The Sea Eagles will look to keep pace with the top 8, as they head to Wollongong to take on the Dragons on Saturday evening. With the Dragons now safely off the bottom of the ladder, what do they have left in the tank to close out the season? We should get a good indication here, as they take on a Manly team that is very beatable without their superstar fullback, Tom Trbojevic.
Below, we will dissect the matchup, supply our Best Bet, and suggest a Same Game Multi via Picklebet. Be sure to head over to our NRL Tips page regularly, as we preview every single game all season long, for free!
NRL Round 22 Preview & Betting Tips
St George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles
WIN Stadium, Saturday 29th July, 5:30pm (AEST)
The Dragons struggled past the Tigers last Thursday Night, in what was dubbed as ‘Spoon Bowl’, sneaking home 18-14, in a 3 tries apiece bludge-fest. The Tigers dominated statistically, and were probably the better side for the most part, however the Dragons did enough to get home and skip 4 points clear of the Tigers at the bottom of the ladder.
The Sea Eagles managed to sneak home 30-26 last week against the Sharks, and whilst they looked fantastic during the opening 45 minutes, it would be deeply concerning for Head Coach Anthony Seibold that they conceded 5 unanswered tries in the final 34 minutes of the game. Playing a full 80 minutes will be high on the list for the Sea Eagles this weekend.
The Sea Eagles opened 5.5-point favourites, and after their solid 30-26 victory over the Sharks on Sunday afternoon, have been bet out to 6.5-point favourites. With the Sea Eagles with far more to play for in this game, I have to agree with this move, and I make the Sea Eagles an 8.5-point favourite against the Dragons in this game. So, the spread is something we will dig into a little deeper.
As for the total, it opened 45.5 and stays 45.5. I make a fair 46, so there is some small value in the over, however there’s not enough there for me to get involved. The Sea Eagles have been a heavy únders’ team this season, with their matches going over the total just 38.9% of the time, and with Tom Trbojevic still out, I don’t trust the Sea Eagles attack to get to 26+, which is what is required to give this total a shake.
With no real edge in margin betting, we will zero in on the spread here. With the Dragons now safely out of wooden spoon range, and with no chance of making the top 8, if the Sea Eagles can get out past two scores in this game, I believe they can go on with it. Head Coach Anthony Seibold will be desperate for an 80-minute performance from his men, so I don’t see the Sea Eagles falling asleep in the second half like they did last week. Sea Eagles to get it done, and remain in the hunt for finals football. A slightly smaller stake, as I don’t fully trust the form of either of these teams.
Sea Eagles -6.5
$1.93 (1.5 Units)
Same Game Multi
Popular bookmaker Picklebet have launched their Same Game Multis for both the AFL and NRL. There are plenty of markets to choose from an excellent odds on offer, so make sure to check them out!
Sea Eagles (-2.5) – As above, this leg is to pump up the odds for this same game multi. The Sea Eagles should get this done by a try or more.
Zac Lomax (1+ try) – With 3 tries in his past two games, Lomax has hit his straps in attack at the back end of the season. The Sea Eagles left edge defence is poor, leaking 35 (48%) tries this season.
Tolutau Koula (1+ try) – Speaking of poor left edge defences, the Dragons’ left edge defence is the worst in the NRL (47 tries conceded @ 54%). Koula had a double last weekend, and his speed should prove deadly against Moses Suli.
SGM Odds: $13 at Picklebet
