Origin 3 looms and with most of the league’s top stars out of action, just four matches will be played in Round 17 of the NRL.
Enormous score lines have been the tale of the tape in recent weeks and while Origin selections will probably stem that trend somewhat in Round 17, there’s still plenty of excitement to breathe in and plenty of winners to be found.
Check out my complete preview and NRL Round 17 tips below.
The Sea Eagles have gone to another level recently, but we’ll get a real indication of their Top 4 prospects when they take on the Canberra Raiders on Thursday night without Tommy Turbo.
Tom Trbojevic is head and shoulders above every other rugby league player in the world, and he once again starred in Manly 66-0 thrashing of the Bulldogs in Round 16.
With he and DCE out on Origin duties, Des Hasler has his work cut out for him but thankfully for the Sea Eagles faithful, they’re drawn to play an out of form opponent.
The Raiders’ 2021 campaign has been nothing short of awful, they’ve had plenty of problems on and off the field and their premiership window appears to have closed.
They enter this match off the back of a 44-6 hiding at the hands of our Neds Titans and I can’t see them doing enough to turn it around this week, even against a weakened opponent.
Souths are offered a terrific opportunity to hold onto their spot in the top four when they host the Cowboys on Friday night.
As has been the case with the first two games this year, the Bunnies have had several stars called up for Origin 3, but their depth of talent is amazing and they’ll still have the likes of Adam Reynolds, Cody Walkers and Alex Johnston at their disposal.
The Cowboys meanwhile have struggled for consistency all year, and that has been when they are at full strength.
Given some of their better weapons including Valentine Holmes and the Hammer will be missing, I hold very little hope for them in Round 17.
The Bulldogs have their tails between their legs and things probably won’t get any better when they line up opposite the Roosters on Saturday.
It has been reported countless times that they are a bad footy side but deary me, surely no one expected a performance (or lack thereof) like last week’s.
The 66-0 drubbing really wasn’t indicative of their performance: it should have been 84-0.
The Roosters themselves were flogged by the Storm in Round 16, but they have the benefit of going from the best opposition in the league to the worst, and I think they’ll make it count.
The best match of the round looks like materialising between the Sharks and the Warriors in the Shire on Sunday.
Neither side has been too greatly affected by Origin selections and both boast plenty of potential that is often untapped; this might bring the best out in both of them.
The Sharks suffered a shock loss to the Brisbane Broncos in Round 16, but their form for a few weeks prior to that was credible and I’m willing to assume last week’s effort was a momentary lapse.
The Warriors have been extremely difficult to trust from a betting perspective all season, and while they looked like they might finally record another win in Round 16, they were ultimately denied by a single point.
I think that this is quite a well-matched contest, so I’m going to take the value around the Warriors as outsiders at the line.