NRL Round 17 Triple Preview & Betting Opportunities

As well as providing his best value bets every week, our NRL guru Steve Green also previews every NRL game for members. Each week on the blog we’ll feature some of his match previews from the eight games. Check out his NRL Round 17 Triple Preview below

For the rest of Steve’s NRL Round 17 previews plus all of his best bets, join NRL Tips now!

NRL Round 17: Souths v Cowboys

This is a game that I see as being similar to the Manly v Raiders game.

The bookies are looking at the flogging the Cowboys copped at the hands of the Knights last weekend and with a few more players out due to Origin, they are predicting another Cowboys capitulation.

But there are a few reasons I think that the Cowboys will be competitive here:

1) In terms of getting flogged by the Knights, as you are aware I am a big believer in the Knights in 2021 and I think they played some terrific footy at home last weekend. The score line was not so much a reflection of how poor the Cowboys are, but rather, just what Ponga can do to a team when he is injury free.

2) The Cowboys were without the head coach due to COVID isolation requirements, so that was a huge disruption to their prep last week. He is back this weekend with the squad.

3) Souths are missing a ton of talent due to Origin and injury, with Latrell, Cook, Murray, Gagai, Arrow and Tatola, all missing this week. That is two key outside backs, and four starting forwards.

While the Cowboys will miss Holmes at 1, Hammer out wide and Molo in the middle, they do not lose Feldt this time around and they keep their halves pairing of Dearden and Drinkwater. Their forward pack is largely intact and they welcome back Gilbert from injury. While Souths still have their starting halves and some fire power out wide, their forward depth will be tested here. Marshall at 9 will be a target for the Cowboys big men, while Taaffe at the back will also be something the Cowboys will look to punish on the kick return, with the diminutive fullback a much different player to Latrell.

All in all, this is a very disrupted Bunnies team and although I do not think the Cowboys have the class to win, I do think they are worth a small bet at the head start.

Predicted score
Souths 24
Cowboys 16

NRL Round 17: Canterbury v Roosters

This is one of those games where even die hard fans such as myself are not very excited about.

The Bulldogs are the worst team in the competition, and are currently dealing with a bad injury toll and a host of suspensions.

The Roosters are a shell of the team they once were and are further weakened this week with the loss of Crichton and Tedesco.

The Roosters still have plenty of talent, but last weekend most of these guys looked like they had given up on 2021. J Moz has not been the same since his brother retired, Lui and Taukieaho are well off their best, while JWH was manhandled by the Storm.

More concerning for the Roosters, is the fact that young Sam Walker is coming crashing back to reality, with the diminutive half now getting rag dolled in defence and attack. Teams are moving the ball to work him over and the rest of the Roosters defence is no longer strong enough to adjust and cover for him.

In terms of Coach Barrett, I have serious concerns about his ability to identify talent. Topine should still be in the 17 and L Lewis deserves another shot. Atoni has finally be brought back into the top 17, but only through necessity… so I am not sure Coach Barrett is using his limited resources as effectively as he could be.

Although the Roosters are falling away in 2021 and are not genuine contenders in my view, they should be far too good here. Radley’s return at lock and Manu at 1 should be enough to see the tries flow towards the end of each half.

If you are going to miss watching one NRL game this year, this should be the one!

Predicted score
Roosters 30
Bulldogs 10

Some familiar faces return to our Round 17 Squad 🐓💪 #EastsToWin https://t.co/uU15cOGlHI

— Sydney Roosters 🐓 (@sydneyroosters) July 6, 2021

NRL Round 17: Sharks v Warriors

In what is a pretty uninspiring round of footy, this is one that is really shaping up as a contest.

The Sharks’ run of wins came to an end last weekend against the Broncos and although the Broncos played well, I think it did show that the Sharks winning run was off the back of them going through a soft part of the draw.

They did lose Moylan late last weekend, but he is out again this weekend, so it is Tracey and Johnson in the halves. Chambers is back in the centres, after missing last weekend due to the birth of his child, while talented youngster Luke Metcalf is on the extended bench.

It is hard to identify what went wrong for the Sharks last weekend, with nearly every key stat in their favour or neutral. They missed far less tackles, ran for more metres and made more line breaks.

However the Broncos capitilised on their chances, while the Sharks were a bit clunkier with their backline movements.

This weekend, they come up against a Warriors team that has undergone a lot of change throughout 2020. They have Lodge joining the squad and moving straight into starting prop. His combination with Fonua-Blake should prove to be very formidable and one of the reasons I think they can win this one.

In the halves, Coach Brown looks set to give Sullivan a go alongside the returning Nikorima, therefore leaving Walsh at 1 and RTS on the wing. I am not sure this is how they will line up on the day, but overall it is a strong line up – despite a few key outs.

The one out that has me really worried is Tohu Harris. The hard working lock forward is one of the Warriors best players and gets through a ton of work. But the Warriors have great depth in the forwards and so I like their chances of holding their own against this Sharks pack.

All in all, I think the Warriors can win this one and because I think both teams are highly unpredictable, I think the longer term more profitable play in this situation is to have a small bet on the head-to-head.

Predicted score
Sharks 20
Warriors 20