NRL Finals Week 2 Previews and Betting Tips

Cowboys v Broncos Fri 16 Sep, 7:55PM, 1300Smiles Stadium

The Brisbane Broncos will travel to travel to Townsville on Friday night to take on the North Queensland Cowboys in a massive Queensland derby that will knock one of 2015’s grand finalists out of the premiership race. The last three games between these two clubs have all been decided by one point, which both clubs have indicated is due to mutual respect. 

Tom Opacic will return for the Broncos in the centres with Jonus Pearson joining an extended bench. James Roberts has also been named, despite a contrary conduct charge still pending with the judiciary. The Cowboys will only make one change from last week as the injured Kane Linnett makes way for Javid Bowen in the centres. 

It will be an extremely difficult game to pick considering the recent history between these two sides and the sudden-death nature of the game. Both teams are also backing up from lacklustre performances with the Broncos failing to put a struggling Titans team away, while the Cowboys were error prone and poor in their execution against the Storm. Despite this, both teams will go into the match primed for a good performance and while the Cowboys will go into the match as favourites, expect Brisbane to emulate their form against the Storm a few weeks ago to get the win. 

Betting Tip: Broncos +6.5 @ $1.90 (Palmerbet)

Raiders v Panthers Sat 17 Sep, 7:45PM, GIO Stadium

The Penrith Panthers will take on premiership heavyweights the Canberra Raiders this Saturday night in Australia’s capital after the Penrith club were impressive in a dominant win over the Bulldogs in the first week of finals football. Their opposition in the Raiders were upset by the Sharks last week and with an injury cloud over star players Josh Hodgson and Blake Austin, the Canberra club will be desperate to produce a good performance in spite of the circumstances. 

Despite being named, Blake Austin and Josh Hodgson may not take the field due to injury. In that instance, expect utility Kurt Baptiste and veteran journeyman Sam Williams to fill the void. The Panthers are unchanged with Moses Leota joining an extended bench. 

The Raiders will rightly go into the match as favourites but their chances of winning will largely count on the inclusion of Blake Austin and Josh Hodgson. With little finals experience, Austin and Hodgson are integral to the Raiders confidence and execution, and if both fail to take the field, the Panthers will have a much easier game on their hands. While Penrith’s form has been wonderful in recent times, expect the class of the Raiders to overcome the over-performing Panthers. Raiders to get the win. 

Betting Tip: Raiders -1.5 @ $1.95 (Bet365)

Best Bet

Raiders -1.5 @ $1.95 (Bet365)