We take a look at Saturday’s (20/07/2019) NRL 2019 Week 18 match is between Canberra Raiders and Wests Tigers. The Canberra Raiders go into the match as the short priced favourites in betting and have been heavily backed.
When: Saturday July 20, 5:30pm
Where: GIO Stadium
Bet: Bet On This Match HERE
Preview:
Canberra has leapfrogged the Roosters into third spot on the table and will cement their spot in the top four with a win against the Tigers on Saturday afternoon. A 38-14 win against the Dragons last weekend was commanding from the get go and only soured by the suspension of Nick Cotric for a spear tackle. Michael Oldfield replaces the centre, with Josh Papalii returning to the starting unit in Canberra’s only changes.
The Tigers fell flat in Benji Marshall’s 300th game losing 30-18 to Parramatta. Robert Jennings’ defensive flaws last weekend have resulted in his omission from this one, with Paul Momirovski taking his place.
In their round 13 meeting the Raiders blanked Wests 28-0 at Bankwest Stadium in a dominant performance. Canberra has won five of the past six games its played against the Tigers, but lost its last match against them in Canberra 22-20 in round 18 last year. Those five Raiders wins have all been by huge margins, with none less than 28 points.
Canberra is 10-1-5 against the spread in 2019, ranking second in the league for covering the handicap. The Tigers are a respectable 9-7, but their dire record against the Raiders recently makes The Wolf cautious in tipping them for any sort of upset and if the line stays at about a converted try, the Raiders are the way to go.
Odds:
Tip: Canberra Raiders at $1.37
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Bailey Simonsson at $8.50
Teams:
Raiders: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Bailey Simonsson 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Michael Oldfield 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Jack Wighton 7. Aidan Sezer 8. Josh Papalii 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Dunamis Lui 11. John Bateman 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Joseph Tapine 14. Siliva Havili 15. Corey Horsburgh 16. Iosia Soliola 17. Emre Guler 18. Sam Williams 19. Royce Hunt 20. Jack Murchie 21. JJ Collins
Players cut:
Tigers: 1. Corey Thompson 2. Paul Momirovski 3. Moses Mbye 4. Esan Marsters 5. David Nofoaluma 6. Benji Marshall 7. Luke Brooks 8. Josh Aloiai 9. Robbie Farah 10. Alex Twal 11. Ryan Matterson 12. Chris Lawrence 13. Matt Eisenhuth 14. Jacob Liddle 15. Thomas Mikaele 16. Elijah Taylor 17. Michael Chee-Kam 18. Tommy Talau 19. Chris McQueen 20. Luke Garner 21. Oliver Clark
*Odds correct at time of posting. Subject to change