The 2017 NRL season got off to an entertaining start with a few upsets mixed in with the favourites getting the victory. It is set to be a close competition. Continue reading for our NRL Round 2 Preview and Betting Tips.
2017 NRL Round 2 Betting Tips
Sydney Roosters vs Canterbury Bulldogs (Thursday 8pm AEDT)
As we predicted, the Bulldogs attack failed to improve for the opening round. They were still very structured and failed to create clear cut opportunities, despite having the majority of possession and setting camp on the Storms line for the second half. They scored just one try and it will be tough going for them this weekend against the Roosters. The spine of Michael Licha, Moses Mbye, Josh Reynolds and Will Hopoate could easily be the most overrated in the game.
Meanwhile the Roosters had absolutely no trouble finding the try line last week against the Titans. New recruit Luke Keary didn’t take long to make his prescence felt as he bagged a double in his Roosters debut. The move of Latrell Mitchell to centre could open up more opportunities for the 19-year-old as he proves to be a handful for defences and bagged a hat-trick. We can’t see the Bulldogs turning it around within the space of a week and we are backing the Roosters to earn a narrow victory.
TIP: Roosters at the margin (1-12) – $3.00 with William Hill
New Zealand Warriors vs Melbourne Storm (Friday 6pm AEDT)
The Warriors have been a bogey team for the Storm in recent history but last season they were dominated on both outings. Add to that the side will likely be without Isaac Luke and Simon Mannering while Kieran Foran has to wait another week before suiting up for the side. With Luke on the sidelines last week the Warriors lost their way in attack and defence and they almost suffered a loss against the last two season’s wooden spooners the Knights. Shaun Johnson provided some magic to avoid that while Roger Tuivasa-Scheck had a great first half.
The Storm defended their way to a gritty victory over the Bulldogs. They weren’t very creative in attack but with their limited opportunities they made them count. The side will be without another forward in Jesse Bromwich. They will be lacking punch up the middle but with two players who have smart kicking games that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. We are backing another tight game with the away side to get the narrow advantage.
TIP: Storm to win at the margin (1-12) – $3.10 with Sportsbet
Brisbane Broncos vs North Queensland Cowboys (Friday 8pm AEDT)
The Queensland derby has lived up to its expectations over the past two seasons and all of their meetings have been decided by less than a try. Half of them have ended in a draw.
We believe it will be another nail biter with the Cowboys coming off a golden point victory against the Raiders in Townsville. It was a crucial victory for the side and they can credit the smart work of Gavin Cooper and Johnathan Thurston for the win. However, it was Jason Tuamalolo who did the most damage throughout the match as he was at his wrecking ball best.
The Broncos put together a strong performance against the defending premiers the Sharks to earn the two competition points on the road. The side did enough in attack to earn the win while their defence lapsed at times.
Ben Hunt has a few questions surrounding his form but Anthony Milford looks primed for another great start to the season. Darius Boyd was critical in attack and made the most of the overlaps created. There isn’t much separating these two sides which leaves us to go with the home side for this one.
TIP: Broncos to win – $1.91 with CrownBet
+ Broncos to win - $2.30 at Ladbrokes
Newcastle Knights vs Gold Coast Titans (Saturday 3pm AEDT)
The Knights started their season better than expected. They were 10 minutes away from securing their first win in 18 outings but unfortunately for them they slumped to their 19th straight defeat. They have improved drastically since last season but still lack the experience and direction to close out close matches and put together a full 80-minute performance.
The Titans on the other hand were asleep for their first 40 minutes and were outclassed by the Roosters. Kane Elgey and Ashley Taylor will take a while to gel as halves partners and Jarryd Hayne wasn’t himself and is in the media for negative reasons. If the Knights can come out with a lot of energy and get off to a good start then they can cause an upset in this one.
TIP: Knights to win – $2.55 with William Hill
Manly Sea Eagles vs South Sydney Rabbitohs (Saturday 5.30pm AEDT)
The Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs both had disastrous starts to their season. The Rabbitohs had arguably the worse of the two with Greg Inglis suffering an ACL injury and they lost by an embarrassing margin to the Tigers. The side looked similar to the last two seasons and they won’t improve this weekend.
The Sea Eagles are lacking punch and they will be weaker this weekend with the losses of Martin Taupau and Addin Fonua-Blake to suspension. The side hasn’t improved in attack with the addition of Blake Green but they did defend their line for long periods of time. We believe Tom Trbojevic will have a better game this weekend and the sid eshould earn the victory.
TIP: Sea Eagles to win at the line (-4) – $1.90 with CrownBet
Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks (Saturday 7.30pm AEDT)
The defending premiers are a high chance of starting their title defence at 0-2. The side was outclassed in the season opener against the Broncos as they didn’t look up for the challenge and were very flat. They are clearly missing Valentine Holmes at the back as Gerard Beale offered less than expected in attack.
The Raiders were very unlucky to leave Townsville empty handed. The side played well and proved they are true title contenders and have built upon what they did last season. The side had a late withdrawal of Jack Wighton and they are already without Jarrod Croker. They will be a scary side at full strength. We believe they will be too strong for the Sharks this weekend and they could put a bit of a scoreline on their opponents.
TIP: Raiders to win at the line (-4.5) – $1.90 with Sportsbet
Wests Tigers vs Penrith Panthers (Sunday 4pm AEDT)
These two sides had completely opposite starts to the 2017 season. The Tigers weren’t expected to win while the Panthers were expected to dominate the Dragons. The complete opposite happened.
The Panthers were equal premiership favourites but received a realtiy check. We aren’t writing the side off just yet though and we believe they will bounce back strong. They have young talent across the whole squad and we believe they thought everything would just happen for them on the weekend. Bryce Cartwright was caught out defensively on several occasions and we expect him to be targetted this weekend. He will have his hands full as James Tedesco had a great start to the year and he ran rings around Cartwright in the Panthers and Tigers last meeting.
We are expecting the Panthers to put together a better performance but we won’t be surprised when the home side earns the victory on the back of their athletic forward pack linking with their exciting and fast backs.
TIP: Tigers to win at the margin (1-12) – $3.40 with William Hill
St George Illawarra Dragons vs Parramatta Eels (Sunday 6.30pm AEDT)
The Dragons produced the performance of the round and are sitting on the top of the NRL ladder. No one predicted that to happen and we certainly didn’t. They came into the game with a lot of energy and proved their doubters wrong. However, we don’t believe they will be able to stay at that level for long. The Panthers were their own worst enemy in that match and we don’t think the Eels will gift the Dragons anything.
The Eels have proved to be a great defensive team over the past few seasons. Clint Gutherson has been a revelation at five-eighth while Corey Norman has continued on from his form from last season. Bevan French was strong at the back without doing anything too spectacular. We are predicting the Eels to string together enough points in attack and be too hard to crack in defence.
TIP: Eels to win – $1.81 with Sportsbet
