive by knocking off the ‘Hapless Cowboys’.
Tips: Dragons, Warriors, Storm, Panthers, Knights, Broncos, Tigers, Cowboys
Back to the NRL. I somehow found time to do my tips amongst Origin, the World Cup and whatever other million and five different sporting events are on at the moment.
The biggest talking point to think about for mine this week is which players are coming back from Denver, and the Dragons have a couple of them, as well as plenty of Origin representatives. Still, they should kick-off the week the right way by thumping a shocking Parramatta outfit. Could be a cricket score in the ‘Gong.
The Friday double is tough to tip. Cronulla’s trip to Auckland brings with it all sorts of questions. Will the Warriors players back up? Can the Sharks win across the Tasman against a Warriors outfit who are generally good at home and have been… dare we say it, reliable, this year? I’m going to say no.
Melbourne will beat the Roosters in Adelaide. No Boyd Cordner, Cameron Smith has had a fortnight off and the Storm were just starting to come good before the bye.
The Sea Eagles are all over the place right at the moment. Jackson Hastings was released during the week and it’s hard to see them getting the better of the Panthers, while the Broncos will beat Canberra later that evening.
In between what should be two pretty good games will be one pretty ordinary game, with the Knights taking on the Bulldogs. Kalyn Ponga is the best attacking player on the field so Newcastle win.
Robbie Farah is back at the Tigers on Sunday and they will beat the Titans who improved before the rep round, but it was against Canterbury so means very little. I’ll go with the Rabbitohs to win in Cairns to finish the round – I have now officially given up on tipping the Cowboys and thinking they might turn things around for any consistent period of time… So, watch them go and win.
| Round 16 | Tim | Tom | AJ | Scott | The Crowd |
| DRA v EEL | DRA | DRA | DRA | DRA | DRA |
| WAR v SHA | WAR | SHA | SHA | WAR | WAR |
| ROO v STO | STO | ROO | ROO | STO | STO |
| PAN v SEA | PAN | PAN | PAN | PAN | PAN |
| KNI v BUL | BUL | KNI | KNI | KNI | KNI |
| BRO v RAI | RAI | RAI | BRO | BRO | BRO |
| TIG v TIT | TIG | TIG | TIG | TIG | TIG |
| RAB v COW | RAB | RAB | RAB | RAB | RAB |
| Last week | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Total | 71 | 61 | 71 | 62 | 69 |
Crowd tipping will close at 5pm (AEST) on Thursday evening. Be sure to submit your tips on the form below before then to make your opinion count as part of The Crowd.
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