We’re back baby! After 2 very long months, the NRL is finally back in action this Thursday and we’re treated with an expected close battle between the Broncos and Eels in Brisbane. We'll be providing full coverage of every match of the 2020 NRL season, so check out our NRL betting tips for Thursday night below.
NRL Round 3 Betting Tips
Broncos vs Eels (Thu, May 28 7:50pm)
Both the Broncos and Eels start the new shortened season in great positions after winning both games before the 2 month break. Brisbane kicked off the season by upsetting the Cowboys in North QLD as they crashed the new stadium party. Then in Round 2, they outlasted Souths in another close battle, 22-18. There should be extra motivation in Round 3 for the Brisbane side after their crushing, embarrassing and woeful 58-0 finals loss to the Eels last season. While Suncorp Stadium doesn’t offer the same home field advantage with no crowd, the Broncos should be able to overturn that last performance against Parramatta and aim for a 3-0 start. There’s some big team news for the Broncos coming into Round 3. Firstly, longtime hooker Andrew McCullough has been granted a release and joined the Knights. So Jake Turpin will look to shore up the hooker position. The other big out will be David Fifita in the forward pack as he nurses a knee injury. In good news, Joe Ofahengaue will return from suspension and Matt Lodge is a chance to return.
Similarly to Brisbane, Parramatta started the 2020 season with back to back wins over the Bulldogs and Titans, which sees them sit atop the ladder. Their Round 1 win over the Bulldogs wasn’t pretty as both sides struggled in the 8-2 result. But in Round 2, the Eels took full advantage of a woeful defensive effort by the Titans as they ran away 46-6 winners. So a 3-0 start to a shortened season will give the Eels massive confidence of reaching the finals in back to back seasons, something they haven’t achieved for a while. The break has benefited the Eels in injury news as well since starting hooker Reed Mahoney broke his foot in Round 2 but will now lineup in Round 3. They will miss Nathan Brown in the forward pack (suspension) and Marata Niukore comes into the starting lineup.
In the last 4 meetings between these two sides, the home side does hold a 4-0 SU record. However, away teams do have a nice advantage at the moment with the no crowd factor and that should help the Eels overturn their pretty poor record at Suncorp. In saying that, the safer bet does look to be the either team by under 10.5 points. The odds are locked at $1.90 at the moment and we’ll be sticking with the chances of a close game. Which was the case in the last meeting at Suncorp as the two sides were separated by just a field goal.
Either Team by Under 10.5
$1.83
Anytime Tryscorer
Maika Sivo
Eels Flyer Maika Sivo has dominated the Broncos lately so there’s a reason why he’s the top favourite in the anytime tryscorer markets. In Parramatta’s 58-0 win over the Broncos last year, Sivo bagged a double. Which makes it 4 tries in 3 games against Brisbane. He’s a tough matchup for any winger at the moment and we expect him to cross the try-line this Thursday night.
Kotoni Staggs
Brisbane Centre Kotoni Staggs enjoyed a night out against the Rabbitohs in Round 2 at Suncorp as he bagged a hat-trick in just 57 minutes. So the $2.80 price on offer for him to score just one try in Thursday’s night match at the same venue is worth a punt.
