Friday night footy begins in Townsville with the Panthers aiming for an incredible 14th straight win as they meet the Cowboys. The Eels thrashed the Broncos 58-0 at Bankwest Stadium last year and the two sides will meet at the venue again on Friday night.
NRL Round 19 Friday Betting Tips
Cowboys vs Panthers
Fri, Sep 18 6:00pm
The Cowboys are just two games away from ending what has been a disappointing 2020, that's for sure. They're coming off another loss as they outclassed by the Storm 36-20 and it won't get any easier against the ladder leaders. But the Cowboys can take heart in their second-half performance after out-scoring the Storm 16-12. Valentine Holmes is starting to find form after an injury-riddled season which is a great sign for 2021. In team selections, the struggling Justin O'Neill is out for Tualagi. Josh McGuire's suspension will see Molo move into the lock position and Corey Jensen gets the start in the front row. Gavin Cooper will start in the back row in his last NRL game. Jason Taumalolo could also be a late in.
Penrith are coming off yet another win as they outlasted the Eels in the Western derby, 20-2. However, 13 errors won't please Ivan Cleary and they struggled to put points on the board at times despite out-gaining the Eels by almost 1000 run metres / holding 64% possession. After 13 straight wins, an average performance is expected here and there, so that positive is they can still improve as they head into the finals. In team selections, they have suffered a double-blow with Apisai Koroisau and Tamou out of the side. Kenny comes in at hooker, Hetherington is back from the Warriors loan and Leota will start at prop.
In the earlier meeting this season, the Cowboys did trouble the Panthers a bit in the 22-10 at Panthers Stadium. So we don't mind the Cowboys chances of standing up on their home turf. However, we can't go past the Under as the Panthers are defensively just so hard to crack, having not allowed over 12 points in 7 straight games.
Eels vs Broncos
Fri, Sep 18 7:55pm
Parramatta will be looking to seal up a top 4 spot this Friday night as they host the struggling Broncos. The Eels attack has struggled lately but we expect them to really attack the Broncos defensively, especially after out-scoring them 92-6 in the last 2 meetings. Last week, they couldn't get past the Panthers defence in the 20-2 loss but the Eels will be happy with their defence after holding just 36% of possession. In positive news for Friday, hooker Reed Mahoney is back from a shoulder injury as the only change at the moment.
Not many positives can be written about the Broncos at this stage after 9 straight defeats and they'll be looking forward to this nightmare season ending in a few weeks. Let's hope they bring their A-game in defence because as mentioned, the Eels have thrashed them in back to back games, which includes the embarrassing effort in the finals last year at this venue as they went down 58-0. It doesn't get easier on Friday though as Payne Haas is out and Rhys Kennedy has been suspended. So Ofahengaue and Te'o will form the front row.
This clash should give the Eels plenty of opportunities to attack the Broncos and get their attack going before the finals. On the flip-side, the Eels have given up 18 or more points in 3 straight games so we like the Over here.
