Round 22 of the NRL produced some big upsets and confirmed that the run to the Finals will be as exciting as ever!
Another eight games lie ahead in Round 23, which kicks off in Sydney on Thursday night with an intriguing clash between the Roosters and the Sea Eagles, before a huge Friday night double-header that is highlighted by a blockbuster between the Panthers and the Storm.
The Dogs snuck home against the Dolphins in Round 22 and have the bye this week, but there’s still plenty of value to be found in NRL Round 23 betting!
Round 23 kicks off with an intriguing clash between the Roosters and the Sea Eagles.
They’ve been next to terrible all season, and it really wasn’t too much of a shock to see the Roosters hardly fire a shot in Round 22 against the Broncos.
They return home and face a similarly position Sea Eagles side, who don’t deserve to be outsiders in betting here, in my opinion.
It was far from flashy, but Manly did get the job done for DCE against the Dragons in Round 22 and frankly, a win is a win.
That lifted them back into 9th on the ladder, and I’m keen to stick with them in their bid for two in a row on Thursday.
The intriguing contests continue on the Goldie on Friday evening when the Titans take on the Wahs.
The Titans remain on the fringe of the Top 8, thanks to flashes of brilliance between their usual inconsistent results.
A loss to the Roosters at home a fortnight ago was damning, but they came out in Round 22 and delivered the high-flying Cowboys a pretty convincing defeat. I mean, WOT?
A repeat of that performance, and the Titans will take a power of beating again.
The Warriors, meanwhile, have been absolutely outstanding, and sit THIRD after 22 Rounds of footy. Can you believe that??
They also step out this week fresh from a bye, and I think that will prove the difference this week.
Could this be a preview of the 2023 NRL Grand Final?
The Panthers are chasing an unprecedented hat-trick of Premierships and meet the only other club that has looked capable of that feat this century.
Fourteen wins from nineteen games have seen the Panthers into equal first on the ladder, and while the Storm haven’t been as scary this year, their twelve wins have been enough to see them into fourth.
Both clubs torched their respective opponents in Round 22, and both are eager to get stuck into it again this week.
I certainly understand the Panthers’ market favouritism at home, but I don’t have as much between them as the bookies seem to!
For the first time in a few seasons, we look set for another classic between the Cowboys and the Broncos.
The 2015 Grand Final kicked off an incredible run of contests between these two clubs, but as both faltered through the COVID period, so did the rivalry.
Fast-forward to Round 23, 2023 however, and both clubs loom as a Premiership threat (when they’re on, of course).
The Cows did return a rare flat effort to lose to the Titans last week, but this return to Townsville cannot be ignored.
The Broncos, meanwhile, taught the Roosters a lesson, and they take all the momentum and favouritism into it.
Boy, I cannot wait for this game.
Same Game Multi selections:
- Cowboys (+3.5)
- Over 43.5 Points
- $3.66
The action heads west on Saturday afternoon when the Dolphins and Knights clash in Perth!
The ‘Phins’ fast start to the season really is a distant memory now, and they’ve unfortunately turned into one of the NRL’s easy beats.
That really was underlined by their loss to the lowly Bulldogs in Round 22, and there’s absolutely no doubt that this looms as a tough task.
The Knights’ turn in form continued in Round 22, this time at the expense of a good Raiders side IN the nation’s capital.
Everything achieved by these two clubs in recent weeks really only points to one result.
Souths can continue to climb back up the ladder at the expense of the Sharks on Saturday night.
They touched $13 in NRL Premiership betting after dropping out of their eight, but the Bunnies’ Round 22 win, against the Tigers of all clubs, actually saw them firm back onto the third line ($7.50).
The Sharks, meanwhile, continued their horrific fall from grace when they were held scoreless by the Panthers.
They now sit seventh, tied on competition points with the eighth-placed Cowboys, and in serious danger of dropping out of the eight entirely.
This is the game that South require for confidence and momentum.
Betting suggests one of the more one-sided matches of the week will materialise between the Eels and the Dragons first-up on Sunday.
The Eels certainly haven’t been in their best form in recent weeks, and they were very handsomely beaten by the Storm in Round 22, but they have also been dealing with some pretty big injuries.
The Dragons were somewhat spirited in their loss to the Sea Eagles in Round 22, but this is a similarly difficult opponent, and it’s tough imagining them firing much of a shot at all in the remaining five rounds.
The Raiders suffered a shock loss to the Knights at home in Round 22, but it would be an even greater shock to see them suffer two in a row at the hands of the Tigers.
I don’t think there’s any real doubt that the Raiders have been the biggest surprise packets of the season, but last weekend’s loss was convincing, and perhaps the one necessary for them to reevaluate and charge towards the finals.
What better club then to meet in Round 23 than the last-placed Tigers, who suffered yet another loss in Round 22?
Same Game Multi selections:
- Raiders (-11.5)
- Under 46.5 Points
- $3.65