NRL Indigenous Round begins on Thursday night with a blockbuster match between the Broncos and Panthers. Both sides sit high on the ladder and NRL Power Rankings and will be out to grab a key win over another competition heavyweight. The Broncos will also be out to record consecutive victories over the Panthers this season following their Round 1 upset win. The Panthers will want to avoid this, setting the stage for an exciting contest.
Catch our best bets for the Broncos vs Panthers clash below, and make sure to check out our NBL Tips page for more Round 12 content!
NRL Round 12 Preview & Betting Tips
Brisbane Broncos vs Penrith Panthers
Suncorp Stadium, 18th May, 7:50pm (AEST)
The Broncos faced a difficult challenge with a road trip to Melbourne. The struggle of winning the match was increased inside 17 minutes, when halfback Adam Reynolds was stretchered from the field. This contributed to their 24-16 loss, but they were not without chances. In fact, had some calls not gone against them, it could’ve been a closer outcome. They trailed their opponents in most areas including possession (46%), completion rate (79%) and metres made per carry (8.4m), making it difficult for them to gain winning momentum.
There is a lot of hype around this young Broncos side, and they have another tough test ahead against the Panthers, who are coming off a dominating 48-4 victory over the Roosters at home. It didn’t take long for them to find their attacking groove, opening the scoring inside 10 minutes and scoring 8 total tries. They rarely gave up positive field position and made their opponents work until the 64th minute before they would cross for a try. They dominated statistically, leading possession (59%), completion rate (89%), metres per carry (8.8m) and post contact metres (244m more than their opponents). Such a performance suggests the Panthers are returning to their best and will be difficult for any team to overcome.
This game has been heavily impacted by the omission of Adam Reynolds for the Broncos. It has them as rank outsiders ($3 vs $1.40), with Jock Madden named as his replacement. Reynolds’ impact is evident on this team; while able to cover his absence last week during the match, the Panthers will know what needs to be exploited this week. The Broncos will aim to keep the match tight by playing it in the forwards; they arguably have an edge in this area but need to limit the Panthers momentum with strong defence if they are to be competitive over 80 minutes.
The Broncos have proven before that if they cannot halt their opponent’s momentum, they do not have the firepower to peg them back. This game may be no different. The line of 8.5 doesn’t appear as though it will be enough. Even with other players expected to stand up in their halfback’s absence, it will only count for so much. The trip north will not be a daunting one for the Panthers either; they combat the Broncos 59% record at this ground with a 55% success rate and have won their past 2 over the Broncos at this ground. The Broncos are expected to put up a fight but with uncertainty around where their points will come from, they will struggle to match the power of their opponents over 80 minutes.
Same Game Multi
Panthers -6.5 & Total Points over 38.5 @ $3 – 1 unit
Panthers -8.5
$1.95 (1.5 Units)
