NRL Round 24 action begins on Thursday night in the northern beaches of Sydney with the Sea Eagles hosting the Panthers. With their finals hopes hanging by a thread, the Sea Eagles will be desperate to perform well here but have a tough task ahead of them against the competition and NRL Power Rankings leaders. The on-field action promises to be exciting and Before You Bet is here to take a comprehensive look at the NRL betting options available to add to your viewing enjoyment.
Below, we will dissect the matchup, supply our Best Bet, and suggest a Same Game Multi via BoomBet. Be sure to check out our NRL Tips page regularly, as we preview every single NRL game all season long, for free!
NRL Round 24 Preview & Betting Tips
The Dolphins vs Newcastle Knights
4 Pines Park, Thursday 10th August, 7:50pm (AEST)
The Sea Eagles watched their Finals hopes slowly slip away in their 26-16 loss to the Roosters. Trailing 18-2 at HT, they were kept tryless until the 63rd minute, with 2 tries in the final 7 minutes only narrowing an already decided outcome. The fact that they had more possession (53%), superior completion rate (88%) yet made fewer metres, half the amount of line breaks and minimal points highlights how ineffective they were with the ball. They now need to win all remaining matches to be a chance and will have a difficult time against the Panthers, who were dominant against the Storm last Friday. Expected to be a grinding contest, the Panthers were again clinical in their execution, powering to a comfortable 26-6 win. As good as they were in attack (56% possession, 85% completion rate and 661 post contact metres), their defence was impressive again in missing just 23 tackles and limiting the Storm to just one try. Defence wins competitions and the Panthers are placing themselves well to make it 3 consecutive premiership titles.
Despite the superior home ground advantage, the Sea Eagles appeared outclassed in this match and that is reflected in the one-sided odds in favour of the Panthers ($5.50 vs $1.15). All signs point towards the visitors winning this game. They average more in attack (20ppg vs 25ppg) and concede the fewest number of points in the league while the Sea Eagles are still high (22ppg vs 12ppg). These two sides met back in Round 6 and that match looks to replicate what can occur here. In that match, the Panthers lead 38-nil (won 44-12) with just over 20 minutes remaining. They have won the past 7 matches against the Sea Eagles, with 4 of those victories coming by 22 points or more. The line is well set at 16.5 points, and it appears the Sea Eagles will have issues cracking their opponents defensive line. If they can only manage 16 points against the Roosters, this game could get very ugly. News that Luai is out of this game has seen the price drift slightly (including the line). Cogger comes in to play 5/8 and while not the same quality player as Luai, he will do a job for his team and did so in Cleary’s absence. The safer option is to take the Panthers to win by 13+ and see where this game is taken. A larger stake is recommended to increase the return on a bet with lower than usual odds.
Panthers 13+
$1.62 (3 units)
Same Game Multi
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Leg 1: Panthers -16.5
Leg 2: Crichton to score 2+ tries
As mentioned above, the Panthers should cover line, even with Luai missing from their spine, with the latter being the reason it is not the Suggested Bet. Crichton has scored the (equal) second most tries for the Panthers this season and will be a threat on his edge against a questionable defensive structure.
SGM Odds: $8.00 at BoomBet
