Super Saturday in NRL Round 24 begins with a clash between the Canberra Raiders and the Manly Sea Eagles. Scooby brings you his match prediction and best prop bets for the match right here!
Also, be sure to check out our NRL Tips page to find our best bets for each and every NRL fixture in the 2022 season!
Canberra Raiders vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
GIO Stadium, Saturday 27th August, 3pm (AEST)
The Raiders needed a win last week to keep their Finals hopes alive and, despite their usual ‘Raiders-like’ performance, were able to prevail 28-22 against the Knights. With the positives that such a performance brings, they will be disappointed they missed an opportunity to further improve their points differential (currently -25). Fans must have been worried though, as the Raiders trailed 22-8 at HT and the momentum in their attack was inconsistent to say the least. Their power in the middle proved the difference in the second half and on the back of some strong defence, they prevailed. They will be pleased statistically; leading possession (53%), having an 83% completion rate and committing just 7 errors. Improvement is needed though, with 34 missed tackles (same as the Knights) and an average of 8.9m per carry needing attention.
As concerning as the Raiders troubles sound, the Sea Eagles would undoubtedly trade places with the Raiders in an instant. They are sitting 11th on the ladder, out of Finals contention and are on a 5-game losing streak. Most recently, they were embarrassed 40-6 on their home turf by the Sharks. Always expected to struggle, few saw such a score line coming; it was only a 76th minute (intercept) try which saved them from further humiliation. Ownership of the performance falls on the execution of this team; with just 44% possession they completed at 71%, averaged 8.7m per carry, allowed 19 offloads, missed 43 tackles, and committed 14 errors. There are clear signs that all is not well in this organisation and the playing group are desperate for the end of the season. This is a shame because the quality and potential of this team is still high.
Squads
Canberra Raiders
1. Xavier Savage 2. Nick Cotric 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Sebastian Kris 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Jack Wighton 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papalii 9. Zac Wooldford 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Adam Elliott Interchange: 14. Tom Starling 15. Emre Guler 16. Corey Horsburgh 17. Corey Harawira-Naera 18. James Schiller
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
1. Tolutau Koula 2. Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega 3. Brad Parker 4. Morgan Harper 5. Christian Tuipulotu 6. Kieran Foran 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Josh Aloiai 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Toafofoa Sipley 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Andrew Davey 13. Dylan Walker Interchange: 14. Ben Trbojevic 15. Josh Schuster 16. Martin Taupau 17. Kurt De Luis 18. Ethan Bullemor
Match Prediction
The Raiders need this victory and if they want to be considered a contender for the Finals, they should win and win well. All factors point towards this; they’re at home, it’ll be cold, their opponents are down on confidence and out of contention. The odds ($1.22 vs $4.30) suggest that it will be a one-sided contest too. There appears to be more wrong at the Sea Eagles than just their form and with players missing from their team, they appear as though they will be outclassed. It would be a monumental upset if they were to win. There is some doubt about the quality of the Raiders; allowing the Knights to perform as well as they did last week is a cause for concern. Conceding 22-points also creates doubt. A better halves pairing in DCE and Foran will make the most of these opportunities. The unpredictability of their performances reduces the confidence in this result. Furthermore, the Sea Eagles have won 8 out of the past 10 matches between these two teams; they appear to be a difficult team to face for the Raiders. This is more reason to keep things simple.
There are better NRL options this week to invest your money on this weekend but if you must, take the home team to win and total points to be below the large total offered.
Props: Raiders 19+ @ $2.30 TAB – 0.5 Units
Rapana to Score 2+ Tries @ $4 TAB – 1 Unit
Raiders to win/Total Points Under 53.5
$2.35 (1.5 Units)
