Blink and you’ll miss it!
Six weeks of the 2023 NRL Premiership season are already in the books, Magic Round is only a few weeks away and before we know it, it’ll be the Origin period!
The Round 7 action kicks off in the Sunshine State on Thursday night when the Dolphins host the Rabbitohs, before another huge Friday slate that features a few genuine Premiership threats.
The Tigers will finally register their first points of the season thanks to the bye, but you can find my remaining NRL Round 7 Tips below.
The Dolphins saddle up for their first ever Thursday night game in Round 7 of the NRL, but it’ll be anything but an easy one when they line up opposite the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The market didn’t give them much of a chance, but the Phins snapped a two-match losing streak at the expense of the Cowboys in Round 6 to climb back into the Top 4.
Given some of the star power they did it without, prospects are still very bright for the NRL’s newest club in 2023, but games like this one are a true acid test.
The Bunnies returned arguably their best performance of the season to easily account for the Bulldogs in Round 6, and they take plenty of deserved confidence and momentum into this clash.
They are understandably clear market favourites and I think they’ll win, but the Dolphins continue to prove their unpredictability, so I am going to stay away from match betting and the line in this one.
Same Game Multi selections:
- Latrell Mitchell Anytime Try
- Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow Anytime Try
One of the better contests of the week looks like materialising between the Sharks and the Roosters first up on Friday evening.
The Sharks return to competition this week fresh from a bye, but prior to that, they were stunned by the Warriors.
They were unlucky to lose that game, and given that it was the first appearance for Nicho Hynes this year, I am expecting good improvement from them this week.
The Roosters were rather handsomely beaten by the resurgent Storm in Round 6, their second L of the season, and they are at risk of dropping out of the eight if they’re not successful this week.
The Roosters have opened favourites in betting ahead of this one, but I personally don’t have anything between these sides, so I think that the value lies with backing the Sharks to cover as outsiders.
Things don’t get any easier for the Sea Eagles when they take on the Storm at Brookvale Oval on Friday night.
Manly’s positive start to the season is becoming a distant memory, and they are now winless since Round 2 after suffering a big defeat to the Panthers in Round 6.
They simply need to return to winning form to keep the pressure on the Top 8, or risk a continual slide down the ladder.
While their record against the Storm historically is decent, and matches between these two clubs are always fiery, but they really will need to go to another level this week.
Melbourne’s slow start to the season, meanwhile, is becoming a distant memory, and they returned another impressive performance to easily see off the Roosters in Round 6.
They’ll rightfully start this clash as favourites in betting, but I am holding firm with the Sea Eagles and am backing an upset!
The Warriors return home in Round 7 and have opened favourites ahead of their clash with the Cowboys.
At the beginning of the season, virtually no pundits would have expected the Warriors to be as good as they have been, nor the Cows to be as poor as they’ve been, but here we are!
Following tough wins over the Bulldogs and the Sharks, the Warriors were stunned by a resurgent Knights outfit in Round 6, but there were still things to like about their performance in The Hunter.
The Cows (again) started favourites in their Round 6 clash with the Dolphins, but (again) failed to produce much at all, and were punished for it.
The bookies seem to finally be clueing into the fact that this Cowboys side isn’t a shade on the one that made last season’s Preliminary Finals, but I personally think that the Warriors should be shorter than they are in the market.
This is the second time that these clubs have met in 2023, and I am expecting the same result as last time.
The Knights will face their toughest test of the season when they take on the Panthers in Round 7.
A slow start to the campaign suggested that another long, forgettable season was on the cards for the Knights this year, but they have really turned things around in the last couple of weeks: beating the Raiders, drawing with the Sea Eagles and knocking off the in-form Warriors in Round 6.
The Panthers weren’t quite as ‘scary’ at the beginning of the season as to what we’ve grown accustomed too, but they have also built to the task in recent weeks, and they absolutely destroyed the Sea Eagles last week.
The form all lines up for the Panthers recording another win, and I am happy to follow all of the early money.
Same Game Multi selections:
- Panthers 13+
- Stephen Crichton Anytime Try
The Titans and Broncos renew their South-East Queensland rivalry on the Goldie on Saturday night, and I personally think that this will turn out to be the match of the Round.
The Titans have already exceeded expectations this season, and they find themselves perched in the Top 6 following a Round 6 win over the Dragons.
Toby Sexton was excellent in his return from the Q Cup, but the whole Titans’ squad look to be on the improve this season.
The Titans have actually proven to be a bit of a bogey team for the Broncos for the last decade or so, so is there perhaps a little value in their quote?
The Broncos suffered their first loss of the season of the season to the lowly Raiders in Round 6 – are the wheels now off at Red Hill?
Have the wheels fallen off after the Broncos’ first loss of the #NRL season? @JharalYowYeh5 & @JaredTimms discuss! pic.twitter.com/uGGMPwZrJt
— Neds (@NedsAus) April 11, 2023
I think that the way they respond in this match will be a real indicator of their nerve and of their Premiership credentials…. And I’m taking them on!
The Raiders and Dragons lock horns in the first of two Sunday fixtures in Round 7 of the NRL.
The Raiders have been pretty awful so far in 2023, but they did return to winning form in Round 6, and what a team to do it against – the previously unbeaten Broncos!
Was that a genuinely good effort, or was it a flash in the pan?
I personally will need to see Ricky Stuart’s men do it a few times before I am a believer, so I certainly can’t have any part of the $1.52 about them in head to head betting at publish.
The Dragons were only just denied by the Titans in Round 6 and prior to that, I thought they had proven their doubters wrong nicely, a couple of times.
Particularly, their wins over the Dolphins and the Titans (the first time they met) were rather convincing, and I don’t think that there is any doubt that this game looms as a similar one to those.
For that reason, I’m backing another upset here with the Dragons sneaking home.
The Eels recorded a rare win in Round 6, and they will attempt to make it two in a row for the first time this season when they take on the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.
It was a win, yes, and a win is a win. But it was a lucky one, and it was against the winless Tigers. Not a terrific form line, and improvement is certainly required if they are to win again.
The Dogs have mixed their form in 2023, but even that is a big improvement on what they did in 2022, and they do have plenty of upside.
They were denied by the Rabbitohs in pretty convincing fashion last week, but there is also no doubt that this opponent is a drop in class, and I think that it represents a great opportunity for them to record a big, confidence boosting win.
In saying that, I don’t trust either side, so we are going to stay away from head-to-head betting and the line.