For a while there, the 2020 NRL season looked to be in serious danger, but all of a sudden, we’re into double-figures!
Round 10 of the NRL is underway on Thursday night, with what once shaped as a terrific contest between the Roosters and the Raiders.
$2 lines available on all games in Round 10 of the NRL here at Neds, and that’s where I’ve looked for this week’s value!
When the NRL resumed this would have been a mouth-watering prospect but instead, a bit of a mismatch between the Roosters and the Raiders will get us underway in Round 10.
They lost to the Storm in extra time two weeks ago and while they were less than inspiring in the first half of their Round 9 clash with the Cowboys, the Roosters did everything they needed to do in the second 40.
It actually looked like they were trialling something different, it didn’t work, then they went back to their tried and true formula and absolutely destroyed what has become a pretty hopeless Cowboys outfit.
The Raiders suffered another defeat in Round 9, this time to the Storm, and they really haven’t looked like a Premiership threat since Round 3.
To add insult to injury, star hooker Josh Hodgson limped from the field with an ACL injury and has now been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
With that, the Raiders went $7 out to $15 in our 2020 Premiership market.
The line is just 10.5 points at publish and at $2, I think that looks a terrific bet.
Betting suggests that the most one-sided game of Round 10 will come up first thing on Friday evening, but I’m not so sure.
HOW GOOD WERE THE NEDS TITANS IN ROUND 9!?
It was a slow start for Justin Holbrook’s boys against the Warriors, but they kept their minds on the task, fought back into the contest, and finished over the top.
That was their third win of the season and in my opinion, you can never count out a team with renewed confidence, in any situation.
To their credit, the Storm have really pulled themselves back into Premiership contention these last few weeks and they proved far too good for the Raiders on Saturday night.
They deserve their favouritism, but not as short as $1.10.
An intriguing contest between Wests Tigers (proudly sponsored by Neds) and the Brisbane Broncos occupies Round 10’s primetime slot.
The Tigers have returned some gutsy performances in 2020 and enter Round 10 with a 4-5 recording, remaining eighth on the ladder.
They ran into a good South Sydney side in Round 9 and while they returned another typically tough effort, they just ran out of steam late in the picture.
There’s no doubt that this represents an outstanding opportunity to return to winning form.
It was a long and arduous wait, but the Broncos fans finally had something to cheer about in Round 9.
Their performance and win over the Bulldogs was excellent, certainly required, but given the standing of that opponent in the 2020 season, their performance this week will be a far better indicator as to how they’re actually going.
There is no doubt that the Tigers should be starting favourites but backing a team head to head in this one scares me.
The Dragons and the Bulldogs will do battle in the first of three Saturday games in Round 10.
The Dogs play with plenty of character but nearly every week, they cannot go with their opponents for the full eighty.
That was certainly the case for them against the Broncos in Round 9 and given the form of that side since the return from the COVID break, it’s hard to make a case for them beating anyone in the near future.
They were down and out just a few weeks ago, but a win over the Bulldogs in Round 10 would incredibly see the Dragons to the edge of the top eight.
Their win over the Sea Eagles last weekend was clinical.
You can say what you like about Manly being under strength but at the end of the day, St George could only play the side they were faced with, and boy did they.
They’ll take plenty of confidence into this one and I really can’t find a reason why they can’t win again.
Good contests don’t come much better than this.
Certainly not if betting is to be believed – when markets went up earlier this week, we were faced with $1.90 each for the Rabbitohs and the Knights.
Souths continued on their merry way in Round 9 with a gritty win over a tough Wests Tigers outfit.
That was their fourth win in five games and another real testament to their legitimacy, moving into the second half of season.
The Knights stayed in their Round 9 game with the Eels, all the way up to the siren.
They even crossed for an equaliser with literally minutes to run on the clock but by the barest of margins, Tex Hoy was ruled as offside.
At publish, the market now stands at Souths ($1.80) vs Newcastle ($2) and given that I rate both sides equally, I’m happy to take Newcastle at the line as the outsiders.
Manly will take on Parramatta at Brookvale Oval in Saturday night’s primetime slot.
Remember when these two sides met just after the COVID break? We’ve seen some terrible decisions made in 2020, but none worse than that apparent forward pass call that denied Manly the win.
Since then, it really has been a tale of two cities.
Parramatta has won virtually every week and firmed in Premiership betting, while Manly lost their talisman and have noticeably drifted in Premiership betting.
It’s said week in, week out, but it couldn’t be truer – the Sea Eagles are not a Premiership threat without Tom Trbojevic.
That was more than underlined when they slumped to yet another defeat in Round 9, this time to the previously down-and-out Dragons, and to the tune of 34.
I hardly think that they can turn it around against the competition leaders.
Sunday footy takes us back to Central Coast Stadium and another tough task awaits the Warriors, this week in the form of the Cronulla Sharks.
They were deserving winners over the Broncos two weeks ago and while they looked set to make it two in a row on the Gold Coast, the Warriors simply could not withstand a constant battering from the Titans in the final 15 minutes.
The Sharks couldn’t account for the red-hot Panthers last weekend, but they still managed to score four tries, and this is a significant drop in class for them.
They’re reasonably tough to trust, but the Sharks are deserving of their favouritism here and they should bounce straight back into the winner’s stall.
Another seemingly one-sided affair will bring us home on Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers have gone to another level this season and they are a serious top four prospect.
A thrashing win over the Sharks last week was just the next step on the path and it would take a herculean effort for the Cows to even compete for the full eighty let alone win.
A good first half against the Roosters was completely undone when the Cows leaked plenty of points in this second half and realistically, this isn’t a whole lot easier.