The Manly Sea Eagles will square off against the Sydney Roosters in the first of two massive semi-final matchups in the NRL this weekend! The action kicks off from BB Print Stadium in Mackay from 7.50pm on Friday night and we have you covered with a full preview and NRL betting tips below.
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NRL Sea Eagles vs Roosters Betting Tips
BB Print Stadium, Friday 17th September, 7.50pm (AEST)
It’s a mouthwatering match-up to start off another weekend of NRL finals action with the Manly Sea Eagles taking on the Sydney Roosters.
Manly come into this off the back of a disappointing performance against Melbourne, where they were caught napping early and found themselves chasing the game from the get go. Tommy Turbo was kept quiet while their attack just couldn’t find any rhythm so you’d expect Des Hasler to have his side refreshed and ready to bounce back this week. Manly have been a side who’ve put up plenty of point all year so I can’t see them being held out for two straight weeks. They were simply outgunned by a clinical Storm side last week but this side has too much finals experience to let that play on their minds. I think they’ll fancy their chances against a Roosters team who will once again rely on a string of reserve players as they battle more injuries and suspensions this week.
The Roosters weren’t at their best last week against the Titans and you could easily argue that they were lucky to get away with the win. With that being said they scrapped all the way till the full time siren and once again proved they won’t go down without a fight. They have been down on numbers all season and this week will be no different. Sam Verrils has been suspended so it’s going to be another make-shift spine for the tri-colours and they’ll need skipper James Tedesco to lead from the front yet again if they are going to spring an upset. I do think the Roosters can cause some issues for Manly who will have all the pressure on them to win here. With their backs against the wall and many people writing them off I think that will suit Trent Robinson and his side tonight.
From 2010 these two sides have met on 20 occasions. The score? 10 wins a piece. I can’t see this match being a blow out in a do or die finals game between sides who are constantly neck and neck with each other. So with that stat in mind, I think the 11.5 start for the Sea Eagles is too big and the Roosters, while down on numbers are a club with a heap of finals experience throughout their playing roster and coaching staff. They’ll know exactly what they need to do to win here tonight and I think we are in for a cracking game of finals footy.
