After a Sunday of upsets through perfect rounds on the scrapheap last weekend, Round 19 looms as a chance of redemptions for The Roar‘s NRL expert tipping panel.
You know, maybe we should have seen it coming. The Warriors beating the Broncos in the sunny Brisbane sunshine and the Dragons losing to the Tigers with Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall back together for the first time in years.
How silly were we (and you guys, to be fair who tipped heavily in favour of the Broncos and Dragons) to go against all of that.
Anyway, what’s done is done and we have a new leader with Tim shooting to the front after correctly tipping the Knights to beat the Eels along with literally everyone else except AJ who falls a point behind.
Looking ahead to Round 19 and it’s fair to say Thursday night’s opener between the Eels and Bulldogs isn’t going to be one which will be remembered for years to come.
More likely to produce some exhilarating rugby league is the dead spot at 6pm on Friday when the Sharks play the never predictable Raiders. Then there is the Broncos off the back of the aforementioned loss against the Penrith Panthers.
After their loss to the Roosters, the Titans will face the Knights in a game with no bearing on the finals, while the Tigers will attempt to keep their slim hops alive in the second Saturday game against the red-hot Rabbitohs of Redfern.
The final Saturday game heads up north to steamy Townsville when the hapless Cowboys try to heap more misery and a third-straight loss on former competition leaders the Dragons.
We are back to the two games on Sunday this week with the Warriors looking to upset the Storm and the Roosters heading to Brookvale.
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.
As our new leader, it’s Tim up first this week.
Tips: Bulldogs, Raiders, Panthers, Knights, Rabbitohs, Dragons, Warriors, Roosters
The Bulldogs got smashed last week, while the Eels got beaten and probably shouldn’t have, but I like the Bulldogs better as a side. I think they are in a better place, so going Canterbury.
The Raiders are lulling the Sharks into a false sense of security by having three players out. The Green Machine will win here.
There is a reason the Broncos nearly got beaten last week – they aren’t very good. They have enough quality to trouble anyone else outside the eight, but they don’t have an X-Factor in their side outside Andrew McCullough who has been a bit all over the place. The Panthers are a genuine contender because they can deal with injuries and will prove so again.
I’ll take the knights because they are at home. I keep thinking the Titans are better than they are, but they aren’t, despite the good cattle in Wallace, Taylor, Arrow – Newcastle with Pearce back should be able to take care of them.
The Rabbitohs are the team to beat. They do have lapses here and there and the Tigers will want to beat them bad and continue on their good form, but the Dragons weren’t in good form. This is the Rabbioths best form since 2010. Tigers can’t go with them. Souths have two extra gears.
I can’t see where the Cowboys next win is coming from. They battled hard against an unimpressive Raiders side albeit in freezing conditions. It’s horrible to say, but Johnathan Thurston has gone one season too many. Not enjoying watching it at all. I encourage everyone to remember how great he has been rather than just this season.
The Dragons though will rebound. They are the better side and their forward pack will bounce back.
The Warriors impressed me last week and I’m going them. Every bone in my body says not to, but they were so good last week. Maybe they have found their mojo again, and they have a good record against the Storm.
I don’t care that the final game is at Brookvale. The Sea Eagles were the better team last week, but the Roosters have something to play for whereas Manly don’t – that’ll make the difference. The Roosters depth is also a lot better than I thought it was after last week, so the normal 13 are going to go out and remind them why they are in the top 13. That’ll be at the extreme detriment of the Sea Eagles.
Tips: Eels, Sharks, Broncos, Knights, Rabbitohs, Dragons, Warriors, Roosters
Eels or Dogs? It’s like choosing if you’d rather receive the electric chair or the gas chamber. Both will result in eventual death, but the key is choosing the least painful method to meet your maker.
In this instance, I’m going with the Eels. They have a more talented squad than Canterbury, and although they play with the discipline of a tired four-year old, I think they’ll just hold it together for long enough to take home the two points.
Friday night football will feature a pair of games which will have huge implications on the make-up of the top 8. Cronulla should be strong enough defensively to counter a Canberra squad depleted by injury and suspension, while I am backing a Bennett bounce back when the Broncos tackle the Panthers. Penrith welcome back Maloney and Cleary, but with a spot in the top four still on the table, I just can’t see Brisbane letting this one slip away.
Newcastle will make it two straight for the first time in 14 years when they topple the Titans, South Sydney will put an abrupt end to the rugby league renaissance taking place at the Tigers, while the Dragons will perform a Heimlich manoeuvre on their season by punishing the defeated Cowboys.
Knights players celebrate (Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)
Sunday afternoon will see two of footy’s least likeable sides square off when the Roosters take on the Sea Eagles. And while hoping for a nil all draw might be overly optimistic, I still think this will be a low scoring affair. I’ll go with the Roosters because of the Cronk factor, but I won’t enjoy it.
And in Tom’s ‘Rock Solid’ tip of the week, I can’t go past the Warriors. Yes those Warriors. I know we say this every season, but this year just feels a little different for them. They’ll show that last week’s dismantling of the Broncos was no fluke by edging the Storm in a thriller.
Tips: Bulldogs, Sharks, Panthers, Knights, Rabbitohs, Dragons, Storm, Roosters
What a week we’ve got. We close in on finals, Origin and injured players are on the way back and the jockeying is well and truly underway to get the best spot ahead of the year’s second season. Here’s one sentence on each game about what’s certain to happen.
Canterbury will beat the Eels and take home the ‘Who Cares’ cup.
Cronulla will beat Canberra because they’re getting ready for a top four tilt and Canberra took some serious injury body blows this week.
Matthew Moylan of the Sharks catches the ball. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
An almost full strength Penrith will rout the Broncos on their own turf and reestablish themselves as a genuine title contender.
Newcastle will beat the Titans in a grinder that will go to the wire.
Souths and Wests will be a barn burner, with the Bunnies getting the job done for a tenth straight time.
I don’t think St George are genuine title threats, but they’re a genuine threat to North Queensland’s for and against this Saturday. Dragons win.
The Warriors will want revenge for their ANZAC day pasting at the hands of the Storm – they won’t get it. Storm just.
The Roosters will strangle the Sea Eagles and pull away late, keeping their double chance plans intact.
Tips: Bulldogs, Sharks, Panthers, Titans, Rabbioths, Dragons, Warriors, Sea Eagles
Well, fair to say I’m taking a few risks this week. I didn’t have much of a choice really, with a big gap to close and time fast running out. Honestly, I’m starting to feel like the Raiders and Tigers.
But all of the upsets I’ve tipped I reckon might just happen, so let’s run through those games first.
The Bulldogs isn’t really an upset, but it deadset feels like whether the Bulldogs or Eels win it’ll be an upset. Should be absolutely riveting free-to-air TV viewing.
Skip ahead and you’ll note I’ve gone the Titans over Newcastle even away from home. Despite not winning the last two weeks, the Titans were turning things around before that and showed enough against the Roosters last week for me to tip them.
The Warriors to beat the Storm in Auckland screams of desperation, but they have a good record against the Purple Horde, who won’t like travelling straight after Origin. Besides, the Warriors were really good last week and they need to put a few wins in the bag to cement their spot in the eight.
Tyrone May of the Panthers (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
The biggest upset I’m taking this week is the Sea Eagles over the Roosters, who just still haven’t convinced me. To be fair, neither have the Sea Eagles, but their effort against Melbourne, as well as being at home on a Sunday afternoon, tells me there might be something there.
Anyway, back to the rest. Cronulla to beat the Raiders feels like a no-brainer but in reality will be anything but. Those Raiders are dangerous, but much to Tim’s disgust will probably find a way to self-destruct in the last 20.
The Broncos were pretty ordinary last week, so I’ll back the Panthers in to beat them away from home as they start to return to full strength ahead of a push for the finals, while the Dragons also feel like a pretty confident sort of tip over the hapless Cowboys as the Red V try to avoid three losses on the hop.
The Rabbitohs and Tigers will be a truly interesting game on Saturday afternoon. Hard not to go the Bunnies with their form, but Marshall and Farah were on fire last Sunday.
| Round 19 | Tim | Tom | AJ | Scott | The Crowd |
| EEL v BUL | BUL | EEL | BUL | BUL | EEL |
| SHA v RAI | RAI | SHA | SHA | SHA | SHA |
| BRO v PAN | PAN | BRO | PAN | PAN | PAN |
| KNI v TIT | KNI | KNI | KNI | TIT | KNI |
| TIG v RAB | RAB | RAB | RAB | RAB | RAB |
| COW v DRA | DRA | DRA | DRA | DRA | DRA |
| WAR v STO | WAR | WAR | STO | WAR | STO |
| SEA v ROO | ROO | ROO | ROO | SEA | ROO |
| Last week | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Total | 83 | 71 | 82 | 73 | 81 |
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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