With injuries and upsets making up a huge Round 1 of the NRL season, the BetDeluxe team is on hands again to find the best bets for what is sure to be a huge second week of the season.
St George and Penrith get us underway in the NRL preview.
st george vs. penrith
march 18th 6:00pm
Penrith looks to keep its fast start to the season on track when it faces St George Illawarra on Friday night.
The Panthers were without captain Nathan Cleary in the 28-6 win over Manly and will be without him again here.
St George, meanwhile, opened its 2022 account with an emphatic 28-16 victory of New Zealand as it looks to make inroads in the top eight.
The Panthers did belt the Dragons last time they played each other which was back in Round 21 last season.
Being without Cleary is not the disaster we though it might be.
The reigning premier obviously has a system which stands up regardless of personnel.
Panthers to 2-0 and cover the line.
Suggested Bet: Penrith -10.5 at $1.88
gold coast vs. new zealand
march 19th 3:00pm
Both the Gold Coast Titans and New Zealand Warriors are looking to bounce back off Round 1 losses when they face each other at Robina Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Titans were stiff in their 32-28 loss against Parramatta last week and really just need to tighten up defensively to be winning this contest as the $1.32 favourites.
Brian Kelly, Toby Sexton and Phillip Sami will be the offensive weapons the Titans use to get at this shaky Warriors defence.
Suggested Bet: Gold Coast -8.5 at $1.91
cronulla vs. parramatta
march 19th 5:30pm
Parramatta travels away for the first time in 2022 when it readies itself to face Cronulla on Saturday evening.
The Eels came away with a big 32-28 win in what was a war of attrition on the scoreboard against the Gold Coast Titans.
Cronulla, meanwhile, fell short at GIO Stadium against Canberra last week and will need to get its act together in front of its home fans.
Dale Finucane and Nicho Hynes will need to be their very best to stop a dangerous Eels outfit.
Think this game will be close for a while, but the Eels will pull away late.
There is too much firepower on the Eels’ end to be coughing this one up.
Suggested Bet: Parrmatta Eels -2.5 at $1.90
north queensland vs. canberra
march 19th 7:35pm
The Green Machine of Canberra is on the hunt for a consecutive victories to start the season when it travels up to Queensland for a battle with the Cowboys.
The Raiders made the best possible start in a bid to put to rest their disappointing 2021 season with a gritty win against Cronulla, while the Cowboys fell short against last year’s wooden spooner Canterbury in what was an ugly low-scoring affair.
North Queensland has lost its last five games in a row on its home deck and it means the market is siding with the Raiders from a head to head perspective.
However, the Cowboys will take some confidence from last time they played the Raiders.
It was a Round 7 win in 2021 for the Cowboys who stormed home from 18 points down to beat the Raiders 26-24.
There is still a lot of trust to be gained from Ricky Stuart’s men just yet and this has the makings of a very close contest.
Suggested Bet: North Queensland +2.5 at $1.80
newcastle vs. wests tigers
march 20th 4:05pm
After sending shockwaves through the NRL, Newcastle Knights will look to continue their winning momentum when it faces wests Tigers.
The Knights scored a famous upset victory against the Sydney Roosters at the SCG in Round 1 and they come into this clash as the -7.5 favourites.
Newcastle looked a completely different outfit to the team that was fielded in 2021.
It looked slick ball in hand and very sturdy on the defensive without the ball, and that spells trouble for a Wests Tigers squad which fell short against Melbourne Storm.
There was some real substance about what the Knights dished up last week and we will be backing that winning form here.
Suggested Bet: Newcastle Knights -7.5 at $1.85
canterbury vs. brisbane
march 20th 6:15pm
The two basement teams of 2021 seem to be going in similar directions when the Canterbury Bulldogs meet the Brisbane Broncos in Round 2 of the NRL.
Both the Broncos and Bulldogs scored big victories in Round 1 as they begin their paths up the NRL table.
Brisbane’s win was definitely the more impressive of the two after it managed to knock off South Sydney despite being without star signing and new captain Adam Reynolds.
Canterbury, meantime, scored a brutally ugly 6-4 win over North Queensland, but it was hard not to sit back and admire a win on the road for a Bulldogs team that has been under the pump.
Travelling to Townsville and nabbing the win, especially for a team that won the wooden spoon in 2021, was never going to be an easy task.
The home-ground advantage also has to count for something here, so, in a flip of the coin match, we will go with the Bulldogs to cover.
Suggested Bet: Canterbury +2.5 at $1.86
