The Origin Bye round is behind us, and it’s time to see who will back up and who will sit out this week following Wednesday night’s State of Origin. There were some shock results over the weekend gone, and there will no doubt be even more this weekend. Rugby League is a funny game, and it’s proving harder and harder to pick as the season goes on.
Friday night’s match will see the St George Illawarra Dragons host the Wests Tigers in Wollongong. Coming off their shock win over Penrith, Dragons fans could be forgiven for trying to buy their finals tickets now. They are expecting to welcome Ben Hunt and Zac Lomax back from representative duties, and will have the wind in their wings as they come up against the embattled Tigers. After starting their year under great scrutiny for not being “committed to his job”, Benji Marshall has touched down back in Australia from a bye-week-holiday. With such little focus put into improvement during the week off, it’s hard to see the 2 (win) and 9 (loss) Tigers getting a win here. I’m tipping the Dragons by 16 points.
Super Saturday will kick off with the Gold Coast Titans taking on the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Both sides will come into this contest fresh off a bye, and both having claimed victories the week before. The Titans look to have been building something very special in the last month, and will want to impress in front of their home fans. South Sydney are the second embattled side to be competing in the first two matches this weekend, and no one has been able to predict which version of South Sydney will turn up week to week. Inconsistency, and a disjointed side has been the hallmark of the Bunnies this season. This realistically could go either way, but my gut says Gold Coast Titans by 8 points.
The second Super Saturday clash will be the North Queensland Cowboys going up against the New Zealand Warriors. The Cowboys took victory from the jaws of defeat against the Roosters on Sunday, without their Origin stars and while the Warriors welcome back a plethora of players in their own right this week, I question if they will be enough. All season the Cowboys have been criticized for their defence, however it was a mighty resolve they showed against the Tri-Colours over the weekend. If they can find a way to replicate that effort, I can’t see the Warriors getting a win on the road this weekend. Cowboys by 12 points.
Super Saturday closes with the Brisbane Broncos welcoming the Cronulla Sharks into the fortress. The magic around the shire seems to be dwindling after taking back-to-back losses to the Panthers and Eels. With a Broncos side vying for a top 4 position, and going back to near-full strength this will serve as a real test of character to the Sharks. They will be resting their leading man in Nicho Hynes, which has traditionally not gone well for the side accused of being bottom-eight-bullies. Realistically, I think this will see the Broncos go through the motions this week as they look to prepare themselves for a strong top four push. I’m tipping the Broncos by 18 points.
Sunday afternoon will kick off with the hardest contest in modern rugby league. The Melbourne Storm will welcome the next contender into their fortress, the Newcastle Knights. The Storm will come in fresh off the bye, while the Knights come in fresh off a try-less effort against a depleted Bulldogs side. There have been some remarkable turn arounds in short periods of time this season, and a week is a long time in the NRL, however I think it’s unreasonable to presume the Knights came go from managing just two points against a Canterbury outfit that was missing Burton, Crichton, Kikau and Addo-Carr (for forty minutes), to being able to take on Melbourne in Melbourne. I’m going with the Storm by 20 points.
Sunday afternoon footy will close with the Penrith Panthers returning home to the foot of the mountain, Origin stars in toe, to take on the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. Taking on Penrith is hard at the best of times, let alone when they are coming off a rare loss, add into the equation that Manly got the wood over the reigning premiers the last time these two met, and you have yourself a recipe for disaster. This match has “point to prove” Penrith written all over it, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jarome Luai take a leaf out of Tom Brady’s book and brand his social media with “We’re still here”, if Penrith can manage to get the win this weekend. I’m tipping the Panthers by 24 points.
On a rare Monday afternoon game, we will see the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs lure the Parramatta Eels into the Kennel for a match of the round candidate. The Dogs were unbelievably good in defence last week against the Knights, especially considering the four stars they were missing. The Eels notched up their first win under interim coach Barrett, and looked like a completely different side with Mitchell Moses and Clint Gutherson returning. This contest could go either way. It will come down to what manages to win out, the flamboyance and pack size of the Eels, or the grittiness and sheer will power of the Dogs. While Canterbury are still undefeated at home in 2024, I’m going to go with the Bulldogs by 9 points.
Round 14 is set to be a cracking weekend of football, with many Origin stars set to back up after Wednesday’s efforts. So lay it on me, what do you think of the predictions? There are some brilliant matches on this weekend, and you won’t want to miss a minute of the action. I’m tipping the Dragons, Titans, Cowboys, Broncos, Storm, Panthers and Bulldogs to all walk away victorious, with the Roosters, Raiders and Dolphins all taking on the bye this week. How many do you think I’ll get right this week? How many do you think I’ll get right out of the seven games? There are still a few Indigenous and ANZAC Jerseys left in the shop but they won’t last long, to secure yours make sure to head into Jersey’s Megastore for All Things Footy!
Friday night’s match will see the St George Illawarra Dragons host the Wests Tigers in Wollongong. Coming off their shock win over Penrith, Dragons fans could be forgiven for trying to buy their finals tickets now. They are expecting to welcome Ben Hunt and Zac Lomax back from representative duties, and will have the wind in their wings as they come up against the embattled Tigers. After starting their year under great scrutiny for not being “committed to his job”, Benji Marshall has touched down back in Australia from a bye-week-holiday. With such little focus put into improvement during the week off, it’s hard to see the 2 (win) and 9 (loss) Tigers getting a win here. I’m tipping the Dragons by 16 points.
Super Saturday will kick off with the Gold Coast Titans taking on the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Both sides will come into this contest fresh off a bye, and both having claimed victories the week before. The Titans look to have been building something very special in the last month, and will want to impress in front of their home fans. South Sydney are the second embattled side to be competing in the first two matches this weekend, and no one has been able to predict which version of South Sydney will turn up week to week. Inconsistency, and a disjointed side has been the hallmark of the Bunnies this season. This realistically could go either way, but my gut says Gold Coast Titans by 8 points.
The second Super Saturday clash will be the North Queensland Cowboys going up against the New Zealand Warriors. The Cowboys took victory from the jaws of defeat against the Roosters on Sunday, without their Origin stars and while the Warriors welcome back a plethora of players in their own right this week, I question if they will be enough. All season the Cowboys have been criticized for their defence, however it was a mighty resolve they showed against the Tri-Colours over the weekend. If they can find a way to replicate that effort, I can’t see the Warriors getting a win on the road this weekend. Cowboys by 12 points.
Super Saturday closes with the Brisbane Broncos welcoming the Cronulla Sharks into the fortress. The magic around the shire seems to be dwindling after taking back-to-back losses to the Panthers and Eels. With a Broncos side vying for a top 4 position, and going back to near-full strength this will serve as a real test of character to the Sharks. They will be resting their leading man in Nicho Hynes, which has traditionally not gone well for the side accused of being bottom-eight-bullies. Realistically, I think this will see the Broncos go through the motions this week as they look to prepare themselves for a strong top four push. I’m tipping the Broncos by 18 points.
Sunday afternoon will kick off with the hardest contest in modern rugby league. The Melbourne Storm will welcome the next contender into their fortress, the Newcastle Knights. The Storm will come in fresh off the bye, while the Knights come in fresh off a try-less effort against a depleted Bulldogs side. There have been some remarkable turn arounds in short periods of time this season, and a week is a long time in the NRL, however I think it’s unreasonable to presume the Knights came go from managing just two points against a Canterbury outfit that was missing Burton, Crichton, Kikau and Addo-Carr (for forty minutes), to being able to take on Melbourne in Melbourne. I’m going with the Storm by 20 points.
Sunday afternoon footy will close with the Penrith Panthers returning home to the foot of the mountain, Origin stars in toe, to take on the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. Taking on Penrith is hard at the best of times, let alone when they are coming off a rare loss, add into the equation that Manly got the wood over the reigning premiers the last time these two met, and you have yourself a recipe for disaster. This match has “point to prove” Penrith written all over it, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jarome Luai take a leaf out of Tom Brady’s book and brand his social media with “We’re still here”, if Penrith can manage to get the win this weekend. I’m tipping the Panthers by 24 points.
On a rare Monday afternoon game, we will see the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs lure the Parramatta Eels into the Kennel for a match of the round candidate. The Dogs were unbelievably good in defence last week against the Knights, especially considering the four stars they were missing. The Eels notched up their first win under interim coach Barrett, and looked like a completely different side with Mitchell Moses and Clint Gutherson returning. This contest could go either way. It will come down to what manages to win out, the flamboyance and pack size of the Eels, or the grittiness and sheer will power of the Dogs. While Canterbury are still undefeated at home in 2024, I’m going to go with the Bulldogs by 9 points.
Round 14 is set to be a cracking weekend of football, with many Origin stars set to back up after Wednesday’s efforts. So lay it on me, what do you think of the predictions? There are some brilliant matches on this weekend, and you won’t want to miss a minute of the action. I’m tipping the Dragons, Titans, Cowboys, Broncos, Storm, Panthers and Bulldogs to all walk away victorious, with the Roosters, Raiders and Dolphins all taking on the bye this week. How many do you think I’ll get right this week? How many do you think I’ll get right out of the seven games? There are still a few Indigenous and ANZAC Jerseys left in the shop but they won’t last long, to secure yours make sure to head into Jersey’s Megastore for All Things Footy!
