Friday night footy features the Warriors and Cowboys looking to bounce back from poor performances on the Central Coast. Meanwhile, the highlight of Friday’s action will be the Western derby at Bankwest Stadium between the Eels and Panthers.
NRL Round 5 Friday Betting Tips
Warriors vs Cowboys
(Fri, Jun 12 6:00pm)
The Warriors proved they're arguably the hardest team to predict after an 18-0 win over the Dragons was followed by a 26-0 loss against the Panthers on Friday night. Last week's performance wasn't helped by pre-game injuries to their outside backs but they were very sloppy in the first half with soft penalties/errors. They also just didn't get enough ball in Panthers territory. However, they should be able to turn things around against the Cowboys as they are missing Jason Taumalolo. The Warriors will likely make some late team chances with Peta Hiku and Agnatius Paasi available. Meanwhile, Lachlan Burr comes into the starting lineup for Isaiah Papali'i.
Saturday's night defeat against the Sharks in Townsville was a pretty ugly affair. The Cowboys continually produced soft errors throughout the night and to be fair, the 26-16 scoreline flattered the home side because they were poor. They obviously missed the go-forward of Jason Taumalolo and he has been named on an extended bench so watch the team news before the game. Last week's loss has also cost 2 players their spot in the starting lineup. Ben Hampton struggled under the high ball and Jake Granville is out of favour with Reece Robson in great form off the bench. Coen Hess also joins the starting lineup for the injured John Asiata.
Both the Warriors and Cowboys looked awful in Round 4 with plenty of errors and just bad Rugby League. So the Under is likely the best play for this game if both sides struggle to hold onto the ball again. However, this is a game that we are just not 100% confident in what these two teams are going to produce.
TIP: No Bet
Eels vs Panthers
(Fri, Jun 12 7:55pm)
Parramatta survived a huge scare against the Sea Eagles last week in their 19-16 win at Bankwest Stadium. But in the end, their undefeated record remains and they sit comfortably atop the ladder. We're big fans of five-eighth Dylan Brown who just continues to impress and he was one of the Eels best on Saturday night. The Eels won't be happy with their second-half performance against Manly as they conceded 3 tries so there's room for improvement in that area. In team news, they welcome back the experience of Nathan Brown at lock for Marata Niukore. Ray Stone also joins the bench in place of an unlucky Oregon Kaufusi.
The Panthers rebounded from a disappointing draw against the injury-riddled Knights to crush the Warriors 26-0 last Friday night. In particular, Matt Burton looked like he sealed up the #6 jersey with a 2 try effort and a solid kicking game. However, Ivan Cleary has interestingly opted for Luai as his starting number 6 with Nathan Cleary back from suspension (Burton will still come off the bench). James Fisher-Harris also continued his great form with a huge effort against the Warriors so he'll be on the Eels radar this Friday. As mentioned, they welcome back Cleary in their only team change this week.
This should be a cracking contest between two Western rivals and that'll be heightened by their places on the ladder (1st & 3rd). We feel this will be close finish after the 80 minutes as these two sides are pretty similar. They both have massive forward packs and the halfback battle between Moses/Cleary will be something to watch out for. In the end, we can't see a huge margin in either direction so that should see the either team by under 10.5 points bet salute.
Either Team by 10 or Less
$1.91
