The 2016 NRL season is almost upon us and it is set to be a big season with a lot of player movement during the offseason. The rule changes are also set to make it interesting with coaches forced to find the best way to keep their players fresh. I'm looking forward to offering NRL betting tips all year long, starting with my 2016 NRL Futures betting tips.
- - -
2016 NRL Leading Point Scorer
Jarrod Croker took out the award in 2015 but we are backing a new winner in the 2016 NRL season. The New Zealand Warriors have always been an exciting side to watch and with a few new key additions the team is expected to play at an incredibly high level and challenge for the title.
The Warriors should be a high scoring team throughout the year and Shaun Johnson will be the side’s goal kicker. Johnson also has the capability of crossing the white line himself having scored in almost 50% of his matches with 45 tries in 101 matches. This is an incredibly high strike rate for a half back and with defences worrying about Roger Tuivasa-Sheck outside him, he could take advantage of a lot of gaps that open up in front of him.
TIP: Shaun Johnson @ $6.00 with William Hill
2016 NRL Top Try Scorer
The 2015 season saw Semi Radradra take out the try scoring title despite only taking part in 18 regular season matches. The Fijian crossed for a remarkable 24 tries to beat the Bulldogs winger Curtis Rona who had 22 tries registered to his name. The Parramatta Eels winger will start the season as favourite but we are backing a new champion to take out the title in the 2016 NRL season.
James Roberts has found a new home with the Broncos and is arguably the fastest player in the NRL. In 2015 he crossed the while line 16 times and was the shining light for a team that struggled throughout the season. The speedster will lace up the boosts for one of the strongest teams in the NRL and will have more chances to find the try line then in any other season. We are predicting the centre to take advantage of these opportunities and end the season as the leading try scorer.
TIP: James Roberts @ $10.00 with Crownbet
Season Handicap
This market combines the team’s regular season competition points plus the handicap that is given by the sports bookmaker. The winner is determined by the NRL side that has the most combined points.
The Broncos led the way for the majority of the 2015 NRL season and were even strong throughout the State of Origin period where they notoriously struggle. It wasn’t until the final couple of rounds of the regular season where they were struck down by injuries to key players that saw them lose the minor premiership as they headed into the finals series on the back of two losses. If the side avoids injuries this season they could be one of the most dominant sides in recent history with a great squad, a lot of depth and one of the more favourable schedules. We are predicting them to lead the competition at seasons end and have a big enough gap to not need a handicap.
TIP: Brisbane Broncos +0 points @ $12.00 with Sportsbet
Top NSW Team
It should be a tight battle for supremacy between the New South Wales sides throughout the 2016 NRL season. We are predicting the Sydney Roosters to struggle this year with key players expected to miss at least the first half of the season. Everyone knows the issues surrounding their star halfback and it is unknown whether he will take the field again. To make matters worse for the side Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Boyd Cordner will miss the first three months of action with injury.
We are also expecting the Manly Sea Eagles to take some time to gel after bringing a lot of new pieces to their squad. It also remains to be seen whether Dylan Walker can make it as an NRL five-eighth as he failed with the experiment at the position with the Rabbitohs.
The Cronulla Sharks made huge improvement in 2015 and finished in 6th placed as the third highest NSW team. They have made key signings whilst retaining a lot of their stars and should continue to progress up the ladder this season. James Maloney will partner Chad Townsend in the halves whilst they have a lot of young talent in Jack Bird and Valentine Holmes who shined last year. We are predicting them to finish as the highest NSW side at the end of the regular season.
TIP: Sharks @ $7.50 with Sportsbet
Total Golden Points Games
Throughout the 2015 NRL regular season there were eight matches that entered extra time with two more taking place in the finals series. The competition should be incredibly close this season with a lot of sides fighting for a top eight spot. We are expecting a lot of matches to go down to the wire with golden point to take place in at least seven matches.
TIP: Over 6.5 @ $2.03 with Sportsbet
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
