The Friday night double-headers continue in Round 14. First up, can the Warriors overcome the ladder leading Panthers on the Central Coast. Then, the Eels are back at Bankwest Stadium against the desperate Dragons.
NRL Round 14 Friday Betting Tips
Warriors vs Panthers
Fri, Aug 14 6:00pm
After back to back wins over Manly and Wests, the Warriors are suddenly right back in contention for a top 8 spot. So this is a massive game against the ladder leaders and the positive is that the Warriors are coming into this matchup with solid form. But they will be without Jack Hetherington after his suspension and funnily enough, he’ll return to the Panthers after his loan ended. So in his place will be Lachlan Burr, who’s been in good form off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Panthers continued their impressive 2020 season with a 28-10 victory over the Raiders on Saturday night. They scored 4 first-half tries and as a result, it was basically game over after 40 minutes with the 24-0 lead. With their spine of Cleary, Luai and Koroisau in fine form, they’ll be looking to test the Warriors edge defence in this one. Especially with Kikau looking back at 100% fitness. In team news, there’s nothing to report at the moment as the settled Panthers have named the same 17.
It’s pretty tough to back against this red-hot Penrith team at the moment so we’re more keen on the Unders. The Panthers have not conceded over 14 points in their last 4 games and the Warriors will likely struggle to get past their defence here. The two sides have also met this season as the Panthers won 26-0 in early June.
Under 42.5 Total Points
$1.90
Eels vs Dragons
Fri, Aug 14 7:55pm
In horrid conditions in Sydney last week, the Eels outlasted the Sharks in a crucial 14-12 victory. They’re now 2 wins clear of 4th position so the Eels can really lock up a top 4 position in the coming weeks. There’s also good news in team selections with Ryan Matterson returning from injury to strengthen the Eels second row. So that will see Niukore move back to the bench.
Meanwhile, the Dragons suffered a 24-16 defeat last Thursday night against the injury riddled Roosters. So they’re now 3 wins outside the top 8 and a finals spot is now looking very unlikely. However, they did complete 90% of their sets last week and were incredibly disciplined by giving away just 1 penalty. So they just need to take their convert opportunities on the scoreboard when they get inside the opposition 20. In team selections, the Dragons will welcome back Norman into the halves and Hunt moves back to hooker. McInnes shifts to lock with Ford out suspended. Tariq Sims is out with a shoulder injury and Fuimaono moves into the starting side.
In the Eels last 5 games this season, the average margin is just 4.8 points. So we’re keen on another close game on Friday night. The Dragons showed great discipline against the Roosters last week and also get the benefit of a longer break after the Eels played on Sunday. So we feel they can really challenge the Eels here.
Either Team by 1-12
$1.91
