Round 8 of the NRL boasts another eight outstanding fixtures, kicking off in Sydney and in style on Thursday night when the Rabbitohs and Panthers renew their fierce rivalry.
There’s only one game on Friday, while Saturday and Sunday each feature two games, and that’s because it’s Anzac Round – two will be played on Tuesday as well!
With more than a quarter of the regular season now in the rear-view mirror, competition points have never been more important, and you can find my full preview and NRL Round 8 Tips below!
Another quality Thursday night contest sees the Rabbitohs take on the Panthers in a re-run of the 2021 NRL Grand Final.
Both sides have been good enough to fight into the Top 6 following seven rounds of footy, but there is no doubt that the Panthers have again been the pick of the two.
The Bunnies have continued to improve week on week since the beginning of the year, and I thought that they were excellent when comfortably beating the ‘Phins last week, after trailing at the break.
It is probably fair to say the Ivan Cleary’s men weren’t at their best in Round 7, but they still managed to beat the resurgent Knights, and a win is a win.
I don’t have nearly as much between the two clubs as the bookies do, and I think that the value therefore lies with backing the Rabbitohs to cover the line as outsiders.
The Eels take on competition leaders the Broncos on Friday evening, and I think that this looms as the contest of the round.
Understandably, the Broncos have opened favourites in betting ahead of this one, but there is absolutely no denying that the Eels have been a real bogey team for them in recent years, and I have no doubt that will come into play, in Western Sydney.
To their credit, Parra have continued to improve slowly as the season has progressed, and they are actually chasing a hat-trick this week following wins over the Tigers and Bulldogs.
The Broncos atoned for their first loss of the season with a hard-fought victory over local rivals the Titans, and that is sure to have restored a bit of the confidence that would have been lost following that Round 6 clash with the Raiders.
The Broncos do deserve their favouritism, but I’m pretty keen on the upset here!
The Dogs looked to have regressed a little recently, and things won’t get any easier for them when they host the rampaging Sharks in Friday night footy.
A somewhat positive start to the campaign is well and truly a distant memory in Canterbury, and the Dogs have dropped to fifteenth on the ladder following hefty losses to the Eels and the Rabbitohs.
The loss of Viliame Kikau last week clearly doesn’t help their cause, but he isn’t the difference in this side winning or losing when scorelines blowout to that size.
The Sharks started outsiders in their Friday night clash with the Roosters last week, but they never really looked in doubt, and powered away to an impressive 22-12 victory.
Nicho Hynes continues to go from strength to strength, and there simply won’t be any excuse not to pick him come Origin time, should he remain fit.
Same Game Multi selections:
- Sharks 13+
- Talakai Anytime Try
The Cowboys take on the Knights in Townsville on Saturday night and somehow have opened favourites in head-to-head betting.
This isn’t the side that made a preliminary final in 2022.
They have been one-dimensional in attack, leaked like a sieve in defence, and have lacked anything of the killer spark they had last year.
Having suffered another forgettable defeat to the Warriors in Round 7, they sit second last on the ladder and will surely find every game this season an enormous test.
The Knights, meanwhile, have reversed their fortunes impressively, and they were unlucky not to record another win over reigning premiers Penrith, last week.
In my opinion, this is quite clearly the value of the week!
The final inaugural Queensland Derby of the season will see the Dolphins takes on the Titans at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Phins really put it to the Bunnies in the first forty of their Round 7 clash, but they completely went to water in the second half, and suffered another demoralising defeat.
Clearly, the makings of a good and consistent side are there, but they are yet to put it together enough to make opponents truly fearful.
Key injuries haven’t helped that, but with time, I have little doubt they’ll get there.
They take on a Titans side who dropped out of the eight following a Round 7 loss to league-leaders Brisbane.
I thought that there was still plenty of promising signs in the losing effort, and they are an enormous improvement on the side that went around in 2022. I still think that they’ll make finals.
All of that being said, I’m keen on another upset here.
Wests return from a week off (and their first Premiership points of the season) but face another gruelling task in the Manly Sea Eagles on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers roster and coaching shake-up has so far heralded a worse start to the season than they had in 2022, and genuinely, they have been so bad that the only way is up.
The Sea Eagles have been let down a little by their inability to play a full 80 minutes of football and ultimately, their inconsistency, but boy were they good in Round 7.
Not many people gave them much of a chance against the Storm, but they were tough, full of confidence and importantly, they didn’t give up, and they were rewarded.
This is a huge drop in class, and if Manly keep the foot on the accelerator, it could get ugly.
The Roosters will start clear favourites in their bid to bounce back into form against the Dragons in the first of two Anzac Day clashes on Tuesday.
Many, including this pundit, tipped them to win the whole thing in 2023, but from a personal perspective, I certainly didn’t expect them to begin as slowly as they have.
They came up against an understrength Sharks side in Round 7, started favourites, and were never really in it.
The Dragons’ woes also continued in Round 7, suffering a disappointing defeat to the Raiders.
That result saw them slip to 13th in the overall standings, tied with the Raiders who are this week on the bye.
The Roosters simply won’t be offered many better opportunities to win than this.
Same Game Multi selections:
- Roosters 13+
- Luke Keary Anytime Try
The Storm will be eager to bounce back from their Round 7 loss on Anzac Day, but they won’t have things all their own way when they take on a good Warriors side.
Cameron Munster is one of the best players in the world, but is he a fullback?
Is Cam Munster a fullback? A switch of positions in Round 7… and the Storm lost! @JharalYowYeh5 & @JaredTimms have more #NRL Unpopular Opinions! pic.twitter.com/WfIjeVc3TJ
— Neds (@NedsAus) April 17, 2023
The decision to move Australia’s five-eighth into the 1 jersey for Melbourne clash with Manly last week didn’t pay dividends, and they slumped to their third loss of the season.
The Warriors meanwhile continued their impressive start to the season with another win, their fifth of the campaign, over the Cowboys.
The Warriors have proven to be something of a bogey team for the Storm at various points of their existence, and they are certainly a lot better than their quote in NRL betting this week would have you believe.