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Opinion
Well, Round 9 was a turn-up for the books.
The NRL had started to get into a familiar rhythm where the favourites seemed to be winning way more often than not.
And then the Raiders upset Manly at Brookvale, the Roosters knock over the Broncos in Brisbane and the Dolphins shoot down the Cowboys up north and the Knights continue the Warriors’ form slump.
Most tipsters were lucky to end up with four right for the round.
Among The Roar’s panel of experts last week, the best of a bad bunch were Mary Konstantopoulous, coincidentally doing well in the round when she didn’t have to tip her beloved Eels, and Stuart Thomas with five apiece.
There are a few each-way bets in Round 10, starting with Thursday night’s Suncorp Stadium showdown between the surging Dolphins and a Sea Eagles side coming off a shock loss at home.
Parra are a strong chance of an upset coming off the bye at CommBank Stadium against a Broncos side missing Adam Reynolds, the Tigers vs Knights clash at Tamworth and the Dragons/Dargons vs Rabbitohs meeting at Kogarah could go either way while the match of the round on Saturday night features the top-of-the-table tussle in Melbourne with the Storm tackling the Sharks.
Honestly, how hard is it to spell Dragons correctly? To make the error once on a commemorative jersey is bad but too maek speling errers twice is imforgivable.
The Roosters should be too strong for the Warriors while the Titans and Cowboys is no sure thing for North Queensland even though they are favourites.
Jack Bird looks dejected after being told his 150th NRL game jersey has Dargons stitched onto it. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Here’s how the experts see Round 9 unfolding.
Dolphins, Panthers, Broncos, Tigers, Dragons, Storm, Roosters, Cowboys
A few big guns return for the Dolphins for their clash with a furious Manly team that threw two competition points away last weekend. Get on the Farnworth train, with Kodi Nikorima pulling the strings at Suncorp Stadium. Penrith too good for the Dogs on Friday and I’m tipping a Bronco win later that evening, despite thinking the Eels are a real shot at home.
The Tigers showed plenty against the Dogs early and the Knights finally found some respectable form in Round 9. This should be a good one and Scully Park might be in for a treat. Tigers, I think?
The Dragons and Bunnies at Kogarah on Saturday? Seriously, who cares? Two teams on the slide and if the Dragons lose this one, I’m not sure how the coach could possibly excuse the performance.
The Storm and Cronulla looks like a belter and a real audit of where the Sharks are at. Melbourne at AAMI is tough to tip against and Munster will dominate from the start. It is a little tough to get a read on the Roosters, so hot and cold they have been.
The Warriors are in free-fall, can they find form? I think they can but the Roosters halves will be too controlling for them and manage the contest well.
The Cowboys need to find some consistency and a good starting point
would be a win against the Titans. Set to be a dangerous proposition
for the remainder of the year, Gold Coast will challenge but the
quality at six and seven for North Queensland will be enough to get
them home.
David Fifita. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Dolphins, Panthers, Broncos, Knights, Dragons, Storm, Roosters, Titans
The Dolphins will be glad to be back at home and with Kenny Bromwich also back, I think they’ll take that critical win in Townsville with them and build on the result. While the Sea Eagles have had ok form the last few weeks, I feel they haven’t been firing as much as they could be, and it could come back to bite them here.
Sorry Doggies. I’ve been enjoying Canterbury’s resurgence this year but Penrith is gonna trash them at home. Nathan Cleary is back too, just forgot to mention.
So, how is my favourite part-time side doing? Ya good? Ya enjoy the bye. Here’s the bloody Broncos straight off the bat!
This should be a belter in Tamworth, hope the country folks turn out in droves. Reckon this will be a closer game than expected but with Jacob Saifiti and Tyson Frizell back, the Knights should get home.
If you had told me that I’d be tipping the Dragons over the Bunnies at the start of the season, I’d have asked you if I was under the influence of something when I did it. But here we are. Latrell Mitchell is a key return but it won’t be enough at Jubilee Stadium.
Match of the round by a mile, maybe even a contender for the match of the regular season. Both sides look menacing, physical and aggressive, even without several key players. I’m going Melbourne, but based purely on home-field advantage. If it was the Shire I’d be right back the other way. A thriller by less than a try.
My heart wanted to go for the Wahs, but that was until my head pointed out to it that the Chooks are welcoming back Spencer Leniu, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Daniel Tupou and Victor Radley. It should be a good match, but the home side should get it done.
This will be a very close match to close out the weekend, and I think the Titans are an improving side since this corresponding fixture in Round Five. The Cowboys have fallen off, despite the opposition – yeah there have been some tough fixtures in there, but there have also been some games they really should have put away. It’s a good time to strike if you are Des Hasler, and with the Titans at home, there should be enough of a reason for them to get up for this.
Dolphins, Panthers, Eels, Knights, Dragons, Storm, Roosters, Cowboys
That Wayne Bennett guy can coach so I’ll be taking the Dolphins in an upset while Penrith have too many big guns for the Bulldogs.
Newcastle are closer to Tamworth than the Tigers so they’ll win there and St George Illawarra are due for a good performance after a couple of down weeks.
The Eels are refreshed after having the week off and Adam Reynolds’ absence will be tough for Brisbane to overcome while the Storm at home should just have enough oomph to get past the Sharks.
There’s something brewing at the Roosters and the Warriors are going backwards and in the last game it’s a 50-50 proposition so I’ll take the Cowboys with not much confidence.
Sea Eagles, Panthers, Broncos, Tigers, Dragons, Sharks, Roosters, Titans
Manly need to get their act together – they can’t seem to string more than a couple of good performances together and need to lift on their second-half effort last week against Canberra or the Dolphins will continue their encouraging sophomore campaign.
Penrith have the knowledge of knowing the playing style of half the Canterbury team of ex-Panthers while the Broncos’ lack of a halfback won’t be as bad as Parra’s lack of a halfback and fullback.
Wests Tigers have Api Koroisau back so their flamboyant style will outscore Newcastle’s grinding methods.
Cronulla have a chance to kinda show they can beat a top team although the Storm have Ryan Papenhuyzen and Jahrome Hughes out so it won’t count as much as it normally would.
The Roosters could put a big score on the Warriors judging by the recent form of both teams while the Titans somehow are going better than the Cowboys over the past month. Scary.
Aidan Sezer is placed on report by referee Kasey Badger. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
Dolphins, Canterbury, Brisbane, Newcastle, St George Illawarra, Melbourne, Roosters, Titans
Time to swing for the fences, kids. Let’s get some upsets in here and make things interesting. Follow along if you’re not cowardly!
Dolphins will get Manly because they’ve got an unpredictable attack. Bulldogs will get Penrith because they’ll be up for this game like no other (and there’s inside knowledge plus better players now). Brisbane will stumble past the Eels, Newcastle will be able to defend the Tigers and the Dargons should be able to handle South Sydney, but this one might be closer than we reckon.
Storm over Sharks, Roosters over Warriors and I think the Titans finally get themselves back in shape with a horrible looking win over the feckless Cowboys.
Dolphins, Panthers, Broncos, Knights, Dragons, Sharks, Roosters, Titans
We’re returning to the reverse psychology for Manly this week, who are favourites to beat the Dolphins but are prime candidates to instead beat themselves and thus lose. They’ll probably win but I’m tipping Redcliffe to cover my Beaches backside.
Penrith are playing Penrith-lite and thus will win relatively easily. Alamoti for a cathartic try, too.
The Bronx are missing a few, Parra are missing more. I’ll take Brisbane on the assumption that Parra will gift them points.
The Tigers are down plenty and I can already see Kai Pearce-Paul striding over the top of Bud Sullivan. Knights by a few.
Souths have Latrell back but 17 more players out, so unless he’s worked on multiplying himself across multiple bodies in the last month, the Dragons will win.
Is the Sharks winning in Melbourne an upset? It might not be given the lack of options for the Storm and how Cronulla have been playing. I’m pushing the boat out and tipping them right now.
The Wahs have been going like busteds, the Roosters have been racking up points. Easy tip for Easts.
The Cowboys can’t defend and the Titans, though they haven’t been winning, have performed less terribly that usual. They’ll get over the line here.
| Round 10 | Stuart Thomas | Nick Wasiliev | Mary Konstantopoulos | Paul Suttor | AJ Mithen | Mike Meehall Wood | The Crowd |
| DOL v MAN | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Manly | Dolphins | Dolphins | ? |
| PEN v CBY | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Bulldogs | Panthers | ? |
| PAR v BRI | Broncos | Broncos | Eels | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | ? |
| WST v NEW | Tigers | Knights | Knights | Tigers | Knights | Knights | ? |
| SGI v SSY | Dargons | Dargons | Dargons | Dargons | Dargons | Dargons | ? |
| MEL v CRO | Storm | Storm | Storm | Sharks | Storm | Sharks | ? |
| SYD v NZW | Roosters | Roosters | Roosters | Roosters | Roosters | Roosters | ? |
| GCT v NQC | Cowboys | Titans | Cowboys | Titans | Titans | Titans | ? |
| Last Round | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 2024 tally | 47 | 45 | 39 | 47 | 41 | 47 | 45 |
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