A massive Friday Night clash between two top 4 teams on the ladder, as the Brisbane Broncos host the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Both teams are legitimate Premiership contenders, and will want to make a statement before Magic Round next weekend with a win here. Strap yourselves in for the game of the round on Friday night, and make sure to check out our NRL Tips page for all of our Round 9 previews and best bets!
NRL Round 9 Preview & Betting Tips
Brisbane Broncos vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Suncorp Stadium, Friday 28th April, 8:00pm (AEST)
The Broncos were impressive for an hour last week against the Eels. In trying conditions in Darwin, the Broncos looked tremendous, leading 26-6, before two late tries to the Eels made the scoreboard a little more palatable for Eels fans. The big storylines coming out for Broncos fans is the suspensions to Payne Haas and Ezra Mam, which could prove costly against the Rabbitohs.
If the Broncos were impressive, the Rabbitohs were outstanding in their win over the Panthers, getting the monkey off the back to record just their 2nd win in 12 games against the Panthers. Latrell Mitchell was superb, serving up some scrumptious offloads to go with his physicality and all-round aura, Mitchell led the Rabbitohs to their biggest win of the season. Can they back it up against the Broncos this week?
The Broncos were 2.5-point favourites before last weekends games, and after their impressive victory over the Panthers, the Rabbitohs have shifted to 1.5-point favourites. That’s a decent shift, especially when considering the Broncos were also particularly good last week against a fancied Eels team in Darwin. Now, whilst consideration has to be made with the losses of Haas and Mam, I think this correction may have gone slightly too far. In fact, the current numbers would suggest the Rabbitohs are the number 1 rated team in the NRL right now, and despite the Panthers starting slowly this season, I don’t believe the Rabbitohs can be rated as highly as them in the market.
As for the Rabbitohs case for, strength of schedule shows a large chasm between these teams. The Rabbitohs have had arguably the toughest schedule over the opening 8 weeks, with the Bulldogs and Dolphins being their easiest opponents. The Broncos on the other hand have faced the Tigers, Cowboys, Dragons, Dolphins, Titans, and Raiders. And whilst the thought is generally you can only beat who is in front of you, we have to tip our hates to the Rabbitohs and how well they’ve navigated the opening two months of the season.
Regarding the total, I lean towards an under in this matchup, with both teams tending to play low scoring games when the matchup is tight. Given there’s a good chance of a close fought matchup here, the under is a play, but only for a small amount.
Ultimately, I see this being a competitive matchup with big ramifications. The Broncos continue to show that their form is no joke, but the Rabbitohs are slowly becoming Premiership favourites with their level of play. It should be a fascinating game, and one I can’t wait to watch.
Other Bet
Under 43.5 total points - $1.91 @ Bet365 (1u)
Either team by 10 points or less
$1.85 (1.5 Units)
