There were some tremendous upsets in Round 14 of the NRL, and some truly collosal scores. The Wahs knocked off Cowboys, and the Sharks managed to take down the might of the Broncos, in Brisbane! The Bunnies notched up a 34 point win, and the Dragons raised the bat against a woeful Wests Tigers side. There are plenty of talking points coming out of last week, but lets focus on what’s to come and see what Round 15 of the 2024 NRL season has in store for us!
Thursday night football will see Pointsbet Stadium turn into Seaworld, as the Cronulla Sharks play host to the Dolphins. The Phins come in fresh off a bye, whereas the Sharks come into this battle fresh off beating the Broncs! This match has all the hallmarks of being a very exciting contest. Cronulla have been somewhat hit and miss in recent weeks, and it will be fascinating to see how they perform against the home crowd. The Dolphins on the other hand have come out of the gates at a sprint, looking to truly make a name for themslves as the new kids on the block. Ultimately, I think desire of the Sharks to truly solidify themselves as top four contenders will play into this one tremendously, and should see them prove to be too strong for the Phins. I’m going with Cronulla by 14 points.
Friday night’s curtain raiser will showcase the mighty Green machine, the Canberra Raiders taking on the travelling North Queensland Cowboys. The defence of the Cowboys has continued to be a sour point for the Cowboys… so sour in fact they don’t want to touch that side of the game! If the Raiders turn up in the right head space for this game, they may be in the box seat to end their run of embarrassing defeats at home. On the road, Ricky Stuart’s young gun filled side have been mighty contenders, they are yet to really put together a complete performance at home though. I’m hopeful this is the week that all changes. The Wahs exploited some serious weak spots in the defence of Todd Payten’s men last week, and if Canberra can get on a roll there is no reason they couldn’t be capable of doing the same. I’m tipping the Raiders by 16 points.
Friday night’s main event has the potential to get very ugly in a multitidue of ways. The South Sydney Rabbitohs take on the Brisbane Broncos at Accor Stadium. The Bunnies did very well against the Titans last week, and ran in a multitude of points. However, the inconsistency of Souths in 2024, means that a scorned Broncos side could also do exactly that to the red and green this week. It’s hard to pick which way this game will go, but I suspect it will be very high scoring, and may potentially see a blow out one way or the other. Ultimately the consistency of the Broncos this year should get them over the line. Brisbane by 20 points.
Super Saturday is going to open with an intriguing contest. It’s a game both sides have to win, if nothing more than to save face. The Wests Tigers and the Gold Coast Titans will do battle on Saturday afternoon. Neither side impressed last week, and many players from the West will be staring down the barrel of reserve grade relegation if things don’t improve… fast! The Tigers seem to be completely lost on a football field right now, and it’s really hard to see that changing over the course of a week. It’s also difficult to see the next men up being better than what’s currently being offered up week in and week out. The Titans have shown signs of brilliance in recent weeks, but let themselves down against the Bunnies. They are a side that has the ability to bounce back quickly though. I’m tipping the Titans by 16 points.
Our middle game for Super Saturday pegs the New Zealand Warriors against the Melbourne Storm. The Wahs were far too strong for the Cows last week, while Melbourne fought valiantly to keep the Knights at bay. Te Maire Martin has been the form half of the competition the last fortnight, but will Melbourne turn up with a game plan for the Kiwi playmaker? I’d be inclined to say yes. Going to New Zealand to take on the Wahs has not proven to be as difficult this year as it has in recent memory, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this weekend is no different. Melbourne are also looking to solidy themselves as top four contenders in 2024, and will be looking to make amends for some silly errors last week. I’m going with the Storm by 12 points.
Super Saturday is going to close with the Parramatta Eels going head to head with the Sydney Roosters. The Chooks come into the contest fresh off a bye, whilst the Eels come into it off the back of a come-from-behind-last-minute-loss to the Bulldogs on Monday. The might of the Chooks ought to be far too strong in this one, as the Eels still look to rebuild their club following the axing of head coach Brad Arthur. Granted, the Roosters will be without Joseph Sua’li’i after a controversial send off in State of Origin Game 1, however with who they have waiting in the wings, it’s hard to see that being a problem for the tri-colours. The points seem to pile on for fun, and Stephen Crichton exposed some serious weaknesses in the Parra left edge defence. Roosters by 24 points.
The Sunday ticket will kick off with the Manly Sea Eagles and St George Illawarra Dragons battling out for a top eight spot! The Dragons were red hot against the woeful Tigers last week, whereas Manly just weren’t quite good enough for Penrith (Reuben Garrick kicking straight may have made for a different game?). Brookvale oval has been a fast and dry track this year, which will suit the free-flowing attack of the Dragons, however the Manly boys may be out with a vengeance this week, looking to find their rhythm again. Luke Brooks seemed to be finding that running game again on Sunday that made him so dangerous at the start of the year, and if he and DCE can link together well, this should go down as a win to Manly by 18 points.
Closing out Round 15 of the NRL for 2024, will be the Newcastle Knights welcoming the Penrith Panthers to the steel city, for what will be a real test of character for the red and blue. They have the grit, and determenation to take the Panthers deep here, if they can all get on the same page. I expect they will ultimately be outclassed by the three-peat premiers, however, they have the potential to save a lot of face after some recent efforts. Newy put up a valiant effort against the Storm last week, and were minutes away from potentially stealing a victory. This game could be a lot closer than people intially suspect! I’m going with Penrith by 8 points.
Round 15 is set to be a cracking weekend of football, with a lot of must see action lined up. The match-ups could make for some very high scoring games! 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 Sharks, Raiders, Broncos, Titans, Storm, Roosters, Sea Eagles and Penrith to all walk away victorious, with the Bulldogs taking the bye. How many do you think I’ll get right this week? How many do you think I’ll get right out of the eight 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!
