We’re almost halfway through the home and away season and still, no side has found a winning formula against the Penrith Panthers.
As long as they don’t replicate the efforts of the 2001 Parramatta Eels, Ivan Cleary’s men look to be on the straight and narrow towards the Provan-Summons Trophy, and they have opened $1.01 favourites to defeat the last-placed Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
That game isn’t representative of betting in Round 12 of the NRL, and there is terrific value to be found here at Neds!
The Broncos returned their best performance of the season to sink the Roosters in a major upset last week, but they’d need to go to a whole new level to repeat that effort and result against the Melbourne Storm.
I doubt that even Kevvie predicted it, but the Broncos were actually quite impressive for the full 80 minutes, and while it certainly isn’t cause to assume they’re a finals chance, it certainly did suggest that there is some hope for the club, moving forward.
The Storm have been without several key players for a few weeks now, but they have continued to win convincingly, and enter this off another easy triumph over the Raiders.
I can’t steer away from them at this point.
Betting suggests that one of the better games of the round will come up first thing on Friday when the Cowboys take on the Warriors, and it’s not hard to see why.
The Cowboys shaped as a genuine bottom two chance this season, and after their slow start to the campaign, it looked to be a near certainty.
Fast forward to Round 12, and they are now perched on the edge of the eight, and they will leapfrog this week’s opponents by winning.
The Warriors have been extremely frustrating for fans and bettors alike in 2021, but they did enough to sneak past Wests Tigers last weekend and ultimately hold onto their position in the eight.
I personally cannot split them, and I’m going to take the slightly better value around the Cowboys at home.
A couple of sides that are struggling for consistency will go toe-to-toe in Friday night’s primetime slot when Wests Tigers (proudly sponsored by Neds) take on St George Illawarra.
We obviously love our friends at Wests, but there is no denying that they have found it tough to convert wins in 2021, and they sit 14th on the ladder as a result.
They were unlucky not to beat the Warriors last week, and their win over the Knights two weeks ago was all class.
The line up opposite a Dragons side who appear as though they are starting to build back up into something, and who themselves were unlucky to lose in Round 11.
I personally cannot figure out the big disparity in match betting and for that reason alone, I’m going to have something on the Dragons to win.
The Penrith Panthers have opened $1.01 favourites to beat the Bulldogs ($15) in Round 12 of the 2021 NRL Premiership season.
There really isn’t much to say about this match – the Panthers are undefeated and on top of the table, the Bulldogs have won one game and are anchored to the bottom.
The market is correct, and the Panthers will be winning by plenty.
The particularly intriguing match of the round comes up second on Saturday when Souths and Parramatta, both coming off big losses, square off.
Given, they are better than most sides in the NRL this season, but South Sydney have been well and truly found out by the top echelon of opponents in 2021, and were thrashed by the Panthers in Round 11.
This does represent a better prospect of winning for them, but not by an awful lot, and a lot of improvement is still required.
The Eels too were given a real wake-up call by the resurgent Sea Eagles, and while is was only their second loss of the season, it was convincing.
This is another match where I think the favourite is being given too much credit, and I’m happy to take the value around the Eels.
With their tails between their legs, the Roosters enter Round 12 in the hope of redeeming themselves at the expense of the out of form Raiders.
It was surely just too bad of a performance to be true, and I can’t imagine the spray from Trent Robinson when the Roosters walked back into the sheds after losing to the Broncos was pleasant at all.
This does shape as an ideal opportunity for them to respond, and I really would hate to be pulling on the lime green in Round 12.
The Raiders’ putrid run of form was extended by the Storm in Round 11, and I simply cannot imagine them breaking back into the winner’s stall this week.
Sunday begins with a bang as our Neds Gold Coast Titans head south to take on the Cronulla Sharks.
Belief is really starting to build on the Gold Coast, and they have won two of their last three matches – losing the other to the competition leaders.
They boast a multidimensional attack, and if they can effectively plug a few holes in defence, I have no doubt that they can finish the regular season in the top six.
The Sharks snapped a losing streak of nearly two months with a single-point win over the Dragons in Round 11.
While a result like that one is obviously anything by convincing, a win is a win, and they will be rightfully confident in recording another win in Coffs Harbour.
Happy to stick with our boys to cover a small line.
For the second week in a row, the Manly Sea Eagles will step out in the final match of the round and for the second week in a row, they are primed to return a big performance.
Clearly, they are just a different side with Tom Trbojevic in the team, but they went to another level against Parramatta last week.
At full strength, they are a genuine top 4 prospect, and anything close to their best will be far too much for the Knights.
If the Knights can’t compete with the Cowboys for the full 80, they won’t be going with the Sea Eagles either.