Round 2 of the 2019 NRL season starts this Thursday at Jubilee Oval and we have you covered with our NRL betting tips for every match.
NRL Round 2 Betting Tips
St George Dragons vs South Sydney Rabbitohs (Thursday, Mar 21 7:50pm AEDT)
Round 2 begins at Jubilee Oval on Thursday night as the Dragons take on the Rabbitohs in a rivalry matchup. Of the two sides, Souths head into this clash with a confidence-building win over the Roosters at the SCG. The Dragons are coming off a short week and an unsuccessful trip to North QLD (24-12 loss). They'll also miss Tyson Frizell for 4-6 weeks. In 2018, these two sides met on 3 occasions and the main trend was low scoring contests. Headlined by a 13-12 Semi-Final matchup. This shapes as another low scoring affair with Souths 6-3-1 Under record against the Dragons since 2012 and St George is 8-3 against the Under as a home underdog.
Total points UNDER 38.5
$1.90
Canberra Raiders vs Melbourne Storm (Friday, Mar 22 6:00pm AEDT)
Friday night starts with an intriguing clash in Canberra. The Raiders started the season in impressive style with a 21-0 shutout of the Titans. Meanwhile, the Storm continued their Round 1 dominance with a fairly comfortable win over Brisbane. In previous meetings at this venue, both sides have 2 wins from the 4 games played so this figures to be a close game. 3 of those 4 games have finished under 8.5 points so I like the value for either team taking this game. Canberra should be confident after last week to match it with the Storm on their home turf.
Either team by under 8.5
$2.20
Brisbane Broncos vs North Queensland Cowboys (Friday, Mar 22 7:55pm AEDT)
Suncorp Stadium hosts the annual Broncos/Cowboys clash on Friday night footy. The Broncos are looking to rebound from a disappointing performance in Round 1. North QLD started their era without JT with an impressive home win over the Dragons. They currently have the wood over Brisbane with a 4-2 record and the last 3 clashes at Suncorp average just a 3 point margin. So the Cowboys at the line looks the best bet. It's hard to see the Broncos stopping Taumalolo and the Broncos halves situation is still a concern in attack.
Cronulla Sharks vs Gold Coast Titans (Saturday, Mar 23 3:00pm AEDT)
Super Saturday starts at Shark Park as the Sharks and Titans look for their first win of the season. Cronulla was average in attack last week and suffered a 14-8 loss in Newcastle. It looks like Shaun Johnson will take some time to fit with his new side. The Titans lost Ash Taylor before kickoff and couldn't muster a point against the Raiders at home. Although, Gold Coast do seem to match up well with Cronulla as they've won 2 of the last 3 meetings and won 16-12 at this venue in 2017. After last week, both sides looked pretty average and that makes them very unpredictable for this one.
No Bet
Newcastle Knights vs Penrith Panthers (Saturday, Mar 23 5:30pm AEDT)
Predicted to improve in 2019, the Knights season started perfectly with a 14-8 victory over the Sharks. In Round 2, they host the Panthers and they're coming off a disappointing performance at home against the Eels. The key here will be the Knights defence, which was a standout last week and that should keep this game Under the total points. The Knights are 11-7 against the Under at home in night games and it's 4-2 when they play the Panthers at home. Penrith managed just 12 points against last year's wooden spooners so they could struggle to reach that mark against Newcastle.
Total points UNDER 40.5
$1.90
Manly Sea Eagles vs Sydney Roosters (Saturday, Mar 23 7:35pm AEDT)
Manly face the Roosters at Brookvale Oval on Saturday night and both sides will be keen for the first win of the new season. Last season's meeting at this venue saw the Roosters crush the home side in a 56-24 win. While they didn't get going against the Rabbitohs last week, Sydney is looking ominous for a big win in this clash. Manly was held to 2 points for 79 minutes last week and it's hard to see them scoring much more against the Roosters usually strong defence. Opposing sides went 7-3 at Brookvale last year and the Roosters attack will be tough to stop.
Canterbury Bulldogs vs Parramatta Eels (Sunday, Mar 24 4:50pm AEDT)
On Sunday afternoon, traditional rivals clash at ANZ Stadium with the Bulldogs up against the Eels. When these two sides play, it's usually low scoring and close, hopefully this is another decent contest. Canterbury will be keen to forget about last week because the Warriors made them look very average in a 40-6 scoreline. After winning the spoon last year, Parramatta kicked off the season with a nice win over the Panthers. Looking at last year, the average total points in the 2 meetings was just 27 points so I like the Unders trend here. Since 2015, no side has scored over 20 points in this matchup.
Total points UNDER 37.5
$1.90
Wests Tigers vs New Zealand Warriors (Sunday, Mar 24 6:10pm AEDT)
Both the Tigers and Warriors are coming off Round 1 victories and a 2-0 start will be on the line at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday. Wests easily accounted for the Sea Eagles in the wet last week. Meanwhile, the Warriors put up 40 points on the Bulldogs in an impressive display at home. The odds are saying this will be a close affair with no real favourite and it's hard to disagree. Both sides can score quick points but they're also well coached defensively. As such, both sides conceded only 6 points in Round 1. This shapes as a close affair at Campbelltown and I'd suggest backing either team to win by under 8.5 points.
Either team by under 8.5
$2.10
