We’re set for another huge weekend of NRL, with Round 6’s action spread across five days – how good is the Easter long weekend!?
The action kicks off in the nation’s capital on Thursday night when the Raiders take on the Cowboys.
Both clubs have shown only glimpses of good footy and each will be eager to kick into gear this week.
The Sea Eagles have climbed into the top eight and will be eager to consolidate their position with a win over the Titans on Saturday, before the Broncos attempt to become the first club to defeat the Panthers in 2022 (good luck).
Check out our complete preview and NRL Round 6 Tips below.
For the second time this season the Raiders and Cowboys will clash, this time in the nation’s capital on Thursday night.
When the two clubs met back in Round 2, North Queensland walked away comfortable 26-6 victors.
Plenty of water has gone under the bridge since then and the Cowboys have continued to look the better side.
Both enter this match in losing form, the Cows having lost to the Warriors in Golden Point and the Raiders having been outclassed by the Storm at home.
I don’t have as much between these two sides as match betting would suggest, and I think that the value lies in backing the Cowboys to cover the line as outsiders.
South Sydney are offered a great opportunity to record another win at the expense of the lowly Bulldogs first-up on Friday.
The Bunnies have mixed their form a little in 2022, suffering a couple of disappointing defeats but also recording some memorable wins.
They will be without Latrell Mitchell for up a two months but their depth is good enough to make do, particularly against an opponent like this one.
The Dogs have been an improvement on last year’s forgettable side, but there is still plenty of work to do, and I’m not entirely sure when (or if) the next win will come.
I highly doubt it will be this week.
I’m expecting Souths to put on a show.
Betting suggests the most one-sided contest of the week could come up in primetime on Friday, and it really isn’t difficult to see why.
The reigning champions are the only team that remains undefeated in 2022 and I personally don’t know who can possibly beat them this season.
Spoiler warning: it won’t be the Broncos.
"It doesn't look like they're going to lose any time soon."@JharalYowYeh5 can't pinpoint when the Panthers might drop one, but our very own @JaredTimms has one game in mind #NRL pic.twitter.com/MtSbiE5leA
— Neds (@NedsAus) April 11, 2022
The Broncos’ positive start to their campaign, meanwhile, is completely over and they slipped to twelfth following three-consecutive defeats.
There were some positive signs and solo efforts during last week’s loss to the Roosters, but this is a whole different kettle of fish.
With Payne Haas (and I guess Albert Kelly) ruled out for the week, the Panthers will be winning, and winning very well.
The Sea Eagles will attempt to continue their resurgence past the Titans at Brookvale Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Things appeared dire when Tom Trbojevic was forced to go under the knife last week, but Dessie’s men silenced the doubters with another tough performance to ultimately sink the Knights rather comfortably in Round 5.
The Titans suffered yet another defeat, but they were game against the Eels, and gave a potential top four side a real 80-minute test.
From a betting perspective the Titans remain one of, if not the hardest team to trust in the NRL, but they do look a bit of value at their current $2.45 quote (available at publish).
Returning home and full of confidence, however, I think that the Eagles will make it four on the trot.
Just cannot wait for this one.
The Melbourne Storm, who have been doing typically Storm things for the last couple of weeks, take on an equally impressive Sharks outfit; a club who have been a bogey for Craig Bellamy’s men quite a bit these last few years.
They were too good for the Raiders last week, but the Storm’s most exciting performance 2022 so far was certainly their demolition of the Dogs in Round 4.
Ryan Papenhuyzen is flying, and so too are many of his teammates. It’ll be a real shock if they don’t feature deep in September again.
I thought that the Sharks would be good this season, but they’ve already exceeded my expectations, and they are unlucky not to remain undefeated.
They leapfrogged the Storm into second with a big win over the Tigers last week, and they’ll be eager to consolidate their position.
I am actually quite confident the Sharks can win this and they look excellent value at around $3.05.
The Roosters look ready to justify another short quote when they host the Warriors on Sunday afternoon.
It wasn’t entirely pretty, but their Round 5 performance was still more than good enough to overcome the Broncos, and that win saw the Roosters step into a ‘winning’ season for the first time in 2022.
The Warriors have been typically inconsistent, and beside the Titans, arguably the hardest side to trust from a betting perspective.
It took extra time and pretty wonky field goal, but they managed to overcome the Cowboys in Round 5 to record their third win of the season, and keep their spot in the top eight.
The Roosters are really starting to hit their straps, and I’m eager to stick with them.
Pressure is beginning to mount on both the Dragons and the Knights, and each will be eager to relieve a little when they face off in Round 6’s penultimate fixture.
The Dragons have been particularly disappointing throughout the first month of the competition.
They snuck home in Week 1, and they’ve lost each of their four subsequent matches to sit second last.
This actually means that they have won just one of their last 13 competitive matches (spanning back to last season), and coach Anthony Griffin’s win record is the worst of any coach the club has had since their merger more than two decades ago.
The Knights, meanwhile, have won two matches, and barring last week’s loss to the Sea Eagles, they really haven’t been too far off the pace in any of them.
I can only assume that ‘home ground advantage’ is the reason for the Dragons’ market favouritism, because it certainly isn’t what they’ve been doing on the field!
Parramatta can record another comfortable win when they host the winless Tigers in Sydney’s west on Monday afternoon.
I’m still not entirely sure how they let the Titans get so close, and was that scrappy win the next example of why the Eels won’t be winning a premiership once again in 2022?
Granted, the Titans were quite good in patches, but there is a clear class difference between them and the Eels, and they’ve almost had their number twice now this season.
The Tigers are already down and out, and I maintain that I have no clue how they’ll win a game this season.
It certainly won’t come at the expense of the Eels.
Is this Madge’s last week in charge?
A hefty loss would probably go a long way towards that being the case.