We’ve arrived at the penultimate week of the 2019 NRL regular season and there is still a lot on the line for about twelve clubs. For the other four, the biggest test for the remainder of the year will inevitably be fitting into women’s clothing at Mad Monday celebrations.
The minor premiership is still on the line, top four spots are still on the line, finals berths are still on the line. Feast your eyes on the NRL Round 24 tips and preview below.
As always, Thursday night marks Round 24’s launching fixture and it should be a reasonably competitive game between the Cowboys and the Bulldogs in Townsville.
The Cows season is over, but the Dogs incredibly remain a mathematical chance of making the finals. They just need to win their two remaining games and hope about 20 other results, mostly upsets, go their way.
Regardless, there is no denying the Dogs’ resurgence and they’ve beaten several clubs that are far better than the Cowboys. Not much else to say, other than the $2.07 on offer at publish is overs.
Ladder positioning doesn’t really back up this statement, but we’re set for an intriguing one when the Warriors host the Bunnies across the ditch on Friday evening.
Typically, the Warriors have been bad more often than good all season and they’re on track to finish around thirteenth, as our pre-season preview dictated. On occasion, they’ve managed a decent performance against a high-rating rival and anything close to their best would see them a difficult prospect for a Rabbitohs side that really isn’t in form.
The Bunnies did bounce back into the winner’s stall at the expense of the Broncos last week, but there was clearly a lot more than two competition points on the line there and I’m not actually too sure the form out of it will be strong.
The Warriors weren’t quite able to cover the line that was set by the bookies when they travelling to the Shire last week, but I do think that they are up to covering this one.
Surprise, Surprise; the Friday night primetime game takes us to Brisbane, where the Broncos and Eels will each attempt to atone for Round 23 losses.
The Broncos weren’t able to get one over Wayne Bennett last week but given half their side is still probably playing for the bloke, it was perhaps less than surprising. They line up opposite an Eels side who, in my opinion, will also just be making up the numbers in September and with a finals berth already locked in, I can’t imagine they’ll be too focused on the job here.
Prior to last week, I thought that the Broncos would win all of theirs and the Eels will lose all of theirs. I’m still on track for one of those things and for that reason I’m with the Broncos here, but the $1.65 on offer in head-to-head betting is under the odds.
One that’s sure to go down in the history books is likely to materialise when the Neds Gold Coast Titans travel south to the Hunter on Saturday afternoon.
Boy, haven’t the Knights fallen off the perch!? They have gone from a top five prospect to one of the worst teams in the league again, within like a six-week period. Good to see the boys standing up for their long-suffering fans yet again.
This is the Titans’ time to strike and I think that they’ll do it.
I’m a bit worried to do this given the 5/10 game that materialised when I declared it last week, but the match of the round is surely going to take place when the Sea Eagles host the Storm at Brookie on Saturday evening.
There is no denying that Manly were only at about 60% capacity last week, but they still managed to beat the Raiders IN Canberra and are flying well towards the finals. They’ll obviously need a vastly improved performance this week, but they’ve already beaten the Storm in Melbourne this year and typically improve tenfold on the Northern Beaches.
The Storm produced arguably their worst half of football against the Titans before comfortably taking the game away in the second half, and while they’ve still been winning more often than not, they are clearly in something of a slump. This is their toughest prospect in a few weeks, and I don’t think they deserve favouritism.
Penrith at the club with the unenviable task of lining up opposite the Roosters in Round 24 of the NRL.
The reigning premiers are on track for another glittering finals campaign and in my opinion, another likely premiership win, and the Panthers stand little chance of containing them for 80 minutes, if at all.
The line is a pretty sizeable 12.5 points, but I think that the Roosters could have that covered at the break and only open the gap in the second forty.
Betting suggests that we’re going to be in for a quality contest when the Raiders arrive in the Shire on Sunday afternoon.
The Sharks have made things pretty difficult for themselves all season, but they’ve started winning at the right time and after comfortably account for the Warriors in Round 23, actually find themselves back in the eight.
The Raiders suffered a hard-fought defeat to the Sea Eagles on Sunday, but there is certainly arguments to be made for them being unlucky not to have won. Regardless, it’s onwards and upwards, and I think that their performance here will be a genuine indicator of their legitimacy as a premiership threat.
I think that the bookies have just about got this one right, but I’m still more than happy to be with the Raiders to win.
Not the kind of inspiring end to a round that you’d often hope for, but Wests Tigers (proudly sponsored by Neds) can take another big step towards the finals by beating the Dragons.
The Dragons promised so much at the beginning of the year but have clearly been the league’s big underperformers and focus is now surely on which costume to wear on Monday week. They were beaten comfortably by the Roosters in Round 23 and while this is a step down in class, I think they’ll still be well and truly up against it.
Everything is on the line for the Tigers and last week’s thrashing of the Knights suggested that they are well and truly up to the task. I think that they deserve to start favourites here and while there’s still a bit of meat on the bone at $1.77, the line is only 1.5 points.