NRL Round 1 Tips & Preview

NRL Round 1 Tips & Preview

Months of anticipation will end on Thursday when the 2021 NRL Premiership season officially begins!

All sixteen clubs are offered a clean slate and fresh prospects – Can the Storm go back-to-back without Cam Smith? Will the Roosters return to the peak, or will another club reign supreme in what is sure to be another exciting and unique season?

Each and every week I will offer my thoughts on every match and offer my best betting play, and it all starts with the 2021 NRL Round 1 Tips below.

Melbourne Storm vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Souths to Win ($1.95)

There is a genuine case to be made for this being a Grand Final Preview.

The Melbourne Storm enter the 2021 NRL Premiership season off the back of another impressive campaign that culminated in yet another Provan-Summons Trophy.

It was a (seemingly?) fitting end to the career of one of the game’s best-ever players and club legend, Cameron Smith, and while that looks like a massive loss on paper (it surely is), the Storm have once again proven they are the league’s best at developing and blooding by locking in future star Harry Grant to cover the hooking role.

As is the case with most teams, there will be several new faces in purple this season, along with a few other big-name vacancies.

They line up opposite a South Sydney side on Thursday night that is brimming with talent and hunger, and who have continued to improve with each season under super coach Wayne Bennett.

Maintaining fitness for the entire season is key, but they appear to have the makings of a serious title contender in 2021, and even against the Storm’s impeccable first-up record, I’m confident they will begin the season on the right foot.

Newcastle Knights vs Canterbury Bulldogs
Bulldogs (+5.5)

An intriguing match will take place between the Knights and the Bulldogs in Newcastle first-up on Friday.

A lot of was expected of the Knights in 2020, but they buckled under the pressure more often than not, and they ultimately returned another lacklustre season.

A similarly large amount is expected of them this year, and while I’m sure they will improve somewhat for that campaign and with more direction from coach Adam O’Brien, I’ve been bitten by them too many times from a betting perspective and I really will need to see it before I believe it.

The Bulldogs had absolutely no chance of producing anything of worth in 2020. Rocked by a ridiculous scandal, full of young blokes and without a whole lot to play for, they rarely looked like winning.

Fast forward to 2021, and while I’m sure they’ll need a couple of seasons to become a genuine powerhouse, they’ve definitely been one of the NRL’s most impressive offseason performers in terms of signings. Kyle Flanagan and Nick Cotric lead the list this season, with a few others set to join the ranks in 2021.

I can make a case for both sides and for that reason, I’m going to take the Dogs at the line as outsiders.

Brisbane Broncos vs Parramatta Eels
Eels (-8.5)

A little solace for Broncos fans ahead of the 2021 season surely is that the only way is up.

Whether or not that begins in Round 1 however is certainly up in the air, as they come up against a credible Parramatta side in Friday’s primetime match.

Utterly putrid is probably the nicest and most concise way to describe what 2020 was for the Brisbane Broncos, and it ultimately resulted in their first ever wooden spoon.

Players have left, so too have staff and a clean slate, and prospects ahead of the new season is a win in itself.

I have been a massive pot on the Parramatta Eels for many season, I tipped them to go out of the finals in straight sets last season and was proven correct, and I’m confident of a similar performance and result from them in 2021.

That aside, I still think they have lengths on the Broncos, and I think they’ll be comfortable Friday night winners.

best bet
New Zealand Warriors vs Gold Coast Titans
Titans (-3.5)

The pride of Queensland, the might and glory of the Neds Gold Coast Titans will launch their 2021 campaign against the New Zealand Warriors on the Central Coast, and I am expecting a big performance and win.

There has been a distinct change in culture and mentality since Justin Holbrook too the reins and I simply cannot wait to see what the Titans achieve this year.

I was fortunate enough to sit in on a training session a couple of weeks ago, and you can genuinely take it from me as a footy fan first and foremost that the mood is outstanding and a quiet confidence is brooding.

You need only look at how they concluded last season, coupled with the signings they’ve made in the offseason to know that the sky is the limit for the Neds Titans in 2021.

The Warriors did everyone a solid in 2020 by relocating to Australia and in my opinion, they overachieved.

We all owe them plenty for once again remaining this side of the ditch for at least the beginning of the new season, and they too are sure to enjoy plenty of success in 2021.

I’m simply far too taken by the Gold Coast to tip any other way.

Sydney Roosters vs Manly Sea Eagles
Roosters (-9.5)

The Roosters will launch their eagerly awaited 2021 campaign at home against the Sea Eagles on Saturday afternoon, and I can’t find a reason why they won’t finish in the top four again this year.

Yet again, the Roosters boast one of the league’s standout sides on paper and unlike some other clubs who have that luxury, they actually make it count.

There were many, many times last season that they looked to be on track for the three-peat and while they did ultimately run out of gas late in the picture, they too gain fresh prospects and a clean slate from Saturday.

I also consider the Sea Eagles to be a genuine top six side, but with the league’s biggest IF – Tom Trbojevic’s fitness.

There is absolutely no denying that Turbo is one of, if not the NRL’s best player when he is at full fitness, but cruelly, it seems like there’s never really a time that is the case.

Dessie missed him for most of the 2020 season and it was telling in Manly’s results.

He’s out for at least the first few weeks of the 2021 season and given the Sea Eagles have also lost their star of 2020, Addin Fonua-Blake, it’s tough to make a case for them.

Penrith Panthers vs North Queensland Cowboys
Panthers (-9.5)

The Penrith Panthers went within a sniff of winning the Premiership in 2021, and they will be eager to begin the new campaign on the right foot when the North Queensland Cowboys rolls into town on Saturday night.

They were undoubtedly the league’s benchmark for almost the entire regular season, they just ultimately lacked the September (or October) experience of the Storm in the decider.

I’m personally not confident they can replicate their 2020 heroics, but there is no doubt that this match represents a very healthy first-up prospect for them.

The Cowboys were undone by several key injuries in 2020, but they also just weren’t good enough to mix it with a lot of other sides.

While I’m tipping them to be improvers this year, though perhaps not enough to make the eight, the result of this match looks to be an open and shut case, and it’s not in their favour.

Canberra Raiders vs Wests Tigers
Raiders 1-12 ($2.85)

Another Top 4 side will step out in Round 1’s penultimate contest…. And they’ll be taking on the Raiders!

In all seriousness, we absolutely love our Wests Tigers here at Neds and we can’t wait to see them back in action on Sunday.

They’ve unfortunately lost the services of Harry Grant and the experience of Benji Marshall, but the Tigers have made one big signing; bolstering their pack with James Tamou.

The Raiders have been there abouts for a few seasons now, highlighted by their Grand Final berth in 2019, and while they’ve lost a genuine gun in John Bateman, they too have recruited well, and I think they will go very close in 2021.

The market suggests the Raiders will be winning this one, but I think that the Tigers can and will make a game of it.

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks
Dragons to Win ($2.30)

The Dragons and the Sharks will renew their rivalry in the final match of Round 1 of the 2021 NRL season.

While there doesn’t look to be a lot in this one for the neutrals, I actually think that this will be one of the better first week contests.

I don’t give either side much hope of making an impact in 2021, but I think that both will find patches of form and show glimpses of a side that could begin to make a move next season or beyond.

The Dragons were awful in the Charity Shield, but it’s obviously tough to take anything from a pre-season match, and the Sharks really haven’t shown a lot more in their build-up.

I don’t think that there’s as much between them as the head-to-head prices would suggest, and for that reason, I’m going to take the value around the Dragons.