It is actually crazy to think that we’ve reached Round 19 of the NRL season. We say this every year, but it honestly feels like yesterday that all sixteen clubs had a fresh slate and lots of people were touting the Broncos as ‘Grand Final specials.’ HAHA!
As always, Thursday evening marks the opening day of Round 19 and the Sharks will attempt to snap a long losing streak when they line up opposite the Cowboys.
There’s plenty of good quality games on the horizon, but none better than Saturday night’s primetime meeting between the Storm and Sea Eagles in Melbourne. Get your noggin around the NRL Round 19 tips below.
The round is underway in the Shire on Thursday night when the Sharks do battle with the Cowboys.
The Sharks keep starting favourites and I must have been watching a different competition, because they’ve been awful, and I simply do not get it. Another loss to the Warriors last week, albeit by a point (a loss is a loss) means that they are winless in five weeks and they are well and truly playing themselves out of finals contention.
The Cowboys themselves are not a finals prospect, but they have managed a few competitive performances recently and cannot be underestimated against this Sharks side, in this kind of form. Their win over the Roosters two weeks back was franked when that side destroyed the Knights last week and I genuinely think that they can and will do some damage here.
The Knights will attempt to rebound from a lacklustre effort when the Tigers arrive in the Hunter on Friday evening.
Nathan Brown’s boys were given a real touch up by the Roosters last week, but there is no denying that they face a far better prospect at home, against the Tigers. They were in the contest until the break and at the point, they all seemingly left for the pub, at least in spirit. Perhaps that is in fact the reason why a local ban from bars is imminent.
The Tigers continue to play with heart, they just don’t seem to have the killer blow that other clubs do. I still think that they can sneak into the eight, but they really need to find a way to win. They finished within the eight-and-a-half-point line that we backed last week, but I think that six and a half is too short in Newcastle.
Fresh off another win, the Rabbitohs return home on Friday night to secure another two competition points at the expense of the Dragons.
Souths keep knocking along and I think that now Origin is in the rear-view mirror, they’ll really put the foot down. They were too good for a spirited Cows outfit in Round 18 and they face an easier task in the Dragons, in my humble opinion.
The Dragons are deserving of fourteenth place and the end of the season cannot come quickly enough. A rebuild appears to be on the cards as several key players apparently want out and their long-suffering fans look to be in for an extension of their long-suffering. They’d need to produce a season-best performance to even go close to the Bunnies.
Yuck, yuck, yuck when the Eels host the Warriors in the unenviable Saturday afternoon timeslot in Round 19.
I still find the Eels extremely difficult to trust, and I actually think that a Premiership is what is required for me to change my mind. I just cannot get myself into any team that is steered around by Mitchell Moses and rather than the Warriors winning, I think that Parramatta remain a live chance of losing this game.
The Warriors are probably the only team that is less trustworthy than the Eels and this therefore makes for an absolute dog’s breakfast of a betting prospect. Neither club boasts particularly sturdy defence and I think that a high scorer is the safest bet on offer.
There is no denying that the Titans went down swinging against the competition leaders last week, and they face a far better prospect, in the form of a far worse opponent on Saturday evening.
For everything you need to know and several tips, check out this week’s Titans Tips RIGHT HERE.
What is easily the best game of Round 19 will materialise when noughties foes Melbourne and Manly trade blows on Saturday night. Boy these sides have produced some epics over the years and given the recent form shown by both (when at their best), I’m quietly confident we’re in for another at AAMI Park.
The Storm have returned in typically outstanding form in 2019; blowing away the competition with a thunderous pack and lightning-quick backs. I’m truly running out of things to say about them, so piss-poor weather gags are about where I am at.
The Sea Eagles are fit and finding excellent form at the right part of the season. A win over Melbourne, which they are more than capable of, wouldn’t only bolster their confidence, but would more than likely seem them climb into the top four.
I think that the Sea Eagles can win, but the line is 8.5 points and way too skewed towards Melbourne, from my perspective.
Betting suggests that the most one-sided match of the round will be saved for the penultimate fixture on Saturday afternoon, and it’s not hard to see why.
The Roosters well and truly sprung back to form in Round 18 and they will be extremely confident of making it two big wins in a row, as am I.
Following last week’s performances, I really don’t think that there’s a lot to say. We’re looking at a live premiership threat and a live wooden spoon threat. If the Roosters are serious, they’ll do this at an absolute canter.
Sunday couldn’t be more cross section and following on from what looks sure to be a trashing, we’ll be treated to Penrith vs Canberra, who are pegged at $1.90 a piece, at publish.
Following a less than convincing start to the season, Penrith have now won seven in a row and produced one of their best performances of the campaign to put forty on the Dragons in Round 18. Obviously, this is a far tougher assignment, but I think they can go on with it at the foot of the mountains and a win over a top four side would do a lot for them.
I don’t think that the Raiders have been quite as good recently, but they have still been winning and probably do deserve slight favouritism here, given their overall 2019 record.
I’m well and truly staying away from head-to-head betting and I think that this will be a real arm wrestle.