The home stretch of the regular NRL season kicks off on Friday night, and with Origin over for another year, focus shifts to the NRL finals for season 2022. In the second game of the Friday Night NRL double header, the Eels will host the Warriors. The Warriors, whilst not yet mathematically eliminated from the finals, must surely have one eye on season 2023, whilst the home side need a strong push to end the season for a chance at an all-important top 4 finish.
As always, stay tuned throughout the 2022 NRL season to get the best betting value when taking on the bookies, with our NRL Tips page previewing all the NRL matches in 2022.
Parramatta Eels vs New Zealand Warriors
CommBank Stadium, Friday 15th July, 7:55pm (AEST)
Squads
Parramatta Eels
1. Clinton Gutherson 2. Maika Sivo 3. Will Penisini 4. Waqa Blake 5. Bailey Simonsson 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Isaiah Papali’i 13. Marata Niukore. INTERCHANGE: 14. Makahesi Makatoa 15. Jakob Arthur 16. Oregon Kaufusi 17. Ky Rodwell. RESERVES: 18. Tom Opacic 19. Elie El Zakhem 20. Nathan Brown 21. Ofahiki Ogden 22. Hayze Perham
New Zealand Warriors
1. Reece Walsh 2. Marcelo Montoya 3. Jesse Arthars 4. Adam Pompey 5. Edward Kosi 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Tohu Harris 11. Euan Aitken 12. Josh Curran 13. Jazz Tevaga. INTERCHANGE: 14. Freddy Lussick 15. Bunty Afoa 16. Aaron Pene 17. Jack Murchie. RESERVES: 18. Eliesa Katoa 20. Rocco Berry 21. Daejarn Asi 22. Pride Petterson-Robati 23. Jackson Frei
Match Preview
Two sides with vastly different prospects moving forward this season, with the home side Eels pushing hard for a top 4 berth, whilst the Warriors are just trying to make it through the season with as little pain as possible. The Eels, despite sitting only 2 points from 3rd, have been wildly inconsistent for most of this season. Their best appears to be good enough to give the competition a real shake, whilst their worst is good enough for losses against some of the worst teams in the competition. With their poor post-Origin 2021 fresh in the minds of all involved, surely Brad Arthur will have them better prepared for the run home this season.
The Warriors had the bye last weekend, after their first win since round 8, beating the Tigers 22-2 in round 16. Despite this, both teams looked extremely poor throughout, and given it was the Warriors’ homecoming after nearly 3 years abroad, it wasn’t quite the performance I was envisaging. I think they will struggle for the rest of the season, starting this weekend against the Eels.
The Eels’ forward pack is much more dominant in attack than the Warriors and are up there with the absolute best engine rooms in the competition when it comes to yardage. Whilst they are a strong attacking team, the Eels defence is another story. Most statistics have the Eels and Warriors being extremely similar defensively, with the main difference being the points conceded per game, with the Eels conceding 22 points per game (8th), and the Warriors 27 points per game (16th). This shows the Eels have work to do defensively if they are to have any chance at winning the Premiership this season.
The line opened Eels -15.5 and the over/under set at 42.5, with early money coming in on the Eels and the over, both of which I agree with. With both defences struggling this year, I’ll lean with the over being my best bet for this clash, however also really like the Eels at -16.5 and 13+.
Alternate Bets:
Parramatta Eels (-16.5) - $2.00 @ Neds
Will Penisini (Anytime try scorer) - $2.65 @ Palmerbet
Over 43.5 Total Points
$1.90 (2 units)
