A phenomenal amount of talent on the field in your round
7 opener on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium. Both sides boasting a truckload of
graduates from the National Youth Competition as the future looks bright for
the Broncos and the Raiders alike. Unfortunately for the Green Machine, they do
not have a Time Machine and will be forced to take their lumps from a superior
Brisbane forward pack. The short turnaround from last Sunday's game won't help
either.
Whilst the Raiders demolished their opposition last week,
they will struggle to find the same holes opening up and will struggle to
protect their line against some of the best athletes in the NRL. The likes of
Hoffman and Norman will prove too classy but the big difference will be up
front. The Raiders big boys won't be able to keep up. Speaking of keeping up,
watch for a mismatch out wide if Justin Hodges gets enough possession. He could
put Jarrod Croker in a hole for 80 painful minutes.
My tip: Brisbane 30-12
St George Illawarra Dragons v Newcastle Knights
Match of the round from Kogarah on Friday night and what
a beauty it will be. Perhaps not for those of you who like to see a try every 5
minutes, but for footy fans with an appreciation for solid defence and passionate
play, look no further. There will be some feeling in this one. If not from the
34 men on the field, then most definitely from the increasingly agitated army
of Saints fans who will pack Jubilee Oval and find their angry voices.
They've been through plenty of late, have the Red V
faithful. Their emotional leader announcing his retirement, scoring zero points
against their hated rivals last week and just when you though they couldn’t get
any more pissed off, Darius Boyd is coming to town with his fellow Rugby League
mercenary, Mr Wayne Bennett. Saints respond to last week's shut-out and to the
desperate plea from their fans to beat the Knights for the second time this
season.
My tip: St George Illawarra 18-12
Melbourne Storm v Canterbury Bulldogs
Melbourne's win over the Cowboys in Townsville last week
has everyone shaking in their footy boots. It appears that talk in the Rugby
League community is not about whether the Storm will win or not… but by how
much. Well, as always, the bookies have an answer. The Bulldogs travel to AAMI
Park on Saturday afternoon with an 8.5 start and if Des Hasler and his men
don't bring their best, things could get ugly.
They do. Whilst nobody has had more success against the
Storm than Hasler, his best laid plans will not be enough to overcome a rampant
home side. Firstly, because the 'Dogs are lacking some on-field direction
without Trent Hodkinson and secondly, because Melbourne are awesome. Cooper
Cronk teaches the visiting halves a lesson and while we are on the subject of
lessons, keep an eye on Cameron Smith taking his opposite number to school,
again.
My tip: Melbourne 22-4
Manly Sea Eagles v Gold Coast Titans
The reigning premiers celebrated their return to Fortress Brookvale last Monday night with a comprehensive thumping of the Panthers. It seemed like they were happy to be back and the Sea Eagles fans left no doubt that they were downright ecstatic to have them back. If home ground advantage was not enough to lock in a win for Geoff Toovey's men, having the Titans coming to town on Saturday surely will.
John Cartwright must be a broken man as he watches week
after week of lousy defensive lines, bruised backsides and a horrible, bloody
trail of broken dreams. So, I guess now is a good time to debut a new five
eighth in Aidan Sezer. The prize recruit from Belmore gets his first shot at
the big time and what better way to bust your cherry than getting beat at
Brooky. The nightmare continues for the Titans.
My tip: Manly 30-12
Sydney Roosters v North Queensland Cowboys
What a lovely time of year for a holiday to the Northern
Territory and what better way to advertise the Greatest Game of All. The
Roosters and the Cowboys head to something called TIO Stadium on Saturday night
and the people of Darwin will be treated to a good 10 minutes of quality
football before both forward packs fall apart in the heat, or from a tropical
storm. Whichever gets them first; but count on both as the forecast basically
says hot… and wet.
Speaking of which... the Roosters are hot - winners of 4
from 6 so far this season and the Cowboys are not - losing by 30 to the Storm
at home last week; but if anyone can acclimatise to this type of away game, it
is Jonathan Thurston and the Cowboys. They handle the conditions and win ugly.
Keep an eye on Tariq Sims and JWH crossing paths in this match. Not sure if TIO
Stadium can handle the collision... Seriously, the grand stand does not look
structurally sound.
My tip: North Queensland 16-14
New Zealand Warriors v South Sydney Rabbitohs
Your Sunday triple header kicks off at noon Sydney time
from Mt Smart Stadium with the struggling Warriors desperate to recover from a
shellacking in our nation’s capital last week. The New Zealand defence, it must
be said, was not up to the standard we have come to expect from such a talented
side and especially not from a team that was 1 win away from premiership glory
only 6 short months ago. Pressure is building.
The Bunnies, on the other hand, are winners of two in a
row and looking back on those two victories, Greg Inglis was the difference in
both games. His miracle field goal against the Tigers... and his phenomenal
work under pressure last week. The confidence is building at Redfern and it
travels with them to Auckland as Souths come away with a hard earned two
points. GI the difference again and the Warriors are left with some questions
to answer.
My tip: South Sydney 24-18
Cronulla Sharks v Parramatta Eels
There is no way I can jump off the bandwagon now. After
grabbing hold of the Sharks momentum to carry me to tipping glory for the past
2 weeks, the one time I won't be letting go is this week against the Parramatta
Eels. Cronulla's forwards are firing and apparently, they are a very close
bunch down in the Shire. It shows in their defence as they hold the NRL’s best
record in that department and are winners of 4 in a row.
The Eels, by contrast, have the worst defensive record in
the comp and to rub salt in the wound, they are now under fire from former players
about their eating habits, but we won't get into that here; these previews are
much too classy... So, Jeff Robson continues his resurgence and will repay the
team that let him go by destroying them while his replacement at halfback for
the Eels will apparently destroy the kiosk inventory at Toyota Stadium.
My tip: Cronulla 20-12
Penrith Panthers v Wests Tigers
The embattled Tigers come into this game on the back of 5
straight losses. The Panthers, meanwhile, failed to trouble the scorers at
Brookvale Oval last week. Not exactly the greatest Battle of the West we've
ever seen but you can bet desperation will be the order of the day at Centrebet
Stadium on Sunday afternoon. A half point start means the bookies don't have a
clue who might win this one and judging by their performances, neither do the
players.
The one thing we do know is that they probably won't be
troubling the scorers come September and as rumours continue to swirl around
about team unity, it's Wests with more at stake. The bounce of the ball
suddenly turns towards Benji and the Tigers fans can turn their frowns upside
down. Hate to be nasty, but the most exciting thing about this game is that
they announce the rep teams after full time. A wonderful time of year is upon
us.
My tip: Wests 18-16
for live updates throughout the weekend, go to http://leagueunlimited.com/
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