Through all of the trials and tribulations of the last eighteen months, the NRL has continued to be a shining light for us Aussie sports fans, and it is incredible that we now find ourselves in Round 21 on the 2021 season.
While crowds won’t be a thing again, Round 21 of the NRL is a promoter’s dream, with the top six sides squaring off this week, beginning with Parramatta taking on South Sydney on Friday night.
The Roosters meet the Panthers on Saturday evening, while all eyes will be on the Sea Eagles when they attempt to halt the ladder-leading Storm later that night.
Check out our full preview and complete NRL Round 21 Tips below.
If the three aforementioned matches are standouts, this will probably prove to be the complete opposite.
The Knights have been extremely difficult to trust from a betting perspective all year, and while I gave them little hope against the Raiders last week, they ended up recording a big win.
The Broncos are just awful, there isn’t a whole lot more to be said about them, though they did record a comfortable win over the Cowboys in Round 20.
I understand why the Knights have been priced as favourites and they will probably win, but I don’t have as much separating these two sides as the bookies clearly do.
In the first five rounds of the season, this would have been one of the matches to look forward to, but neither side looked like a Premiership threat for some time.
The Raiders did win three in a row to take themselves back to the edge of the eight, but they were blown off the park by the Knights in Round 20 and look to have missed their opportunity.
The Dragons certainly haven’t been any better, and they too were completely destroyed by Souths in last weekend’s delayed contest.
In my humble opinion, this shapes as a pretty similar prospect to Thursday night’s match-up, and the value looks to lie with the outsiders covering the line.
I just cannot wait for this one.
Given their injuries and the likelihood that the Panthers won’t be at full strength for the remainder of the season, I think that these two clubs are probably the ones who can bother the Storm at the season’s backend, and I think we’re in for a ripping contest (even without Mitchell Moses).
The Eels have been in the top four for most of the season, and it is fair to say that they have flown under the radar in 2021.
They didn’t fire a shot against the Roosters last week, but I can’t imagine Brad Arthur will allow them to return two performances like that one in succession.
The Rabbitohs put fifty on a pretty hopeless Dragons outfit last week, but this is obviously a big rise in class, and I’m intrigued to see what they can do.
I think that Wayne’s boys will prove to just be a little too good.
Despite the latter currently clutching to eighth, I’m pretty confident in saying that I don’t think the Warriors or the Sharks will play finals footy in 2021, but one club can at least strengthen their claims in Round 21.
The Warriors have often gone close without taking vital points, but they’ve also been blown off the park plenty of times.
They do enter this match in winning form after sneaking past a competitive Wests Tigers outfit, and I subsequently think that they are a touch of overs in match betting here.
The Sharks were competitive in the first half of their Round 20 tie with the Sea Eagles, but they left that spirit in the sheds at half time and were comfortably beaten again.
I’m employing the same betting strategy here as I have in the first two matches of the round.
The Roosters look to be finding their feet at the absolute perfect moment again, and they are far better than their $3.25 quote suggests.
They did mix their form through the Origin period, but with the injuries they have dealt with alongside the number of players they always have selected for rep footy, they have done an incredible job to remain in fifth position.
Last week’s flogging of the Eels is sure to have filled their sails with wind, and they strike a similarly classy opponent, who are also without a couple of key players.
Nathan Cleary’s importance has been underlined since Origin began and since he suffered his injury, and while they have still been winning, the Panthers clearly haven’t been the same side without the star half
I’m backing the upset, because I think that it looks terrific value.
The Sea Eagles are one of the four best sides in the league when Tom Trbojevic is fit – it’s as simple as that.
While that as a gameplan probably isn’t the most bulletproof in the league, there is absolutely no denying their class and ability while he’s there, so I say play on!
Turbo added another three tries to his tally against the Sharks on Monday night and even having missed about 8 games through injury and Origin, he can probably still win the Dally M.
The Storm meanwhile have been in a league of their own, and it all comes down to their incredible depth of talent.
They’ve won sixteen in a row now and with the likes of Ryan Papenhuyzen back into the fold and playing well, I really cannot find a reason why they won’t charge into the finals and find themselves stepping out for yet another GF.
I simply cannot wait for this match, and I’m taking the Sea Eagles as outsiders at the line, along with the game’s best player crossing for a meaty.
Neither have finals aspirations in 2021, but I think that Sunday afternoon’s game between the Bulldogs and the Tigers shapes as one of the more intriguing matches of the round.
The Dogs have obviously been a class below most, if not every other side this season, but they have continued to return glimpses of competitive footy throughout the last month or so.
Something similar can be said of the Tigers, who have claimed a couple of lovely wins in the last four weeks, and who were unlucky to be pipped on the line in Round 20.
I think that if the Tigers play up to their recent winning performances, this shapes as another great opportunity at points.
The Neds Titans are into the eight!
Our boys cruised past the Bulldogs in Round 20 and subsequently jumped into seventh in overall standings.
I’ve been saying it all season, but it remains true that with a little more consistency, the Titans can play finals footy, and play it well – all the pieces are there!
The Cows meanwhile were delivered a pretty damning defeat at the hands of the down-and-out Broncos, and it’s tough imaging them turning it around enough to beat what is a far stronger opponent in Round 21.