The party continues in Vegas with the second game of a back-to-back sure to excite the American fans in Sin-City. In a rematch of last season’s second Preliminary Final, the Panthers take one of their home games to Vegas, as they host the Cronulla Sharks. Can the Panthers kick off their campaign for a fifth-straight premiership with a win, or will the Sharks confirm their heavyweight status with a win over the Panthers? We bring you our betting preview below!
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Penrith Panthers vs Cronulla Sharks
Location: Allegiant Stadium – Las Vegas
Date: Sunday, 2nd March
Time: 3:30pm AEDT
Odds: Penrith Panthers ($1.65) vs Cronulla Sharks ($2.25)
Line: Panthers -2.5
Points: 40.5
Odds and lines provided with thanks to Ladbrokes. Note that odds and lines can fluctuate throughout the week, and are correct at the time of writing.
Match Preview
The Panthers famously won their fourth straight NRL Premiership in season 2024, and whilst they come into this season with intentions of making it five in a row, there are some definite concerns for the best team of the past half decade. The Panthers were without Nathan Cleary for substantial portions of last season, but with Jarome Luai playing career best football at halfback when Cleary was out, the Panthers still managed to finish second on the table. The Panthers came into the finals as the joint favourites to win the title alongside the Storm, and it was quite obvious early in the finals that these were the two best teams in the competition. Both teams cruised into the Grand Final, where it was the Panthers who dominated defensively, winning 14-6 in a game they had under control for the entire 80 minutes. The losses of Luai, James Fisher-Harris, and Sunia Turuva are really going to stretch the Panthers this season, and I’d be staggered if they managed to win five in a row. It’s very hard to doubt this team though.
As for the Sharks, they came into last season underrated by the bookies, as they started the season the 10thfavourite to win the Premiership. However, by round 11 they were the fourth favourites to win the title, with some tremendous defensive football behind head coach Craig Fitzgibbon the catalyst for their great play. The Sharks ended up 4th at the end of the season, with a home loss in round 26 to the Warriors potentially costing them a top 2 finish. The Sharks opened up their finals push with a devastating 37-10 loss to the Storm but bounced back with a massive 26-18 win over the Cowboys. This win had the Sharks’ faithful believing again, as halfback Nicho Hynes finally got his first win as the Sharks’ number 7 in the finals. However, it all came crashing down in the Prelim Final against the Panthers, as the Sharks were dominated 26-6 in a game where the Panthers showed the difference between a top 2 side, and a top 4 side.
This is a matchup the Panthers have dominated over the past 3 seasons, going 4-0 and winning by a combined scoreline of 116-16 over the last four games between the teams. The Panthers have had the Sharks’ attack pegged, with the Sharks managing just one try in the past 307 minutes of football. It was the usual suspects in the Prelim Final last year, as Edwards (270), To’o (238), and Turuva (202) all ran for over 200 metres. Nathan Cleary was at his usual best, setting up three tries whilst breaking the line once and making 21 tackles. Nicho Hynes will need to step up, as he was once again neutered by the Panthers defence in the Prelim Final.
Moving forward to this week, and the Panthers opened around 4.5-point favourites in pre-season, however the real opener was Panthers -3.5 once teams were announced on Tuesday. Money has come in on the Sharks, with punters anticipating a close matchup in the second game of the season. The Sharks are now a heavily juiced 2.5-point underdog, but I’d be surprised if this got to 1.5.
It's hard to gauge exactly where the Panthers are this season, with key off-season recruit Blaize Talagi being left out in favour of Jack Cole, who showed very little in his opportunities last season in the halves. On the other hand, the Sharks should be better this season, with the recruitment of Addin Fonua-Blake, the Sharks now sport one of the best forward packs in the competition, and one that could match it with the Panthers early in the season. Given I don’t know the level of the Panthers yet, I’ll steer clear of the spread, however I’d lean towards the Panthers covering based purely on the recent dominance over the Sharks.
Moving onto the total, and it opened 42.5 but this week has been bet down heavily to 38.5 at some books. My fair total is 38.5, so I completely agree with the move. The Panthers have been notoriously slow starters in attack, and with potentially the two best defences in the competition going head-to-head, I’ll gladly take the under here.
I’ll leave the same game multi off the card here, given I believe this will be a low scoring affair.
Under 40.5 points
$1.88 (1.5 Units)
