The final round of the NRL season is here. The eight teams to make up the finals are set, but there could still be plenty of jostling for positions, so The Roar‘s NRL expert tipping panel are here to tell you exactly what is going to happen.
With top eight teams getting beaten by bottom eight teams and a general air of unpredictability over the competition on the run to the finals, tipping has been something of a nightmare these past few weeks.
In saying that, AJ continues to show his class, getting six tips right last week and powering away to what is now a three-point lead over The Crowd and four over Tim.
Tipping the Bulldogs to beat the Dragons proved to be the difference maker, and honestly, why anyone tipped the Dragons after what they dished up is beyond me.
Speaking of the Dragons, they could finish eighth on the ladder. With a for and against already lower than the Panthers, it may only take wins from the Warriors (over the Raiders) and the Broncos (at home over the Sea Eagles) to push them to the bottom of the eight.
At the top of the ladder, the Storm will be heavy favourites despite their injury toll to wrap up the minor premiership against the Panthers on Friday night, while the Rabbitohs take on the Tigers and Roosters play the Eels with both teams trying to regather their form before the finals.
The other match this weekend takes us to the Gold Coast as Johnathan Thurston plays his final NRL match.
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.
With an intriguing round ahead, let’s rip in. It’s AJ off first.
Tips: Rabbitohs, Warriors, Storm, Knights, Titans, Roosters, Sharks, Broncos
It’s a tough round to pick, the final round of the regular season. Higher teams are switched off, lower teams are switched on (sometimes) and we might see a few interesting results. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Souths will tune up against Wests in a close one, the Bunnies just want to make it to next week with no injuries or suspensions.
The Warriors will beat the ‘fast finishing’ Raiders because a home final is on offer.
Penrith are a huge chance against the Storm, who have a top two spot locked away and right rest some key players… But it’s almost madness to pick the Panthers on current form.
Newcastle will send their year off right against the Dragons, who have had a week they’d rather forget.
I’ve got the Titans in a squeaker on the Gold Coast against North Queensland in JT’s final ever NRL game. Last week was a big effort by the Cowboys full of emotion and if the Titans play hard that should do the business.
The Roosters are not looking too flash but they’re so entrenched n the top four it doesn’t really matter. They’ll account for the Eels in one of those weird, quiet games.
Cronulla and Canterbury will be a good game – by the time this game rolls around Penrith and St George will have already played, with a better than even chance the Sharks will be secure in the top four. That could affect their approach to this one, but I think they’ll still get the win against a Bulldogs team that has shown plenty in the second half of the season.
It’s interesting timing too for Brisbane versus Manly. The Broncos may need a win to jump into fifth or sixth position and a home final… Luckily they only have to beat Manly to do it. Manly beat Brisbane up north in Round 10, but that most definitely will not happen again.
Darius Boyd of the Broncos (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Tips: Rabbitohs, Raiders, Storm, Dragons, Cowboys, Roosters, Sharks, Sea Eagles
The Rabbitohs just have to get it together and win. There is no other option and with the Tigers having nothing to play for, it’s hard to tip for them.
Meanwhile, the Raiders have found the sort of form the Warriors hate. Dedicated defence and strong line speed, all while playing with a point to prove. The Warriors will capitulate here.
James Maloney is back for Penrith’s trip to Melbourne and that will make a difference, but the Storm are starting to roll. They will get away with a win at home.
Am I stupid? Yes. I’m tipping the Dragons to beat the Knights and stop the rot. The Knights without Kalyn Ponga… Well, they will go close, but ultimately will fall short.
Johnathan Thurston’s last NRL game on the Gold Coast. Will it be enough to get the Cowboys over the line against a pretty decent Titans side who want to end their season with a win? I think yes. Cowboys to win.
The other Saturday game, I have looked at every possible way the Eels might beat the Roosters. I want it to happen. The Eels are consigned to the spoon though so they don’t really have anything to play for but their hatred of the Roosters. It won’t be enough.
Cronulla have a top four spot to play for. The Bulldogs renaissance has been great, but the Sharks have to win to make the four most probably.
All logic points to Brisbane beating the Sea Eagles, but without Andrew McCullough and the Sea Eagles having their back against the wall, I’m tipping Daly Cherry-Evans and the Turbo brothers to inspire Manly to a win.
Tips: Rabbitohs, Warriors, Storm, Dragons, Cowboys, Roosters, Sharks, Broncos
This is it. After serving up 24 rounds of utter garbage, I’m going to give you eight of my finest tips to finish off the season. For those of you still reading my tips, and I know there can’t be many of you, I’m going to reward your misguided faith with, wait for it, a guaranteed perfect round!
It all starts tonight when South Sydney host the Tigers. Of all the slumping Top 4 sides, the Bunnies have the capacity to turn around their fortunes the fastest. Seibold will have ripped them a collective new one after their loss to Canberra, and I’m banking on a fired up Burgess trio being too much for Wests to handle. Souths by 12.
Adam Reynolds of the Rabbitohs (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
The Raiders have been in red-hot form of late, which isn’t surprising as they are no longer in semi-final contention. If they’re on, I can see them putting 40 on the Warriors. But asking the Raiders to focus for three consecutive weeks is like asking a goldfish to remember his phone number – impossible. Warriors by 4.
Penrith would struggle to beat the Macquarie Scorpions on current form, so they’re unlikely to trouble the Melbourne Storm. The inclusion of James Maloney is certainly a positive for the Penrith attack, but it’s also a plus for the Storm attack. Expect giant men in purple to run at the jelly-armed number 6 early and often. Storm by plenty.
The Dragons will continue to torture their fans with a convincing win over Newcastle, the Cowboys will send JT out a winner with a comprehensive belting of the Titans, the Roosters will get back on track with a comfortable victory over a Parramatta side already planning their Mad Monday controversy, while the Sharks will do their best to dampen some 2019 Canterbury enthusiasm.
The Dragons were booed by their own fans after shambolic 38-0 loss
And in Tom’s ‘Rock Solid’ tip of the week, I’m predicting Brisbane to end Trent Barrett’s tenure at Brookvale in the worst possible circumstances. The Broncos have been the most impressive side over the last month, and it should come as no surprise that Bennett has his boys firing at the pointy end of the season. This is their time of year. Sorry Trent.
Tips: Rabbitohs, Warriors, Storm, Dragons, Cowboys, Roosters, Sharks, Broncos
Look, let me get the elephant in the room out of the way first. Do I actually think the Dragons are going to beat the Knights?
No, probably not. This side just don’t look like getting it done at the moment, but they did play much better last time they were trounced 40-0 (or a similar scoreline), so with no Kalyn Ponga, just maybe their defence will toughen up and the Knights will drop enough ball to keep them in it.
I’m hoping anyway.
Let’s deal with the top four. The Storm will win because they are at home and want to enter the finals with a win. The Panthers form is also pretty abysmal, and while James Maloney might make a difference to their attack, he isn’t going to fix up a defensive line which looked like it didn’t want to be there last week.
The Storm’s Billy Slater. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The Rabbitohs and Roosters are in a position where they simply must win. Entering the finals on the back of three straight losses is what I like to call a recipe for problems, so they should beat the Tigers and Eels respectively.
At the other end of the eight, with the Dragons winning and the Panthers losing, there would still be a home final up for grabs between the Warriors and Broncos, if they can both win that is.
And I expect them both to win as well. The Warriors were classy last week, and at home again this week, they should have far too much for the Raiders, while Brisbane should also maul the Sea Eagles whose defence has been about as much use as a wet lettuce leaf these past few weeks.
So while I’m tipping the games to fall that way, the Raiders defence has been better and I tend to think the Broncos will grab a home final, potentially even against the Warriors.
The Sharks should beat the Bulldogs as well. That’ll be a bit of a canter I suspect. The Bulldogs have been better, but it might be a rough end to the season for them.
I’ve saved the goat for last. Johnathan Thurston’s last NRL game. Surely the Cowboys send him out a winner? The only question here is whether the Cowboys played their effective grand final last week, as they did last year in the preliminary final before not being able to get up for the big one.
| Round 25 | Tim | Tom | AJ | Scott | The Crowd |
| RAB v TIG | RAB | RAB | RAB | RAB | RAB |
| WAR v RAI | RAI | WAR | WAR | WAR | WAR |
| STO v PAN | STO | STO | STO | STO | STO |
| KNI v DRA | DRA | DRA | KNI | DRA | KNI |
| TIT v COW | COW | COW | TIT | COW | COW |
| EEL v ROO | ROO | ROO | ROO | ROO | ROO |
| BUL v SHA | SHA | SHA | SHA | SHA | SHA |
| BRO v SEA | SEA | BRO | BRO | BRO | BRO |
| Last week | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Total | 105 | 97 | 109 | 96 | 106 |
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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