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The Roar's NRL expert tips and predictions: Round 13

5th June, 2019
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Souths players celebrate. (AAP Image/Darren England)
Expert
5th June, 2019
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Silly season has arrived! In most competitions, that refers to the trade period, or the stretch before the finals. But no, here in the NRL, it refers to the month and a half where the top rugby league competition in the world is broken in half by State of Origin. Here to walk you through the madness is the The Roar’s NRL expert tipping panel.

It’s hard to say exactly how many players are going to back up from Origin on the weekend, but all 16 teams will be in action again, and there is plenty to chat about in the lead-up.

Last weekend, we only had the four games, and just when you thought tipping performances couldn’t get any worse after a Round 11 which saw upset after upset… Well, for some of us, they did.

For a change, it wasn’t me going the opposite way though! I managed to score three and top the round alongside AJ, while The Crowd had two. The Barry and Stuart sat at the back of the line, scoring one.

Of course, the positive of low scores in a four-game week is that you can’t lose too much ground, which they haven’t.

As it stands The Crowd sit on 58, The Barry is 56, AJ and myself are tied on 53 tips and Stuart is one further back.

The Origin lottery will mean there are plenty of tips going each and every way across the board this weekend, and the table at the bottom will reflect that.

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Souths host Newcastle less than 48 hours after Origin, while the second game on Friday sees the Tigers and Raiders face off.

Saturday’s triple-header begins in Auckland as the Warriors look to go on their usual giant-killing run in June and July against the Storm, before the Sharks host the Eels and the Cowboys host Manly.

The Broncos host a rare Sunday afternoon game in the south-east Queensland derby against a struggling Titans, the Panthers play the Roosters, and the Bulldogs and Dragons all get a five-day recovery after Origin as they clash on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday. How. Good. A public holiday. Cheers to the Queen!

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 (AEST) on Friday afternoon.

AJ Mithen

Tips: Knights, Raiders, Storm, Eels, Cowboys, Broncos, Roosters, Dragons

I’m typing this on my phone during a 15-minute work break, so you can marvel at how accurate these tips were on Monday!

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Newcastle will be fresher and hungrier against Souths and will put on a show. Souths aren’t going to be too worried about dropping this one.

My beautiful, decimated Raiders will put their obligatory 55 on the Tigers at the new playpen, while Melbourne will grind over the Warriors, who I am never ever tipping again.

(Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Parramatta over the Sharks, who for some reason are considered favourites.

Cowboys over Manly in a sneaky good one and Brisbane over the Gold Coast in a blatantly bad one.

Roosters will get Penrith because they just won’t let them score while the Dragons will wrap up the round with a most unconvincing win over the Dogs.

Stuart McLennan

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Tips: Rabbitohs, Raiders, Storm, Sharks, Sea Eagles, Broncos, Roosters, Dragons

Another bad round of tipping from me. It’s getting monotonous. My form mirrors my team, the Wests Tigers. Reasonable start, then declining into a string of poor performances.

The results will hinge on the ability of Origin players to back up for their club sides, but I am not sure I can find any excuses there.

The Rabbitohs vs Knights match on Friday shapes up as a good one. Souths will have James Roberts looking to impress his old mentor at his new/old club and the Origin contingent will return barring injuries. South Sydney at home in a close one.

(AAP Image/Darren England)

The Raiders have a good recent record against the Wests Tigers and on paper look too good again with Papalii, Wighton and Cotric back from Origin duty and Rapana an inclusion. Maguire is shopping a few players around and hoping to buy a few others to improve his side.

How long will Ryan Papenhuyzen be on the bench before Bellamy unleashes this weapon against the Warriors? RTS will look to match the young rookie in the attacking department. Can’t go past the competition leaders in Melbourne though.

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The Eels had a win last week against a depleted Rabbitohs side. The Sharks look stronger and should be too good at home.

The Cowboys and Sea Eagles will have players coming back from Origin. Tom Trbojevic has been named at fullback. I will stick my neck out and tip Manly here.

Again it will depend on who backs up but the Broncos look to have the Titans measure here.

The Panthers still have a long way to go and while the Roosters have been down on form, I think they will be too classy on this occasion.

You would expect the Dragons to win against the last-place Bulldogs. The game will be close, but expect a St George Illawarra victory.

The Barry

Tips: Souths, Tigers, Warriors, Sharks, Cowboys, Broncos, Roosters, Dr..dr..dr..dragons

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It’s been a tough few weeks tipping, and now we enter the Origin lottery to boot.

Souths host the Knights just 48 hours after Origin 1, so it’s anyone’s guess which of their respective representative players will back up. If either David Klemmer or Kalyn Ponga are out, I think the Knights might struggle. Because they’re at home, I’ll tentatively tip Souths.

Not only do the Raiders have to contend with a big injury list and three players backing up from Origin, but they’ve got one of their players suspended for eye-gouging! Tigers more settled and at home, so they get my tip.

I haven’t checked it out lately, so it’s probably one of those things that’s become more myth than fact that the Warriors seem to do well against the Storm. One thing is for sure though, and that’s the Warriors surge during Origin and I’ll think they’ll get Melbourne here.

The Sharks are starting to get troops back with Moylan at fullback, while Johnson and Graham named on the extended bench. The Eels have named Nathan Brown on their bench. Sharks.

Speaking of comebacks Tommy Turbo has been named at fullback for Manly. It’s been too long since he’s been out on the field. Des is playing ducks and drakes a little with Cherry-Evans and the other Turbo brother named on the extended bench, but you’d think they’d both play if they pull up alright. The Cowboys are running into form and will be too good at home though, although note that I haven’t tipped a Manly game correctly since Round 3… 2013.

Sea Eagles player Tom Trbojevic

(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

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The Broncos lose Segeyaro to a drink driving suspension, but Andrew McCullough has been named at 14, eight weeks ahead of schedule. I don’t think many at the start of the season would have figured that as a trade down. Broncos too strong for the Titans.

Roosters are paying $1.44 with Tedesco, Mitchell, Cordner and Crichton backing up from Origin and Keary and Friend out injured. I’ve got a feeling there could be an upset here… I just don’t have the guts to back it in.

Signing backrowers, then alienating them and then signing more backrowers is an interesting line for a rookie coach to take, but that seems to be Dean Pay’s MO this year.

It’s not often that Paul McGregor comes into a clash looking like the master coach. The Dogs have won something like 12 of the last 14 games between the two and I hate tipping the Dragons at the best of times, but Dean-o, what choice are you giving me?

Scott Pryde

Tips: Rabbitohs, Raiders, Storm, Sharks, Cowboys, Broncos, Panthers, Dragons

Lottery time! And I’m coming off a good week, so that means I must be due for a terrible one. Disregard these. Or use them at your own peril.

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The Rabbitohs, to me, look a very good footy side. They will have questions about Origin and backing up, but then, the two guys the Knights are virtually relying on in Kalyn Ponga and David Klemmer will have also played on Wednesday night. Hard to see Newcastle getting up away from home after a good winning streak.

Canberra and the Tigers shapes up as a tough clash to predict, but the Tigers just haven’t impressed me all that much, so let’s go the Green Machine.

Tipping the Storm feels like a massive risk, but I just can’t bring myself to pick the Warriors, despite the run they normally go on through the State of Origin window. Melbourne also won’t be that heavily impacted by Origin, given Cameron Smith will play off a couple of weeks of rest.

Cronulla beating Parramatta seems like a pretty sure thing to me. It’s not that I don’t rate the Eels, I just don’t rate them away from home. Cronulla have Matt Moylan back as well.

North Queensland and Manly is another tough game to tip, but the Cowboys have impressed me the last few weeks. Their defensive effort has been outstanding, and as I wrote in talking points on Sunday evening, the wheels are starting to show some signs of falling off Des Hasler’s bus. The Cowboys must whether the early storm caused by Addin Fonua-Blake and Martin Taupau though.

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The Titans are untippable at the moment, and their attack against the Cowboys was putrid. Brisbane in a game which will put me to sleep on the call.

I’m going to then stick my neck out and tip the Panthers. The Roosters have many backing up, and I’ve just got a feeling.

Then, the Dragons. They have been shocking, but this is a statement sort of game for them. They have to announce that they are back after the bye, otherwise, we might as well slam the door shut on their chances of playing finals this year. It helps tipping them that the Bulldogs have been even worse.

(AAP Image/Darren England)

Be sure to get your tips in on the form below by 5:30pm (AEST) on Friday, and we will have the results in the table and comments section below.

Round 12 AJ Stuart The Barry Scott Crowd
RAB v KNI KNI RAB RAB RAB RAB
TIG v RAI RAI RAI TIG RAI TIG
WAR v STO STO STO WAR STO STO
SHA v EEL EEL SHA SHA SHA SHA
COW v SEA COW SEA COW COW COW
BRO v TIT BRO BRO BRO BRO BRO
PAN v ROO ROO ROO ROO PAN ROO
BUL v DRA DRA DRA DRA DRA DRA
Last week 3 1 1 3 2
Total 53 52 56 53 58
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