NRL Round 19 Tips & Preview

NRL Round 19 Tips & Preview

We’ve reached the penultimate week of the NRL regular season and the top eight is a lock!

Many games in Round 19 feature a firm market favourite but incredibly, betting suggests that the most one-sided match of the week will actually materialise in the only clash between two top eight clubs.

You can find all of my thoughts and NRL Round 19 tips below.

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Canterbury Bulldogs
Souths (-16.5)

There are plenty of firm favourites in Round 19 betting, and South Sydney are certainly one of them.

The Bunnies have really started to click into gear recently, but they were made to work for it by the desperate Tigers in Round 18 and probably were lucky to fall in.

Alas, they line up opposite the last-placed Bulldogs this week, whose best chance of a final win of 2020 was probably against the out of form Sea Eagles last week, and even that proved to be a bridge too far.

I think that the market has got this one spot on, the Bulldogs stand virtually no chance and I more than happy to take Souths at the $2 line straight off the bat.

North Queensland Cowboys vs Penrith Panthers
Panthers (-15.5)

At publish, both Friday games are interestingly showing the same odds in match betting; $5.50 vs $1.14.

I’ll let you figure out which of those quotes is the Cowboys and which is Penrith.

To their credit, the Cows actually haven’t been awful for the last couple of weeks.

They snapped their nine-game losing streak against the Dragons two weeks ago, and certainly kept the Storm on their toes in the second half of their Round 8 contest.

The Panthers have been faultless though, and they will secure the minor premiership by (when) beating the Cowboys in Round 19.

It will be a fitting confidence boost as we head into the finals, and I really can’t see this being particularly competitive.

Parramatta Eels vs Brisbane Broncos
Eels (-15.5)

The pain and suffering of the Broncos fans will last just two more weeks, but first, we could be set for a cricket score when they line up opposite their bogey side on Friday night, the Paramatta Eels.

Week-in, week-out, punters have refused to abandon the Broncos in betting, and that was definitely the case again ahead of last week’s match with Queensland’s leading side, the Neds Titans.

As was always going to happen however, they went to water, didn’t win, failed to cover the line and everything in between.

They meet a Parra side that is definitely out of form, but who have also been hanging out for an opportunity like this one to bounce back.

Bad things have happened to the Broncos in the rivalry a lot recently, and I don’t see a reason why they won’t again.

Manly Sea Eagles vs Gold Coast Titans
Titans (+5.5)

One of the weekend’s more intriguing and well-matched fixtures will take place between the Sea Eagles and Titans on Saturday afternoon.

Bluntly, the Sea Eagles have been just awful without Tommy Turbo, and surely the offseason on the Northern Beaches will be used to find an actual contingency plan, should this happen again in 2021.

They got a soft kill over the Dogs in Round 18, but that’s hardly good form, and they’d certainly need to improve to win again.

Another week, another win for the Titans in Round 18, this time over the Broncos.

There are few things sweeter than clean sweeping another club in any season, but that certainly goes to another level when it’s at the expense of ‘big brother’.  

Interestingly, the Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval were one of only five games that the Titans won last season, so the belief is definitely there.

I’m going to play it safe and take the $2 line.

Melbourne Storm vs Wests Tigers
Favourites 6 Pack

Our beloved Wests Tigers’ finals hopes were dashed in Round 18, and they now face the unenviable task of lining up opposite NRL powerhouse, the Melbourne Storm.

No one could possibly accuse the Tigers of not putting in the effort in 2020.

They have all the heart and drive necessary of a premiership team, they’ve just lacked the depth, suffered a few key injuries and have perhaps just lacked a top-line player of two to really make it count.

The Storm have been the Storm for much of 2020, we all know what that means, and I personally think that they are the club to beat heading into the finals.

They proved too good for a spirited Cows outfit last week, and while we love them, it really is tough to make a case for the Tigers here.

With some of the league’s dangerous weapons lining up for the Storm, and the league’s top try scorer in David Nofoaluma going around for the Tigers, this week’s tip seems a pretty obvious one.

Sydney Roosters vs Cronulla Sharks
Roosters (-18)

It’s the only top eight clash in Round 19, but betting suggests that it will also be the most one-sided contest.

Even with a few key injuries, the Roosters have really starting to regather the form that has seen them into the last two NRL premierships.

That was evident in last week’s demolition of the Knights, which followed a real statement win over the Raiders in Round 17.

The Sharks are simply impossible to trust from a betting perspective, and I think even a lot of their head office would agree with me when I say that they are merely filling the numbers in this season’s finals.

Last week’s win over the Warriors was OK, but this is an enormous step up in class for them, and they’ve tended to go to water whenever the pressure has gone on in 2020.

Canberra Raiders vs New Zealand Warriors
Raiders (-14.5)

Another good opportunity awaits the Raiders when the Warriors roll into the nation’s capital on Sunday afternoon.

There’s no doubt that they would have been disappointed with the loss to the Roosters two weeks ago, but the Raiders responded with a really impressive display against the Dragons in Round 18, and they take all the momentum into this match.

I don’t really understand how the bloke still garners plenty of criticism, and I think that this season more than any has underlined just how good of a coach Ricky Stuart is – the winning mentality never leaves the Raiders, even when the chips are down.

We all owe the Warriors a huge congratulations and thanks for the sacrifices they’ve made for the sport this season, and it would have been fitting to see them tough their way into the finals.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, and I think they’ll simply face too great of a task in Round 19.

Newcastle Knights vs St George Illawarra Dragons
Dragons (+8)

Certainly not the match of the round, but I think that this game between the Knights and the Dragons will be far more competitive than the odds suggest.

The Knights are top eight side that I consider to be a complete myth in 2020, and they have well and truly fallen out of form at the worst possible time.

They were flogged by the Roosters last week, the Warriors three weeks ago and barely scraped home against some really bad teams prior to that.

The Dragons also haven’t been great and won’t play finals footy, but the talent is certainly there, and I think they have quite bright prospects with Anthony Griffin at the helm in 2021.

The Knights should be winning, but how many times have been said that and been stung?