NRL Round 13 Preview

NRL Round 13 Preview

The split-round of the competition will see a number of the teams fielding weakened sides due to the State of Origin interruption.

The Sea Eagles will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing one-point loss to the Raiders last week.

Manly will open the action against a Cowboys side that has struggled to replicate the form that saw them fall at the final hurdle to the Melbourne Storm.

South Sydney will be looking to continue their electric form when they take on the Sharks.

The Eels have the opportunity to put the poor result against the Broncos behind them when they do battle with the Knights.

In the final match of the round, the Roosters will be looking for revenge against the Wests Tigers, who caused a major upset, winning a close game against the Roosters in the opening round of the competition.

Manly Sea Eagles v Nth Qld Cowboys
Manly win 13+ points ($4.25)

The Sea Eagles will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of last week’s one-point loss to the Raiders, when they clash with the Cowboys at home.

Manly are within will be relying on Daly Cherry-Evans to remind the Queensland Origin selectors of his potential with a vintage performance against Jonathan Thurston.

The Cowboys will be without a number of key players who have been called up to Origin duty for Queensland and will need a vintage performance from Thurston to notch their fourth win of the season.

North Queensland have a stellar record against the Sea Eagles but have only managed a single victory on the road this season against Penrith in round nine.

The Cowboys will be desperate to send Thurston out a winner this season and will need to dig deep to turn their fortunes around. The Sea Eagles had the game in the bag last week up until the final minutes and don’t expect lightning to strike twice.  The Sea Eagles should be able to record a comfortable victory and end the Cowboy’s hopes of finals football in 2018.

 

South Sydney v Cronulla
Cronulla to win 1-12 points ($3.10)

The Sharks are set to welcome back Andrew Fifita to a side as the Sharks will only be missing winger Valentine Holmes to Origin duty with Queensland.

The Sharks have a forward pack that also includes Luke Lewis, Wade Graham, Paul Gallen and will be looking to extend their run to seven games and cement their position in the top four.

The Rabbitohs are set to be missing a number of key players including Greg Inglis and Dane Gagai for Queensland and Angus Crichton and Damian Cook remain in the contention for NSW .

The Rabbitohs were outstanding last week against the Warriors in Auckland, but with a number of key players missing, the Sharks should be able to grind out a close win.

 

Parramatta Eels v Newcastle Knights
Parramatta to beat the line (-4.5 points)

Parramatta will be happy with the improvement that they showed last week against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.

The Eels have endured a tough season and the clash with the Knights offers Parramatta to notch their third win of the season. The Eels haven’t lost any of their key places to Origin this year and coach Brad Arthur will look to keep Clint Gurtherson in the halves to spark the Eels attack.

The Knights were put to the sword last week by the Sharks and will be hoping that young fullback Kalyn Ponga can make an impression against an improving Parramatta side.

The Eels will return to form this week and expect them to notch their third victory of the year and spark their season to life.

Sydney Roosters v Wests Tigers
Rooster to win ($2)

Sydney are expected to be without the likes of James Tedesco, Latrell Mitchell, Dylan Napa and skipper Boyd Cordner.

Cooper Cronk will come up against Benji Marshall for the second time this season and the former Melbourne Storm playmaker will be eager to even the ledger after the Tigers got the jump on the Roosters in the opening round of the competition.

The Tigers were able to grind out a win against the Bulldogs last weekend and have the dodged the injury curse so far this season.

The halves pairing of Marshall and Luke Brooks will cause the Roosters plenty of headaches but Sydney should be able to grind out a close win at Allianz Stadium