Welcome to Round 2 of the NRL! Have a listen to our Round 2 Podcast for our thoughts on last week's games and our predictions for this week. I'm going to go through some of my ideas about this week, including some key players.
Thursday:
Rabbitohs v Panthers
The Panthers will want to bounce back after a very disappointing showing against Brisbane last week. The losses of Api Koroisau and Villi Kikau were glaring on attack, and the halves combination just could not get a breakthrough in the redzone. I think the name of the game for Penrith is scoring early and playing great field position and defence against a somewhat banged up Rabbits side. Latrell Mitchell threw some fuel on the fire when he said that the Panthers had some vulnerabilities. I think it will be another close one, but Cleary will find his playmaking ability and look better in the attack. For the Rabbitohs, I am looking forward to see if Lachlan Ilias can continue his impressive start to the season. Look for the Panthers to send pressure his way and get as many hits on the young 7 as they can.
Panthers 20 over Rabbitohs 12
Friday Game One:
Sharks v Eels
The Eels will be sore with themselves after dropping the golden pointer to the Storm last week. I can see them coming out with fire and putting an early lead on Cronulla. The Sharks still have some dangerous weapons, but are missing their superstar halfback in Nicho Hynes. They need their big backs to get some big runs, but I see the Eels using their forward pack to dominate the middle of the field and force errors on defence. A relatively easy one for the Eels.
Eels 26 over Sharks 10
Game Two: Cowboys v Broncos
Game of the week material here, with the longtime Queensland Darby rivals matching up in a game between two premiership hopefuls. Rugby league is always better when these two teams put good products on the field, and this game should be a doozy. Look for a high scoring affairs where mistakes will be the difference. With the Broncos massive forward pack up against a wily Cowboys spine, I can see an early domination by the Brisbane side before a roar back back the Cowboys. This will go golden point, with Val Holmes kicking the winning field goal.
Cowboys 33 over Broncos 32
Look for my Saturday and Sunday previews tomorrow night. Up the Panthers!
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