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They say Round 1 is the hardest of the season to tip, and many will be hoping that’s the case, with improvement surely in order for tipping this weekend. Welcome to The Roar’s NRL expert tipping panel.
My start to the week was going brilliantly. I was five from five. Then, I ended up five from eight. How cruel. Of course, hard luck stories seemed to follow the panel, and followed everyone I talked to during the week around like a bad smell.
Five was the panel’s top score of week one, with The Crowd and Stuart also achieving that mark.
AJ picked up four tips as he starts his quest to defend the title, while new addition The Barry went a bit left-field, lone-wolf style as he described it, and ended up with a mere three points.
Early days, but take it from someone who has finished well in arrears the last two years – you don’t want to start poorly, because it’s a long way back.
Round 2 kicks off at Kogarah as the Dragons host the Rabbitohs, before the Storm travel for a bogey game against the Raiders in the nation’s capital.
The Queensland derby will fire up on Friday night with the Broncos taking on the Cowboys, before the Sharks host the Titans, the Sea Eagles face up to defending premiers the Roosters, and Penrith make a tough trek up the F3 to play Newcastle.
The final matches of the round will see the Bulldogs play the Eels while they both still have something to fight for (although, the Bulldogs won’t for long if they play like they did last week), and the Tigers hosting the Warriors, who were outstanding back in Auckland last week.
Don’t forget to join in with your tips at the bottom of the article to try and beat the experts in 2019 as The Crowd and try your luck in our Roar NRL tipping comp. Crowd tips will close at approximately 5:30pm (AEDT) on Thursday afternoon.
Stuart will lead us away this week.
Tips: Rabbitohs, Storm, Broncos, Sharks, Knights, Roosters, Eels, Warriors
The footy’s back and so is my tipping form. Five out of eight was not the result I was looking for but I am focussing on the present.
The best match of the round will go down in the nation’s capital on Friday night. The Raiders look to be in for a big season after keeping the Gold Coast to nil at Cbus. John Bateman proved yet again that Ricky knows how to recruit an Englishman. The Storm will bring class and precision to Canberra. Storm with no confidence.
(AAP Image/Daniel Pockett)
The Rabbitohs look too strong for a depleted Dragons side that couldn’t match it with the Cowboys in Townsville.
Anthony Seibold will have been working hard to get his halves on track for the match against the Cowboys. Michael Morgan and Jason Taumalolo were on fire last weekend against the Dragons and will be hard to stop. Despite this, I am tipping the Broncos at home in a close one.
The Sharks were solid last round against Newcastle without getting the win. They will be too good at home for Gold Coast who have injuries to key personnel.
Ivan would have been disappointed with the Panthers in Round 1. Penrith will travel to Newcastle determined to take the two points. The Knights are a different team this year and I expect they will salute at home.
The Sea Eagles looked shaky and lacklustre at Leichhardt against the Tigers and Trent Robinson will be itching for a victory after the premiers went down to Souths. Easts to win.
The Bulldogs were substandard in New Zealand while Eels fans will be eagerly waiting to see whether Dylan Brown can match the hype for two games in a row. Parramatta will be too strong.
The Campbeltown game is a tough one to pick. Wests Tigers eventually got the job done against Manly while the Warriors looked powerful against an inferior Bulldogs outfit. Warriors, but only just.
Tips: Rabbitohs, Raiders, Cowboys, Sharks, Knights, Roosters, Eels, Warriors
Last week, the Dragons got stomped by Jason Taumalolo. This week they’ll get stomped by Souths who will lift the Wayne Bennett Cup.
My beautiful Raiders host Melbourne, who are coming off a restful eight-day break while Canberra get a five-day break plus interstate travel after a slog in the wet. Raiders by 14.
Brisbane and North Queensland should put on a ripper as usual, but the Cowboys will get the win because their halves are better (at the moment). And they’ve got that dude called Taumalolo.
Cronulla should beat the Gold Coast in the Shire, with the Titans hobbled by injury to Ash Taylor and Tyrone Roberts, two fairly key parts of the Titans’ gameplan.
(Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)
The Roosters will knock over Manly. Rough early few weeks for the Sea Eagles.
A very interesting game in Newcastle when the Panthers come to town. Penrith have plenty to prove. They might not prove enough this week though. Knights, but with absolutely zero confidence because Penrith aren’t terrible.
I’m giving the Bulldogs a month before I write them off. They won’t be that bad every week and they don’t deserve to be death-ridden like they are just yet. They’re a chance to beat the Eels, but Parra will just shade it.
Sunday’s game in Campbelltown will see the Warriors and the sensational Adam Keighran take down the Tigers, who were good but not great in a regulation win over the powerless Manly.
Tips: Rabbitohs, Storm, Cowboys, Sharks, Knights, Roosters, Bulldogs, Tigers
How did I get myself into this mess? One week and three points later and I’ve already learned it’s far easier slinging shade at the experts from the cheap seats than going public. Oh well, only 24 weeks (plus finals) to go…
The Rabbitohs put together the most impressive, complete performance of round one. The Dragons are now missing Jack de Belin, Tyson Frizell and Tariq Sims from their pack. Rabbitohs.
Strong performance in awful conditions from the Raiders last week while the Storm were dominant but far from clinical. I’m tipping the Storm but it wouldn’t blow my hair back if the Raiders got up at home. Can we tip each way Scotty? (Scotty’s note: No. We can’t.)
With last week’s best forward Matt Lodge out suspended, it wouldn’t surprise if coach Seibold tried a revolutionary new strategy of not using any reserves in his rotation. While JT13 up against TPJ sounds like a Star Wars droid battle, their clash in the middle should be huge.
Hard to gauge where the Sharks and Titans are at as both teams played most of last week with their first choice halves watching on. However, Sharks.
The Panthers’ 2018 season was built on giving away big leads and storming home late. Against the Eels, they got it half right. Knights to win at home.
The only team worse than Manly last week was… Hang on, we’ll get to that. Roosters by plenty.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
What half-baked, clutching-at-straws justification can I come up with to tip the Bulldogs off the back of a 36-point flogging? The bounce-back factor. Yep. The bounce-back factor will get the Dogs home against fierce rivals the Eels.
Two former foundation clubs with 220 years of combined history come together to celebrate their 20-year anniversary. Hard to rate either the Tigers’ or Warriors’ performances from last week. Were they good or the opposition poor? Probably a bit of both. Leaning towards the Tigers.
Tips: Rabbitohs, Raiders, Cowboys, Titans, Knights, Roosters, Eels, Tigers
Where do you start this weekend? It’s pretty clear there are going to be a lot of tough games, caused by teams trying to fight back from Round 1 losses.
The Queensland derby is as good a place as any to start. There have been some ripping matches served up in this rivalry over the last few years, but this could be anything but.
The Broncos pack already struggled last week, and now that Matt Lodge is suspended, Michael Morgan and Jason Taumalolo will lead the Cowboys right over the top of them.
I’m also going to go against the grain and take the Raiders at home. The Storm have often struggled in Canberra, and there might be a little bit of a let-down after their stunning start against Brisbane last week.
The other eye-catching game for mine this weekend is another Newcastle home game, as they take on the Panthers.
Let’s not beat around the bush here. Penrith were hideous last week against the Eels, but I can’t see them playing that poorly again.
Newcastle’s execution against the Sharks was lacking, but their effort and intensity weren’t, so with combinations starting to gel, I see them sending the Panthers to a zero and two start.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
At the start of the weekend, I’m tipping against the Dragons, who weren’t all that good in humid conditions against the Cowboys last week. Souths were excellent against the Roosters and combined with a five-day turnaround, this will be a bridge too far for the Red V.
In the other Saturday matches, I’m going to back the Titans to get their first win of the season in the Shire, and at the moment, you have to take whoever is playing Manly, so the defending premiers will make amends for last week and get their first victory of the season.
On Sunday, the Eels will get the better of a battling Canterbury outfit, although I’d expect the blue and white to improve from last week, before the Tigers make it two from two against the Warriors, who will run into some problems on the road, and against a much stronger opposition than their Round 1 hammering of the Bulldogs.
Be sure to get your tips in on the form below by 5:30pm (AEDT) on Thursday, and we will have the results in the table and comments section below.
| Round 2 | AJ | Stuart | The Barry | Scott | The Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRA v RAB | RAB | RAB | RAB | RAB | RAB |
| RAI v STO | RAI | STO | STO | RAI | STO |
| BRO v COW | COW | BRO | COW | COW | BRO |
| SHA v TIT | SHA | SHA | SHA | TIT | SHA |
| KNI v PAN | KNI | KNI | KNI | KNI | KNI |
| SEA v ROO | ROO | ROO | ROO | ROO | ROO |
| BUL v EEL | EEL | EEL | BUL | EEL | EEL |
| TIG v WAR | WAR | WAR | TIG | TIG | TIG |
| Last week | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Total | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
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