And just like that, a new NRL season is here.
Round 1 gets underway with Penrith taking on Manly as the BetDeluxe crew finds all the best bets from every game this weekend.
sydney vs. newcastle
march 12th 3:00pm
The Sydney Roosters will be hoping more luck is on their side in season 2022 when it prepares to face the Newcastle Knights at the SCG on Saturday.
The Roosters were dogged by countless injuries last season, but were still toiling away at the pointy end of the season.
Coach Trent Robinson has just recently put pen to paper on a five-year contract and that will have the club up and about.
Two of the Roosters more influential stars make their returns from injury with Luke Keary and Lindsay Collins set to hit the field alongside captan James Tedesco.
The Knights might prove a bit tougher to crack than first thought, having bolstered up their squad post 2021.
The signing of Dane Gagai gives the Knights more strike power on the scoreboard, but it will not be enough to stop the Roosters.
Suggested Bet: Sydney -12.5 at $1.85
new zealand vs. st george illawarra
march 12th 5:30pm
At its home away from home, New Zealand gets its season underway with a season-opening fixture against St George Illawarra at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
Both teams are looking to make big bounds on what they did in 2021.
The Dragons will front up with a new-look line up having made five acquisitions to their roster in the off-season.
Aaron Woods, Jaydn Su’A, Francis Molo, Moses Mbye and centre Moses Suli will all make their debuts for the Dragons.
They will combine with the juvenile talents of Tyrell Sloan, Talatau Amone and Zac Lomax.
There looks to be a heap of upside with the Dragons this season.
The Dragons looked slick in the Charity Shield during the pre-season and that form can translate to a win here.
Suggested Bet: St George Illawarra -2.5 at $2.01
wests tigers vs. melbourne
march 12th 7:35pm
Craig Bellamy and the Melbourne Storm spend season number 20 together as they get ready to face Wests Tigers in Round 1.
The Storm will travel over to CommBank Stadium for this season-opener and will field a host of club debutants after some wheeling and dealing in the off-season.
Having lost star trio Josh Addo-Carr, Dale Finucane, Nicho Hynes to Cronulla, the Storm went about signing recruits Xavier Coates, Nick Meaney and Josh King to replace those big names.
The Tigers did some work of their own in the pre-season and look a much stronger squad with the signings of Jackson Hastings, Oliver Gildart and Tyrone Peachey.
All three players looked slick in the Wests trial win against Sydney Roosters.
The Tigers will definitely improve this season and should give them Storm a competition for long part of this contest.
However, Melbourne just know what winning is all about and there is no reason to hop off them.
Suggested Bet: Melbourne Storm -13.5 at $1.83
parramatta vs. gold coast
march 13th 4:05pm
Parramatta will be hoping the familiar surroundings of CommBank Stadium and a rowdy crowd will be the perfect tonic to a fast start in season 2022 against Gold Coast.
The Eels looked in good touch during the pre-season with all their stars building strongly towards Round 1.
Mitch Moses, Dylan Brown, Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard all had influence in the trial games and will be looking to bring that form against a Titans team which has some dangerous players of its own.
The Titans will look towards David Fifita, Kevin Proctor and Isaac Liu to provide the spark.
The Eels should be able to get the season off with a win.
Take the line.
Suggested Bet: Parramatta Eels -5.5 at $1.77
north queensland vs. canterbury
march 13th 6:15pm
After a dark 2021 season, a new light shines on the Canterbury Bulldogs heading into Round 1 of 2022 against North Queensland.
The ailing fanbase of the Bulldogs has been starved of success in recent times and the pressure on coach Trent Barrett is almost at fever-pitch.
Canterbury did not show a hell of a lot in its pre-season trial games with a 16-16 draw against Newcastle being followed up by a lacklustre 30-6 result against Cronulla.
Scoring has been a huge issue for Canterbury and those struggles might very well be on the cards again.
The news for the Cowboys regarding skipper Jason Taumalolo has been positive and he is set to play after a minor hamstring niggle which kept him out of the trial games.
All signs point to the Cowboys getting the win on their home deck after an impressive win against Broncos in the final trial game of their pre-season.
Suggested Bet: North Queensland head to head at $1.85
