The NRL season is chugging along nicely now and the ladder is beginning to take a familiar shape; the Melbourne Storm undefeated at the top.
It hasn’t quite been the s**t show that the AFL has been from a betting perspective, but plenty of roughies have been getting up and I’m pretty confident of that continuing through Round 4.
Check out our NRL Round 4 tips and a preview for each match below.
Plenty suggested that these would be the two clubs trading blows on the final Sunday of the season and while there’s still plenty of time for both to build legitimate claims, the Broncos will need to improve tenfold if they aren’t to enter Round 5 with a 1-3 record.
The Dragons have clearly got a mental edge over the Broncos, but to win last weekend after two puss performances of their own probably put Brisbane’s backbone under the microscope, more than anything.
The Roosters have seemingly clicked into gear and they’ll only improve fourth-up and at home. The line looks a very achievable figure for them.
I said it after Round 1 and I’ll say it again. The Neds Gold Coast Titans are Chautauqua – they spot their rivals a big start and fly home to win it on the line. The undefeated South Sydney were lucky to fall in last weekend and when the Gold Coast put it together for the full eighty on Friday evening, it’ll prove to be another long night at the office for the Warriors.
Speaking of which, they were clearly made to look good by an ordinary Bulldogs side first-up because their losses to the Tigers and Sea Eagles have easily made the top five for worst performances of the 2019 season so far. Dally M Medallist Roger Tuivasa-Sheck really needs to find a bit of that form, or his side are going to be winless for the rest of the campaign.
A tough Round 3 result for the former ladder leaders and the Tigers will be eager to respond when they travel to the foot of the mountains on Friday night. The ran into a Bulldogs side that was clearly desperate for a result, but there was still a bit to like about their performance, particularly in the second half.
The Panthers have weathered a tough start to the season; they lost to the lowly Eels first-up and while they did enough to beat a pretty ordinary Knights side second-up, they were delivered a justifiable beating by the Storm last week. The key to their success lies with players like Campbell-Gillard and Tamou gaining metres and protecting their small but quick backline.
Penrith are far too short in head-to-head betting and I’m happy to be with the Tigers to bounce back.
Perhaps the most intriguing contest in Round 4 and what a great excuse to stop mowing the lawn and sit down in the heat of Saturday afternoon.
The Sea Eagles franked the form that they showed in the second half of their game with the Roosters when they absolutely destroyed the Warriors last weekend, while Souths were extremely lucky not to lose to the Titans after nearly blowing a big lead.
Tom Trbojevic could be the best player in the league. I’ve said it. His ability to single-handedly lift this team is actually impossible to describe and he does everything with such ease. MASSIVE headache for Souths this weekend.
I get it – the Rabbits are undefeated and the Sea Eagles are 1-2 but when considering the way that both sides played last week, I couldn’t be more pleased to side with Manly, particularly as such ridiculous outsiders.
Call me a pessimist, but I’m going to go ahead and call them the ‘down and out’ Cowboys, who face another tough task in the form of the Canberra Raiders on Saturday evening. Even if I’ve jumped the gun on that, it’ll be interesting to see if they can reel back in the opposition in the latter half of the season if they lose often while Jason Taumalolo is out, which I am assuming that they will. Last week’s loss to the Sharks in Townsville suggested that they cannot play out the full eighty and things are looking a bit bloody grim.
The Raiders are a tough side to analyse and even tougher to trust from a betting perspective, but they recorded their second win of the season at the expense of the Knights last weekend and looms as a live chance of a third in Round 4. I potted the decision to sign more English forwards pre-season, but John Bateman has been a star and he’ll be a real handful for this Cowboys defence.
The chink in their armour was found by the Roosters last weekend and the Eels’ performance against the Sharks in Round 4 will be a real indicator of their actual ability and prospects in 2019.
The Sharks were utterly dominant in the second half of their game with the Cowboys and if they carry that form into this game and hold it all together for 80, then they will comfortably win again.
I don’t understand why the Eels are favourites and the even money that is on offer for the Sharks could prove to be the bet of the round.
Any chance that the Bulldogs had of capitalising on the winning form that they found last week was gone before it arrived, given they are now faced with the Melbourne Storm.
Melbourne have made a habit of completing dismantling sides for the best part of two decades now and that has certainly been the case during the first three rounds of the 2019. They are $1.12 favourites for this game and therefore easily the shortest price of any club in Round 4 and should probably be displaying a quote of closer to $1. With Keiran Foran also on the sidelines, the Bulldogs will be pumped.
An interesting end to the Round 4 action but yet another instance where I’m happy to back the outsider. The Knights stole a win in Round 1 and have lost their next two, while St George fought back into their game with the Broncos IN BRISBANE and won, and the are the $2.10 outsiders in this one. I don’t really know what else to say, happy to take the $2.10 – thanks very much.