A massive clash on Saturday night showdown between two top 8 sides, as the Eels host the Warriors at CommBank Stadium. With the Cowboys coming hard for a top 8 spot, both these teams need a win to maintain their hold on a finals berth.
Below, we will dissect the matchup, supply our Best Bet, and suggest a Same Game Multi via Picklebet. Be sure to keep up to date with all our NRL content, as we preview every single game all season long.
NRL Round 19 Preview & Betting Tips
Parramatta Eels vs New Zealand Warriors
CommBank Stadium, Saturday 8th July, 5:30pm (AEST)
The Eels are off the bye, however, are currently on a 5-game winning streak, with their last win coming in round 17, where they hammered the Dolphins 48-20 on the Sunshine Coast. The Eels absolutely dominated the Dolphins in the first half, leading 42-4 at the break. While they took their foot off the gas in the second half, the form of the Eels is real, and the top 4 teams no doubt are looking in the rearview mirror at last season’s runners up.
The Warriors were brought back to earth last week, as they were totally outplayed at home by the Rabbitohs, going down 28-6. The Warriors would have been disappointed with their display in front of a huge home crowd, completing only 69% of their sets and making 13 errors, in a display reminiscent of the poor disciplined Warriors teams of the past. Improvement is needed, and fast.
The Warriors opened 4.5-point favourites, following the Eels having 3 big name stars selected for the NSW State of Origin team, including Mitch Moses, Clint Gutherson, and Reagan Campbell-Gillard. These losses are somewhat offset by the fact Junior Paulo was left out of the Blues team, and Shaun Lane will make his return from injury. The makeshift halves pairing of Dejarn Asi and Ryan Matterson were more than serviceable in round 16 against the Sea Eagles, but the loss of Gutherson could prove to be too much to cover.
Meanwhile, the Warriors are unaffected by Origin, however there is a cloud of uncertainty surrounding halfback Shaun Johnson, with his partner due to give birth in the coming days. There’s a chance Johnson misses out, in which case money will surely come in for the Eels. It already has to a degree, with the Eels bet into 3.5-point dogs, however this is juiced heavily towards the Warriors at -3.5.
As for the total, it opened 43.5, with money coming in on the under, dropping the total to 42.5. I make a fair total 43, so there is no value in the total for mine. There’s a case to be made that both teams will struggle to score points, especially if SJ is out, however the Eels tend to score points in bunches at home, so I’ll leave this one alone.
The latest update suggests that Shaun Johnson will play, however without a definitive answer at the time of writing, I can’t go too hard at this game. So, I will bet on this being a close game, with both of these teams not losing in blowouts often at all. The Eels have lost 7 games this season, all by a margin of 1-12, whilst the Warriors have lost 6 games, 5 of which were by 1-12 (the other by 14). Either team by 1-12 sounds like a solid investment.
Either team by 1-12
$1.70 (2 Units)
Same Game Multi
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Eels to Win – The Eels are playing great football right now, and didn’t miss a beat with Mitch Moses out for Origin 2. At home, I think the price of $2.40+ is good value.
Maika Sivo (1+ try) – Sivo has continued his great try scoring form this season, scoring 16 tries in 16 games to lead the league in tries scored. A matchup against former teammate Dallin Watene-Zelezniak should prove must watch TV.
Marcelo Montoya (1+ try) – Montoya will be playing on the left wing, coming up against the right edge defence of the Eels, which has conceded plenty of tries this season. With a new winger (Isaac Lumelume) marking up against Montoya, I expect Montoya to get across the stripe here.
