Well then, after looking like they may have got their season turned around after two straight wins, the Cowboys are once again in deep trouble, after being humiliated by the Tigers last week. Can they bounce back here, or will the Eels continue sending the Cowboys towards the bottom of the ladder?
Check out our best bets for the Eels vs Cowboys clash below, and make sure to head over to our NRL Tips page for more Round 13 previews and betting tips!
NRL Round 13 Preview & Betting Tips
Parramatta Eels vs North Queensland Cowboys
CommBank Stadium, Friday 26th May, 8:00pm (AEST)
The Eels stormed back into finals contention last week, with a dominant 36-16 victory over the table topping Rabbitohs. Save for a 7-minute period either side of halfway, the Eels outscored the bunnies 36-4, whilst running for close to 400 metres more than Souths, throwing 13 more offloads, and conceding just the 1 penalty for 80 minutes. If they can keep this form up for the rest of the season, there’s a real chance this Eels team can cause a stir come September.
The Cowboys lost 66-18, which somehow doesn’t even rate in the clubs 4 biggest defeats, however coming against a team that hadn’t registered a single victory after 8 rounds, it’s a stinging indictment of where this team is. The Cowboys only managed a 35% possession rate, whilst competing just 70% of their sets. The Tigers ran for over 1000 metres more than the Cowboys, whilst making 13 line-breaks to 3. This was the most one-sided game of the season, and the Cowboys are in real trouble.
The spread opened up Eels -8.5 prior to last weekend’s matches, and the naming of Origin line-ups. This number has ballooned all the way to Eels -14.5, on the back of the Cowboys being destroyed last week, the Eels spanking the Rabbitohs, and the Cowboys losing 4 players to Origin, with the Eels just losing Junior Paulo.
These teams played twice last season, but I don’t take any stock from these matchups. For one, the Cowboys were a far better team last year, and secondly, neither of these matchups were Origin affected.
The total opened at 44.5 and hasn’t moved from this spot. I would have the total a touch higher with both these teams at full strength, however with some key attacking pieces lost for the Cowboys, I can handle a 44.5 total here and not find an edge either way.
I’ll look towards the Eels team total here, which currently sits around the 29-point mark. The Eels are averaging 25 points per game this season, good enough for 2nd best in the NRL. They are also averaging 25.6 points per game at CommBank Stadium. Dig a little deeper, and you see the Eels have two scores at home under 20, against great defences in the Storm and Panthers. If you take those games out, the Eels average 33 points a game at home. I believe this is more the area we need to be looking here.
With the Cowboys conceding the 3rd most points per game (25.6), I like the Eels piling on the points in front of their home fans this week.
Low stakes, as I never bet big in Origin affected rounds.
Eels (team total) over 28.5
$1.85 (1.5 Units)
