The Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs continue this weekend's preliminary final action on Saturday night with a blockbuster clash from Allianz Stadium! Catch our preview and tips for the game below.
Sydney Roosters vs South Sydney Rabbitohs (Saturday, Sep 22 7:40pm AEST)
Traditional rivals go head to head this Saturday night as the Roosters battle the Rabbitohs. This a dream matchup for the NRL as the two foundation clubs face off. Both the Roosters and Rabbitohs were formed in 1908 and combine for 34 premierships over the time. For the Roosters, they’ll aim for their first Grand Final appearance since 2013, when they beat Manly. While the Rabbitohs are looking for just their 2nd trip to the Grand Final since 1971.
The Roosters are the slight favourites in the betting as they’ll be fresh from the bye. They knocked off the Sharks in the first week of the finals at this venue, 21-12. The offseason additions of Cooper Cronk and James Tedesco paid dividends as they both dominated the game. The finals experience of Cronk is a key difference maker for the home side and he’ll be the major player to watch here. The other talking point is the suspension of Latrell Mitchell. He’ll miss this game after carry over points cost him big time. But he can return for the Grand Final if the Roosters win. In his place will be Mitchell Aubusson. Dane Gagai will certainly be delighted as he probably wasn’t looking forward to his defensive matchup against Mitchell!
Souths endured a tough battle against the Dragons and in a crazy final, Adam Reynolds proved the difference. Incredibly, he ended up scoring all 13 points which included 3 field goals! He nailed the winner in the 79th minute to book the Rabbitohs a place in the last four. So far, both finals involving Souths have been nail-biters and I don’t expect this clash to be any different. Previously, they lost against the Storm by a point and then countered with a 1 point win of their own last week. In team news, they’ll head into this game unchanged.
In terms of the head to head, both sides earned a victory against each other in 2018. Firstly in Round 6 at this venue, the Rabbitohs made a statement with a 26-14 win. Then the Roosters got the points at ANZ Stadium in a tight affair, 18-14. So I can see a similar type of game. Looking at the odds, this should be another close final where I do see both sides enjoying success in attack. The Roosters attack will be weakened without Mitchell. But they still have attacking weapons on the edge with Tupou and Ferguson. The middle of the park should also open up for two of the best players in the NRL around the ruck - Damien Cook for Souths and James Tedesco for the home side. Especially as both these sides carry large forward packs that will likely tire at the end of each half. So I’m going to stick with the same bet as the Storm/Sharks, with this margin finishing under 10 points in either direction. This is a tough final to pick a winner and I can’t see a blowout. Much like in Round 22 when the Roosters won by 4 points, it was a finals type of game and this shouldn’t be any difference. Also, with the Rabbitohs coming off back to back 1 point margins, this bet has a high chance of succeeding once again. It also paid off in the Roosters last final at Allianz Stadium against the Sharks.
Either team by 10 or less
$1.80
