Just the one game on Friday Night this week, with the last of the 3 big bye rounds set to go ahead in round 19. Here, the Dragons will host the Raiders at WIN Stadium, where the Raiders will attempt to keep up their tremendous form, having won 8 of their past 10 games. Meanwhile, the Dragons will look to snap a two-game skid at home.
Below, we will dissect the matchup, supply our Best Bet, and suggest a Same Game Multi via Picklebet. Be sure to keep up to date with all of our NRL content, as we preview every single game all season long.
NRL Round 19 Preview & Betting Tips
St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canberra Raiders
WIN Stadium, Friday 7th July, 8:00pm (AEST)
The Dragons were hammered 52-16 by the Sharks, and have now conceded 130 points in their past 3 games (43.3ppg). Despite leading 10-6 after 20 minutes, the Dragons were dominated, conceding 8 tries in 55 minutes to round out the game. Apart from the opening 20 minutes, the Dragons appeared disinterested, and a huge turnaround will be needed this week if they’ve got any chance against the Raiders.
Speaking of the Raiders, they are coming off a tight 26-22 victory at home over the Titans. To be fair to the Titans, they were probably the better team, however the Raiders are just that team at the moment, they know how to get the job done in the big spots.
The Raiders opened 9.5-point favourites for this round 19 clash, however the market has decided that wasn’t enough, with the Raiders now bet out to 11.5-point favourites. Meanwhile, the total opened 44.5, and has been bet up to 45.5, and will probably continue pushing up towards 47.5 before kick-off.
Thankfully, this is the second last Origin affected week of betting, before the run to the finals, where we expect the stakes to get bigger as confidence grows. So once again, low stakes here, in a game where if the Dragons don’t show up again, could be another absolute abomination of a game of football. Nevertheless, we look for the value, and I believe I may have found some here.
Two weeks ago, we wrote about the Raiders when they took on the Roosters, where we stated the Raiders are the masters at winning tight games. It proved correct, as the Raiders snuck by the Roosters 20-18. Whilst that game was somewhat expected to be tight (Roosters closed 4.5-point favourites), here, the price is obviously much larger, given the market is currently sitting at Raiders -11.5. The Raiders have won 10 games this season, and every one of them has been by a margin of 1-12.
Whilst there’s every chance the Dragons are lapped again, I’m going to bite here. The Raiders have shown all season that they cannot put teams to the sword, and the Dragons will be hoping to show some life without Ben Hunt in the squad. Very low stakes, however I like the value here.
Raiders By 1-12
$3.20 (1 Unit)
Same Game Multi
Popular bookmaker Picklebet have launched their Same Game Multis for both the AFL and NRL. There are plenty of markets to choose from an excellent odds on offer, so make sure to check them out!
Matthew Timoko (1+ try) – Timoko has taken a massive leap this season, becoming an absolute beast on the right edge for the Raiders. The Dragons have the worst left side defence in the NRL, and I fully expect Timoko to terrorise them all night.
Mikaele Ravalawa (1+ try) – Ravalawa just keeps scoring tries, no matter how bad the Dragons are. The big Fijian has 10 tries in 13 games this season, and will be in the mix to score one this weekend at good odds.
Canberra Raiders to Win – The Raiders should win this comfortably, and this leg is added for a nice price bump.
