Another week, another bunch of green ticks in NRLW Round 7 with a number of try scorers cashing in and margin bets landing.
We’ve got a pretty good read on the competition by now as the top four is beginning to take shape.
The biggest threats to both Sydney and Newcastle are themselves and we’ll see them face for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon.
There is a significant gap appearing between those two top teams and the rest of the competition, but that’s not to say Brisbane, Gold Coast, Canberra or maybe Cronulla can’t give this premiership race a good shake.
With two games left of the regular season, every result is an important one from here on out.
Let’s take a punters’ preview to NRLW Round 8 and try and pad our accounts for some fun in the finals.
I was prepared to back Cronulla in three weeks ago, but they’ve slumped to one win from their last four games to sit 7th on the NRLW ladder with two rounds to play.
They’ll need to win both games from here and have other results go their way if the Sharks are to play finals footy this season, but I think they can get the ball rolling against the Dragons on Thursday night.
St George are finding points through Raecene McGregor and Teagan Berry but have struggled to replicate this against the top sides.
Cronulla probably aren’t a top side right now, but they do play with the second-best yardage game in the competition which might make things more difficult for the Dragons middling forward pack.
I’ve spoken at length about the importance of field position in the NRLW this season and the Sharks play with plenty of it right now.
The Dragons high completion rate helps them in this regard, but I’m not sure they’ve got the forwards to stop Cronulla rolling through the middle of the field.
I think we might see a few points in this one with Cronulla just sneaking home the better.
After a slow start to the 2023 NRLW regular season, the Brisbane Broncos now look like one of the few teams capable of pushing Newcastle and Syndey for the premiership.
Their forward pack is solid but what makes Brisbane so good right now is their ability to convert field position into points.
With the fourth-least average running metres per game, the Broncos aren’t dominating in yardage but they are coming away with points whenever they get into good-ball.
Ali Brigginshaw is showing no signs of slowing down but it’s the involvements of Destiny Brill at hooker and Gayle Broughton on the left edge that is proving so potent for Brisbane of late.
Boughton has four tries and three assists from six games this season while Brill is asking constant questions of the ruck defence from behind the play-the-ball.
By compressing the defensive line towards the ball, the Broncos are finding points on both edges consistently.
Wests won’t make it easy for them on Saturday, though.
The Tigers attack is struggling with two of their first-choice halves sidelined but they rank third in the NRLW for total run metres.
Sarah Togatuki and Christian Pio have been superb this season and they’re helping Wests win the field position battle.
In contrast to Brisbane though, the Tigers inability to convert half-chances in attack is crippling their 2023 campaign.
They have no trouble generating ruck speed or stressing the defensive line throughout a set, but finding the last pass on the way to the try line is alluding them.
Barring a sudden turn-around in form, I can’t see Wests going with Brisbane for long in this one.
It’s taken a while to get here, but we’re finally going to see the two premiership heavyweights go head-to-head in NRLW Round 8.
Barring a capitulation against Canberra in Round 2, the Sydney Roosters have been untouchable throughout the 2023 regular season.
They lead the league in so many key stat areas – total run metres, kick returns, possession, linebreaks, tackle busts – while playing a confident, expansive and fast brand of footy.
Jocellyn Kelleher wears the No.7 jumper and Keeley Davis is one of the better organising dummy-halves in the NRLW, but this is Tarryn Aiken’s team.
The five-eighth is putting up ridiculous attacking numbers every week and defenders don’t seem to have an answer for her.
With four linebreaks and 12 linebreak assists in seven games, Aiken has been the most productive attacking playmaker in the NRLW this season.
That being said, I think we might see the Roosters work to the right more often this weekend.
The Raiders made Knights five-eighth Georgia Roche a target last week and came away with a few linebreaks.
Given how well Olivia Kernick has been playing on the right edge, I think that’s where the points might come from.
The Knights have the squad to go with Easts in this one, but their discipline is a concern.
They’ve overcome a poor completion rate or penalty count in games this season thanks to their attacking talent, but they can’t afford to give the Roosters so many leg-ups.
The Raiders slipped at the final hurdle last week against Newcastle but should find things a little easier against North Queensland on Sunday.
The Cowboys are struggling in their maiden NRLW season as injuries and suspenisions take their toll on the new squad.
Their effort can’t be faulted but the Cowboys pack is battling to rank second-last in yardage and their inexperienced spine – barring Kirra Dibb – are constantly playing on the back foot in attack.
Canberra’s pack doesn’t rate much better statistically, but they’re getting wonderful service from their back five in exit sets.
Apii Nicholls, Cheyelle Robins-Reti and Mackenzie Wiki are all averaging over 100 running metres per game to help the Raiders win the field position battle.
The kicking game of Zahara Temara is turning the screws from there.
The Cowboys have conceded 14 tries on both edges this season and will present the Raiders with ample opportunities to trouble the scoreboard in this one.
Canberra five-eighth Ashleigh Quinlan has worked her way into the season and has developed a nice combination with her left-edge unit in attack.
I think that’s where the Raiders might send the ball on Sunday and I’ve picked Robins-Reti as a tryscorer for that reason.
I tipped the Titans to win in a low-scoring grind against Wests last weekend and I’m going back to the well for this one.
The Eels profile similarly to the Tigers in the sense that they’re struggling to turn field position into points.
Halfback Rachael Pearson has used her kicking game to breath some life into a stagnant Eels attack, but she can only do so much.
They’re lacking genuine strike out wide and aren’t winning the ruck consistently enough to stress the defensive line.
The Gold Coast Titans arguably fall into the same bracket given their recent struggles in attack.
They’ve got try scorers on both edges but the trio of Lauren Brown, Chantay Kiria-Ratu and Sienna Lofipo are yet to fire in the halves.
What makes that all the more frustrating is that the Gold Coast are winning the yardage battle through the middle.
They’ve got one of the best forward packs in the NRLW and consistently generate ruck speed throughout sets on their way to the opposition’s try line.
Orchestrating repeatable and effective attacking actions from there is what’s letting the Titans down right now. In saying that, they should be too good for the Eels in this one.