The Dragons and Rabbitohs will square off in the opening game of Round 15 in the NRL this Thursday night. As always, Greg Davis is back to run you through the teams and his maatch predictions as well as giving his best bet for the night below..
Dragons vs Rabbitohs Betting Tips
WIN Stadium, Wollongong, Thursday 7.50pm
Squads
Dragons
1.Cody Ramsey 2. Mathew Feagai 3. Moses Suli 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Talatau Amone 7. Ben Hunt 8. Jack de Belin 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Blake Lawrie 11. Jack Bird 12. Jaydn Su'A 13. Tariq Sims 14. Moses Mbye 15. Francis Molo 16. Aaron Woods 17. Michael Molo 18. Josh Kerr 19. Tautau Moga 20. Jayden Sullivan 21. Jaiyden Hunt 22. Billy Burns
Rabbitohs
1.Kodi Nikorima 2. Alex Johnston 3. Taane Milne 4. Campbell Graham 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Cody Walker 7. Lachlan Ilias 8. Tevita Tatola 9. Damien Cook 10. Thomas Burgess 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Jai Arrow 13. Cameron Murray 14. Blake Taaffe 15. Mark Nicholls 16. Siliva Havili 17. Hame Sele 18. Peter Mamouzelos 19. Isaiah Tass 20. Dean Hawkins 21. Jed Cartwright 22. Liam Knight
Match Preview
THERE should be no charity from South Sydney when they take on arch-rival St George Illawarra on Thursday night.
The Dragons claimed a rare win in the annual pre-season Charity Shield clash with the Rabbitohs back in February and it has been another frustrating campaign for the “Red V” ever since.
They’ve beaten the bottom teams – except the Gold Coast – and been beaten by the good sides – except the Roosters – in an indifferent season that has screamed mid-table ‘meh’.
The biggest problem the Dragons have is that they struggle to score points. Only three teams have scored less points than St George Illawarra this season – Newcastle, Wests Tiers and Canterbury.
The quartet of Zac Lomax, Jack Bird, Max Feagai and Moses Suli have combined for 14 tries this season while Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnson has scored 14 four-pointers of his own.
And that stat tells you why the Rabbitohs should take care of business at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium in what will be the 300th NRL match for Dragons hooker and former Bronco Andrew McCullough.
McCullough has been a tackling machine since making his debut for Brisbane and he will need all of his trademark defensive heroics to help repel the Bunnies who average a tick over four tries a game in 2022 compared to St George Illawarra who cross the white stripe less than three times per match.
The Dragons’ attack did not look overly potent against the Cowboys in the 31-12 loss to North Queensland last Friday despite enjoying a tonne of territory and possession.
St George Illawarra miss too many tackles and drop the ball too often to release any pressure they may build up on opposition sides.
The Rabbitohs have not exactly been a model of consistency either in 2022 and have a 2-5 record in Wollongong. But the vibe out of Redfern is that Souths are starting to build something with wins either side of their bye.
Souths claimed a 30-16 win over the Gold Coast last Saturday and enjoyed a 24-12 victory over the Dragons in Round 5. They welcome back Blake Taaffe to the bench for a match that they should win if they are fair dinkum about being a top eight side.
The Bunnies should have too much class and more points in them than the home side here. The Dragons will lift for McCullough at their favourite hunting ground but Souths have more firepower and should continue their mid-season surge.
Prop Bets
Alex Johnson 1st Try ($8.00 at Ladbrokes)
Rabbitohs 13+
$2.55 (1.5 Units)
