The 2023 edition of Magic Round is here! Brisbane will play host to the festival of rugby league, with the action kicking off on Friday night with two matches. The traditional Thursday night game has been shifted to Sunday, to accommodate for more games on that day. The usual Friday kick-off times apply, with the honour of opening the weekends action given to the Bulldogs and Raiders. Both are currently out of the Top 8 and will be desperate to get a win here.
Check out our best bets Bulldogs vs Raiders below, and make sure to head over to our NRL Tips page for more Round 10 previews and betting tips!
NRL Round 10 Preview & Betting Tips
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs Canberra Raiders
Suncorp Stadium, Friday 5th May, 6pm (AEST)
The Bulldogs face a difficult challenge here with a 5-day turnaround following their grinding 18-16 victory over the Dragons on the road. Getting off to a good start, the Bulldogs were continually challenged and prevailed, demonstrating a lot of grit in the victory. Statistically, they were entitled to lose the match; they had a lower completion rate (72%), missed 42 tackles, and committed 13 errors. On the positive, 7 line breaks and more metres made ensured they generated attacking momentum over 80 minutes. They will win more games if they play like that.
The Raiders are also coming off a victory, albeit a Golden Point one over the Dolphins. Controlling the first half the positive play, they lead 22-12 at HT and need to shut their opponents out of the second half to capture victory. Their immaturity and lack of execution gave the Dolphins a chance to steal victory, right up until the closing moments. It shouldn’t have gotten to that situation; they dominated possession (58%), completed well (90%), dominated metres made and post contact metres, while also creating 9 line breaks. The attacking spark was back for this team, but they were poor at times in defence. This needs to change if they are going to continue their winning performances.
The Raiders are listed as favourites ($2.30 vs $1.62) for this game and the history between these two sides supports this. The Raiders have won 8 of the past 9 against the Bulldogs, with the Bulldogs most recent win over the Raiders back in Round 9, 2017. Current form also suggests that the Raiders are more capable. Despite playing fewer games, they have scored more points than the Bulldogs this year; both teams average nearly the same number of points conceded in defence (24.8ppg vs 24.2ppg). Points are important when these two teams play; 4 out of the past 5 victories for the Raiders over the Bulldogs have been by 1-12, with the average sitting at 4.5 points.
The Bulldogs are certainly a capable team; they proved as much last week and will want to build on that momentum. The quick back-up will hold a challenge, whereas the Raiders have extra time to prepare. Their Golden Point performance over the Dolphins will impact their fatigue levels but their attack is only growing in confidence. This appears superior enough to cover the line as well.
Prop Bets
SGM1 – Raiders 1-12 & Raiders-3.5/Over 40.5 points @ $7.50 – 0.25 units
SGM2 – Savage, Wighton & Whitehead to score @ $14 – 0.25 units
Raiders -3.5
$1.90 (2.5 Units)
