The NRL season is over but rugby league fans can rejoice with the international season beginning this weekend. The Aussies will take on the Kiwis in Perth as we lead into the Four nations. Find out what we think with our 2016 Australia vs New Zealand Preview and Betting Tips.
Australia vs New Zealand (Saturday, October 15 at 7.50pm AEST)
The Kangaroos haven’t named their side but there are a few players in the squad that are guaranteed to start the match. The players in the key positions will be keen to get onto the field and erase the memories of a grand final loss and that is of course the captain Cameron Smith and halfback Cooper Cronk. The two suffered a loss to the Sharks just one week ago and whilst Smith had a great game and made over 70 tackles, Cronk has been criticised for a quiet and disappointing game. He will definitely want to make amends for that performance and we expect him to have a big match in this one.
A lot of the talk has been around the Mal Meninga and the selectors not picking Andrew Fifita for the squad. Whilst Fifita is arguably one of the most destructive runners in the game, it has to be said that we don’t lose much by selecting other players in this position. The Australians have a great forward pack and it will be a huge contest in the middle of the field against Jesse Bromwich who is renowned as the best forward in the game and fellow Storm and New Zealand teammates Kevin Proctor and Tohu Harris.
The New Zealand side has been named and there are six different faces in the side from the one that lost 16-0 in the mid-year test match. The side will be looking for more in attack as they never looked threatening and the Australians cruised to an easy victory. Strike weapon Jordan Rapana will make his debut for his nation and it will be interesting to see the type of impact he will have without his partner in crime Joseph Leiluia along side him. However, Rapana has a huge engine and will no doubt be coming in field looking to get his hands on the ball and help the Kiwis out of their own end. Jason Tuamalolo shared Dally M honours with Cooper Cronk and it was on the back of his destructive running and huge end to the season. He will enter this match with a lot of form despite the Cowboys being eliminate in the preliminary final.
However, whilst the Kiwis have an equal forward pack or possibly even favourable one, they are lacking in the outside backs area and the Australians have a clear advantage in this area. Their halves pairing and combinations have been around for close to a decade now and they will be slick in attack and will pick up a comfortable victory.
TIP: Australia to win by 13+ - $2.50 at Sportsbet
As we stated earlier in the article, Cooper Cronk is coming off one of the worst performances in his career and it was on Rugby League’s biggest stage in the NRL grand final. He won’t be happy and we bet he has been thinking about that a lot and will be keen for a huge game. Cronk has the ability to throw a dummy close to the line and barge his way over if the defence holds off him and whilst we don’t think the New Zealand defence will fall for that, we do predict Cronk to open the scoring with a try as he will be there in support when a teammate makes a break and Cronk is deceptively quick as he has shown by chasing down Valentine Holmes and James Tedesco this season.
TIP: Cooper Cronk to score the 1st try - odds to come
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
