We head towards the finals as Round 21 kicks off on Thursday night.
The best best for the rest of the round are in.
Newcastle vs. Brisbane
August 5th 7:50pm
Newcastle need a win against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium to keep the pulse beating on its top eight chances.
The Broncos will likely prove stiff opposition after their 37-18 win over state rival North Queensland last week.
The Knights, however, will be full of confidence after bringing Canberra’s winning streak to an end thanks to a 34-24 victory.
Desperate times call for desperate measures and this is one of those moments for Newcastle.
Suggested Bets: Newcastle -11.5 at $1.81
Canberra vs. St George Illawarra
August 6th 6:00pm
Canberra will attempt to get back into winning form against St George after its winning streak was cut short by Newcastle.
The Raiders catapulted themselves into finals contention but hit a blip on radar last week, while St George, despite being belted by South Sydney, remain hot on the heels of Canberra.
Late heroics by Corey Norman saw the Dragons take out the first game between these two teams in 2021 with a 22-20 victory, but the Raiders look a different team to the one earlier this season.
Expecting the green machine to score victory here and continue its charge toward finals.
Suggested Bet: Canberra Raiders -11.5 at $1.89
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Canberra head to head
Leg 2: Total points scored under 50.5
Leg 3: H. Smith-Shields
Combined odds = $4.2
Parramatta vs. South Sydney
August 6th 8:05pm
Parramatta will be on the hunt to put a halt to its form dip against South Sydney.
The battle for a top four spot will not be made any easier against a South Sydney squad coming off an ominous 50-14 belting of St George.
The Eels need to somehow revitalise themselves after being spanked with a 28-0 loss against a rampant Sydney Roosters.
South Sydney look more trustworthy to be with at the moment, especially with the form of Latrell Mitchell who scored two tries in the win over the Dragons.
Suggested Bets: South Sydney -10.5 at $1.94
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: South Sydney head to head
Leg 2: J. Mansour to score a try
Leg 3: L. Mitchell to score a try
Leg 4: Total points over 50.5
Combined odds = $4.33
New Zealand vs. Cronulla
August 7th 3:00pm
New Zealand put an end to its seven-game losing last week and now meet Cronulla who is putting together to broken pieces of a disappointing loss to Manly.
The horrific injury toll for the Warriors sees them out of the finals race this year but the form it showed last week proved it is still hungry for scalps.
Cronulla will be fully aware this is a danger game.
Jesse Ramien returning will help the Sharks’ cause here.
Suggested Bet: Cronulla -9.5 at $1.87
Sydney vs. Penrith
AUgust 7th 5:30pm
The injury curse does not end for Sydney as it hits this game against Penrith after belting Parramatta 28-0.
Josh Morris remains on the sidelines and his absence will be felt in this game against a Panthers side desperate to bounce back from a humbling 37-10 defeat against premiership favourite Melbourne.
The Panthers have already smashed the Roosters this season and it’s rare for them to have two losses in a row.
Expect a big response from Ivan Cleary’s men.
Suggested Bet: Penrith Panthers -9.5 at $1.89
Canterbury vs. Wests Tigers
August 8th 1:50pm
The Wests Tigers have some pride to restore after letting a 10-point lead slip away in a two-point loss against the depleted Warriors last weekend.
The Bulldogs would just like to stop leaking points as they let the Titans put 34 on them – the third week in a row oppositions have scored 30 or more.
But the NRL season stats for these two clubs don’t offer much hope as the Bulldogs are second-worst and the Wests Tigers third for the number of penalties conceded.
Picker the less of two evils and going with Wests.
Suggested Bet: Wests Tigers -6.5 at $1.90
Gold Coast vs. North Queensland
August 8th 4:05pm
Finals are well and truly on the agenda for Gold Coast after getting its act together and gets a golden opportunity to cement its spot in the finals against a North Queensland team out of form.
The Cowboys are staring down the barrel of eight straight losses if it cannot get up and about for this game.
The last three losses have all but ended their top eight hopes, but that won’t mean much against a state rival.
The Titans will have the hunger of missing the finals by one spot in 2020 burning them deep inside them here and that should be enough to spur them on.
Suggested Bet: Gold Coast -12.5 at $1.90
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Gold Coast Titans head to head
Leg 2: D. Fifita to score a try
Leg 3: Total points under 55.5
Combined odds = $4.5
