Round 9 in the NRL season kicks off on Thursday night as the Brisbane Broncos take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs from Accor Stadium! Check out our full preview and betting tips for the clash below and remember to head to our NRL Tips page for all of our previews throughout Round 9.
Rabbitohs vs Broncos Betting Tips
Accor Stadium, Homebush, Thursday May 5th, 7.50pm (AEST)
Squads
Rabbitohs
1.Blake Taaffe 2. Alex Johnston 3. Isaiah Tass 4. Campbell Graham 5. Josh Mansour 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. Siliva Havili 15. Hame Sele 16. Liam Knight 17. Jaxson Paulo 18. Trent Peoples 19. Taane Milne 20. Richard Kennar 21. Peter Mamouzelos 22. Dean Hawkins 23. Josiah Karapani 24. Davvy Moale
Broncos
1. Te Maire Martin 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Selwyn Cobbo 6. Tyson Gamble 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Corey Jensen 9. Billy Walters 10. Patrick Carrigan 11. TC Robati 12. Jordan Riki 13. Kobe Hetherington 14. Cory Paix 15. Rhys Kennedy 16. Thomas Flegler 17. Keenan Palasia 18. Brenko Lee 19. Jordan Pereira 20. Ryan James 21. Ezra Mam 22. Ethan Quai-Ward 23. Logan Bayliss-Brow 24. Jake Turpin.
Match Preview
BRISBANE will have to deal with a major ‘Payne in the Haas’ when they shoot for their first hat-trick of NRL wins in three years in Thursday night’s clash with South Sydney.
Former Rabbitohs premiership-winning playmaker and current Broncos captain Adam Reynolds will be playing his first game against his old club and the chances of enjoying successful hit-and-run mission to Homebush took a significant hit when Brisbane superstar Payne Haas (shoulder) was ruled out.
Haas is Brisbane’s best player as he churns through the running metres with his bone-crunching hit-ups and gets through a mountain of defensive work thanks to an engine that has more grunt and a bigger tank than the blokeiest ute on the market.
He suffered the shoulder injury in the win over Cronulla last week when the Broncos claimed back-to-back wins. The last time they won three straight games was in Round 11, 2019.
In addition to Haas, the Broncos will be without key recruit Kurt Capewell (neck) who provides so much leadership and one percenters for Brisbane. Brisbane will welcome back workhorse Patrick Carrigan from a knee injury which will fill some of the considerable void left by Haas and Capewell.
TC Robati comes into the second row for Capewell who may not make many highlight reels or attract too many headlines but he is the classic “glue guy” who invariably shows up in the right place, at the right time, to do the right thing for his team.
So it’s not good news for Reynolds who missed Brisbane’s 11-4 Round 1 win over Souths due to Covid protocols, destroying a whole off-season narrative in one foul swoop.
He needs all the time and space he can get to steer Brisbane around the park against a Souths side that has won three games from their last four with their only loss coming in the one-point defeat at the hands of the “Cardiac Kids’ – the Wests Tigers.
They will run at Reynolds all night to dull his attacking game which has been improving steadily in his new environment.
He copped a literal blow against the Sharks last week that has damaged any upcoming male modelling commitments but he has been at the heart of everything good that has happened for Brisbane this year.
Both sides have a 4-4 record with the Bunnies (sixth) three spots above the visitors thanks to 69 more points in the for-and-against column.
The Broncos will be brave and bold here but losing arguably their best two forwards against a Souths pack that likes to steamroll the opposition makes this a bridge too far for Brisbane.
Prop Bet:
Alex Johnston 1st Try ($6.50 at Ladbrokes)
Rabbitohs -12
$2.00 (1 Unit)
