Two old rivals will kick things off on Saturday afternoon in the NRL, as the Bulldogs aim to improve on their horrible 2023 campaign with a first-up win over the Eels. Speaking of poor 2023 seasons, the Eels would have been terribly disappointed after not making the finals last season, after reaching the Grand Final in 2022.
Below, we will dissect the matchup, supply our Best Bet, and suggest a Same Game Multi. Be sure to keep up to date with all of our NRL Tips, as we preview every single game all season long, for free!
Also, if you’re new to sports betting or betting on the NRL, check out the following articles to help build your knowledge:
- Guide to Betting on the NRL
- Where to Bet on the NRL
- Factors to Consider When Betting on the NRL
NRL Round 1 Preview & Betting Tips
Parramatta Eels vs Canterbury Bulldogs
CommBank Stadium, Saturday 9th March, 5:30pm (AEDT)
The Eels come into the 2024 season as the 10th favourite to win the Premiership and sit around even money to make the top 8. There are already rumblings of Head Coach Brad Arthur losing his job if he can’t get the Eels back towards the top of the ladder, with Supercoach Wayne Bennett linked to the Eels before a ball was kicked this season.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs can’t be too much worse than last season, and with the addition of Stephen Crichton and several other first grade players, the Bulldogs will surely be better this year. However, they were overvalued last year in the market early, and I believe the market are once again overvaluing them to kick things off this season.
Both teams appear to be healthy and at full strength, with Jacob Kiraz being in the most doubt. If he is unable to play, expect Bronson Xerri to make his return to first grade in the centres. With the way the market is sitting right now, the Eels are rated as a 6-point better team than the Bulldogs by the market. I can’t get around this and have a significant number advantage on the Eels in this clash. However, as has been shown already in round 1, underdogs are the value early in the season, so betting favourites probably isn’t the play here, although I do expect the Eels to win comfortably.
The total is where I will attack this game. Whilst I expect the Bulldogs defence must get better this season, they were so bad last year that I can’t see them containing this Eels attack. I do like the full game total to also go over; however, I’ll concentrate on the Eels team total here, which currently sits around the 24 mark. The Eels have scored 30+ points in five of their past six matchups with the Bulldogs, and with the Dogs conceding on average 32 points per game last season, I expect the Eels to capitalise on an easy early draw and score 5+ tries in this one.
Parramatta Eels (team total) over 23.5
$1.88 (1 Unit)
Same Game Multi
Eels ML – The Eels should win this game comfortably, and this tops up the multi nicely.
Stephen Crichton (1+ try) – First game with his new team, expect Crichton to be extra fired up as it is also his first game as Captain. Crichton has shown at the Panthers that he can score tries from anywhere, and I expect him to cross for one on his Bulldogs debut.
Clint Gutherson (1+ try) – Gutherson had a hattrick in his last game against the Bulldogs, and like Crichton, Gutherson just seems to know how to get across the line. Expect the King to be sniffing around every time the Eels get inside the Bulldogs 20.
SGM Odds: $10.97 at Neds
