Rugby League

After 192 regular season games, the top eight sides in the NRL have their sights set on the first week of the finals, which begin on Friday night in Sydney.

That match sees the second-place Sydney Roosters host the third-place Brisbane Broncos in a blockbuster Qualifying Final. The winner of this one will be well placed to challenge for the Premiership, just one home win away from the Grand Final.

The Roosters have won their last four games against the Broncos on their home deck, which has seen them installed as $1.60 AUD favorites, with the club from the Queensland capital out at $2.35 according to AustralianGambling.com.au.

The other Qualifying Final will be played down in Victoria on Saturday afternoon, when the Melbourne Storm, the top pick for the Premiership, are the shortest priced favorite of the weekend, at $1.22, to beat the Parramatta Eels ($4.30), who finished fourth.

The Storm are on a seven-game winning streak heading into the finals and, having lost just four games all season long, it's going to take a massive effort from the Eels to cause a boil over in this one.

The first of the two Elimination Finals takes place on Saturday night when the Manly Sea Eagles and Penrith Panthers go head to head for the second week in a row. In the final round of the season, it was the Sea Eagles who cemented their place in the finals with a 28-12 win.

That loss was Penrith's second in as many weeks, and with constant speculation surrounding the future of their skipper Matt Moylan, it's been a less than ideal lead-up to the most important time of the year.

All the money has been for the Manly side to repeat their heroics of last week, which has seen them come into $1.60 to end Penrith's ($2.35) season.

On Sunday, the North Queensland Cowboys, who only snuck into the top eight after the St George Illawarra Dragons bowed out of contention with a final-round loss, aim to cause a huge upset and end the reigning Premier Cronulla Sharks' season.

Cronulla haven't exactly set the world on fire in the last five weeks either though. They've managed just two wins in that period, including a lacklustre performance against the wooden-spooners Newcastle.

The Sharks are at the short quote of $1.35 to keep their dream of back to back titles alive, with the Cowboys out at $3.20.

The final round of the NRL season is here, and with four teams vying for the final three spots in the top eight and a further two clubs trying to break into the coveted top four, the stage is set for a brilliant closing weekend before the finals.

The action kicks off Thursday night in Townsville when the North Queensland Cowboys host the Brisbane Broncos. The seventh-place Cowboys are a $2.60 AUD outsider for the win they need to ensure they qualify for the finals for a seventh year in a row.

The Broncos ($1.50) are sitting in third place on the table, but they can move as high as second—meaning they host a qualifying final the following weekend—should they win and the Sydney Roosters lose to the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday.

That is highly unlikely, though, given that the Titans haven't won since Round 17 and have slid all the way down to 14th position in the process. The Roosters are $1.09, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, while the Titans are way out at $7.50.

Another club who can finish second on the ladder if results go their way is the Parramatta Eels, who are heavily favoured to beat the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Friday night at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney.

Parra are at $1.22 to win their ninth game from their last 10 starts against a Souths side that cannot wait for the season to end.

Another fascinating clash takes place in the northern beaches of Sydney on Saturday afternoon, when the Manly Sea Eagles ($1.77) host the Penrith Panthers ($2.05).

The hosts are in eighth place, so the pressure is on them to perform. But despite last weekend's shock loss to the St George Illawarra Dragons, the Panthers are the league's in-form team, having won their previous seven games in a row.

Penrith are sitting in sixth spot, but they can go up to fifth if the Cronulla Sharks are upset by the Newcastle Knights.

The reigning Premiers are $1.30 to win that crucial contest in the Hunter Valley on Sunday afternoon, with the Knights, who are in a battle with the Wests Tigers to avoid the wooden spoon, way out at $3.55.

The Tigers sit just one win ahead of the Knights but can ensure they escape winning the unwanted piece of kitchenware with a win over the New Zealand Warriors on Sunday night. That win is priced at $1.57, with the Kiwis out at $2.40.

Should Manly lose, then the ninth-place Dragons can into sneak into the eight with a win over the Canterbury Bulldogs on Sunday. St George have been an incredibly tough team to follow this season, having won two games in a row just twice.

The Melbourne Storm's last hit out before the finals comes at home on Saturday night against the Raiders, whose season ended two weeks ago when they were beaten in a nail-biter against the Panthers.

Melbourne's form has been red hot: They dismantled Souths 64-6 last week and are $1.33 to enter their seventh straight finals campaign with a win.

The Melbourne Storm may have wrapped up their second minor premiership in as many years with a win over the Newcastle Knights last weekend, but the race for both the top-four and top-eight spots is still alive as we enter the penultimate round of the NRL season.

Last week the two sides likely to break into the top eight were the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Canberra Raiders, but both failed to take their chances after they lost to the Brisbane Broncos and the Penrith Panthers, respectively.

Luckily for the pair, the eighth-place Manly Sea Eagles dropped their second game in as many weeks, which left the door ajar. The team from the northern beaches of Sydney sit just one win ahead of the ninth-place North Queensland Cowboys and two games ahead of the 10th-place Raiders, who will now find it tough to reach their second finals series in a row.

Canberra have the chance to give their flickering aspirations a boost on Friday night with a home win against the cellar-dwelling Knights ($5.50), a win that's priced at $1.15 AUD, while Manly are $1.52 to snap a two-game losing streak when they head across the ditch to play the New Zealand Warriors ($2.55) on Sunday according to AustralianGambling.com.au.

The Dragons face the Penrith Panthers this week. The Panthers are the in-form team of the competition and have won seven games in a row to make a charge towards the top four, and with it the all-important double chance.

Penrith are $1.52 to make it eight wins in a row, with the Dragons out at $2.55.

The Panthers are hoping to displace the reigning Premiers, the Cronulla Sharks, from the top four. They sit just one win ahead of Penrith in fourth place on the ladder.

Cronulla face a tough assignment against the third-place Sydney Roosters ($2.02) at home on Saturday night. In the match of the round, the hosts are a $1.80 chance to win their second game in a row after they were too strong for the Cowboys last week in a crucial win.

The Parramatta Eels are the other club who still have top-four aspirations following their amazing late-season form, which has consisted of seven wins from their last eight games.

They head north to Brisbane for a Thursday-night blockbuster against the second-place Brisbane Broncos, but the Eels aren't given too much chance at $4. The Broncos are at $1.25 to win their 10th home game from 12 starts this campaign.

The tightest betting match of the round comes up on Friday night in Sydney, where the Wests Tigers host the Cowboys. These two sides cannot be split at $1.90 for a game the Cowboys simply must win if they want to be a part of the finals action for the seventh year in a row.

As mentioned, the Storm may have wrapped up the minor premiership, but they'll still want to finish the regular season with a pair of wins to ensure they hit the finals with some momentum. The Melburnians are assessed as a $1.17 chance to beat South Sydney Rabbitohs ($5.10), who they host on Saturday afternoon.

Both the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Canberra Raiders took a huge step towards qualifying for the NRL finals last weekend when they beat the Gold Coast Titans and the New Zealand Warriors, respectively.

The Dragons are now breathing down the neck of the North Queensland Cowboys in ninth place on the ladder but face a tough trip north to take on the second place Brisbane Broncos on Friday night.

St George have played in just one finals series since 2011 and are big outsiders at $3.60 AUD, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, against a Broncos side ($1.30) who've won four of their last five games.

While the Red V are just a game outside the top eight, the Raiders are a game further back in 10th place, but they are favored at $1.56 to get the win over the sixth place Penrith Panthers ($2.45) on Sunday, which would keep them in the hunt.

There are several teams fighting to keep their finals aspirations alive over the closing three rounds of the season, but the Melbourne Storm are sitting pretty at the top, three games clear at the summit. Barring a catastrophe, the Storm will clinch their second straight Minor Premiership this Saturday against the cellar-dwelling Newcastle Knights.

Last season's runners-up are $1.20 to beat the Knights ($4.65), which will snap a three-game winning streak for the Newcastle outfit, who are finishing the season strongly.

After losing to Melbourne last weekend, the Sydney Roosters have now dropped two games in a row and are in danger of dropping out of the top four at the worst possible time. They are heavy favorites at $1.22 to beat the 15th place Wests Tigers ($4.40) at home Saturday afternoon though, which should steady the ship.

Cronulla Sharks have also lost ground on their Premiership rivals over the past fortnight, with losses to both the Raiders and the Broncos, which has left them ahead of the fifth place Parramatta Eels by point difference only.

The reigning Premiers are assessed as a $1.60 betting favorite to beat the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday night, which is one of the matches of the round. A win for the Cowboys is priced at $2.37 and would be a massive boost for a team who have played without their star Johnathan Thurston for most of the season.

Round 24 kicks off at Sydney's Olympic Stadium on Thursday night, when the Eels ($1.22) host the Gold Coast Titans ($4.60), whose coach Neil Henry has been under fierce scrutiny by the media this week after his team dropped their fourth straight game.

South Sydney Rabbitohs ($1.30) are at short odds to win their third game in a row, when they host the New Zealand Warriors on Friday night, but unfortunately for Souths fans, their late-season resurgence has come too late.

The Melbourne Storm remain the team to beat at the top of the NRL ladder after getting past the North Queensland Cowboys last weekend. The team from the Victorian capital can now sew up the Minor Premiership with a win over the Sydney Roosters on Saturday.

The Roosters were one of two top-four teams who dropped their Round 22 fixtures last weekend, which has left Melbourne in the box seat to secure their second Minor Premiership in as many years.

Sydney travel down to Melbourne for a Saturday matchup at AAMI Park, a venue that the hosts have lost just two games at from nine starts this season. The Storm are assessed as a $1.40 AUD chance to get the two points, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, with the Roosters out at $3.

The other top-four club who lost last weekend was the Cronulla Sharks, which has left them hanging on to fourth place by point difference only. It doesn't get any easier for the reigning Premiers this week either, with a Friday night assignment against the third-place Brisbane Broncos.

The Broncos belted their Queensland neighbours, the Gold Coast Titans, by an incredible scoreline of 54-0 last week, so they've been installed as $1.42 favourites for this one, while the Sharks are out at $2.90.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnRVvPKNIY4

The loser of that clash will be surpassed by the in-form team of the league, the Parramatta Eels, should they get the two points against the bottom of the table Newcastle Knights in the early game on Friday night.

Parra have now won six straight games and are at a line of $1.15 to make it lucky number seven against the Novocastrians ($5.60).

The Penrith Panthers also have a huge winning streak going and are heavily favoured to make it six wins on the trot when they host the North Queensland Cowboys at Pepper Stadium on Saturday night.

The Panthers are $1.45 for a win that would see them cement their position inside the top eight with just three rounds remaining. It won't be easy, though, against a Cowboys side who still harbour hopes of a top-four finish despite that home loss to Melbourne last Friday night.

St George Illawarra Dragons are the team that Penrith replaced inside the top eight, following their nail-biting loss at the hands of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Red V ($1.42) have a chance to bounce back into finals contention with a win over the Titans ($2.90) on Saturday.

Manly Sea Eagles steamrolled the Roosters last week and now find themselves a heavy favourite ($1.40) to be too strong for the 15th-place Wests Tigers ($3) on Sunday.

Round 23 kicks off at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney on Thursday night between two of the most disappointing teams of the season, the South Sydney Rabbitohs ($1.66) and the Canterbury Bulldogs ($2.25).

There are just five rounds to go until the NRL finals and by Sunday night, when Round 22 draws to a close, the make-up of the finals could be a lot more clear.

Only four points separate fourth from ninth on the table, so there is no margin for error. The round is expected to be an extremely tight affair, with a line of under a converted try in seven of the eight games, according to AustralianGambling.com.au.

The action kicks off when the Canterbury Bulldogs host the in-form Parramatta Eels on Thursday night, and the visitors are set to go in as hot favourites at around the $1.50 AUD mark. The confidence comes on the back of Parramatta's best performance of the season, a 28-14 win over the highly fancied Broncos.

Friday night's game between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the South Sydney Rabbitohs provides a perfect opportunity for St George to cement their spot inside the top eight after they lost to the bottom-placed Newcastle Knights last week.

While that was a poor showing from the Dragons, Souths are on a four-game losing streak themselves, so you couldn't back them with any confidence at the moment. The Red V are $1.50 favourites to get the job done against one of their oldest rivals, who are $2.65.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qvSg6jN2Q8

When the final whistle goes at the SCG, the North Queensland Cowboys and Melbourne Storm players will be running onto the field in Townsville for a crucial clash.

Melbourne remain Premiership favourites and clear on top of the table, but beating the Cowboys, who are equal on points with the fourth-place Broncos, will be no easy feat.

North Queensland have won three of their last four home games and were on a four-game winning streak before losing to the Sydney Roosters in a tight one last week.

In selection news, Storm young gun Cameron Munster will miss out with an ankle injury, with Billy Slater set to take his place in the side. Storm are $1.51 favourites to remain on top of the table with a win, while the hosts are at $2.60.

Should Melbourne slip up, the Roosters can move to top spot with a big win over the Manly Sea Eagles on Sunday. That win would be Sydney's fourth in a row, and is priced at $1.77, while Manly are assessed as a $2.08 shot in that Sunday fixture after being belted by Melbourne last week.

The Cronulla Sharks are well positioned for a tilt at back to back Premierships, sitting in third place on the ladder after a 26-12 win in New Zealand over the Warriors last Friday.

Their next assignment is a home game against the Canberra Raiders, who are all but out of finals contention despite beating fellow strugglers the Rabbitohs last week. The Sharks are solid favourites at $1.52, with their opponents out at the juicy odds of $2.56 to keep their season alive.

The Penrith Panthers are the shortest-priced favourites of the round at $1.30 to win their fifth game in a row, over the Wests Tigers ($3.60). A win would see the ninth-place Penrith side squeeze into the top eight should other results go their way.

With two points separating third and seventh on the NRL Ladder, Round 21 is expected to be crucial in determining which teams are in the best position to make the top four come the end of the season.

The most important game comes up at ANZ Stadium on Friday night where the in-form Parramatta Eels play host to the Brisbane Broncos.

The Eels have won six of their past seven to sit seventh, but just a game from the Broncos, who thrashed the Bulldogs 42-12 last week and are third.

The Broncos have won their past three against the Eels and go in as $1.50 AUD favourites, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, with the Eels at $2.62 having won their past five straight at this venue. They may be the value of the weekend.

Another key battle at the top sees second-placed Sydney Roosters host fifth-placed North Queensland Cowboys at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.

The Roosters are looking to maintain their buffer in second place and are $1.60 to beat the Cowboys for the fourth time in five encounters. But the Cowboys, who are $2.36, can't be discounted having won their past four matches despite being without Johnathan Thurston.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvST-nOcMp4

Melbourne Storm remain both Premiership favourites and two points clear of the Roosters on top of the table and face a possibly tricky Round 21 match against old rivals Manly at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Storm go into this match with major doubts over two of their stars, Cam Smith (pec) and Billy Slater (concussion), and as a result have drifted out to $1.65 in the market.

But the Sea Eagles were hammered by the Dragons last week and are $2.26 having won just once at AAMI Park from five previous matches.

The round gets underway on Thursday night at Pepper Stadium where Penrith look to further press their top-eight hopes when they host the out-of-sorts Canterbury Bulldogs.

The Panthers, who sit two points out of the finals race, kept in touch with a win over the Gold Coast Titans last week, and are $1.42 to defeat the 'Dogs, who have lost seven of the past nine. The Bulldogs lost to Penrith 38-0 at ANZ Stadium just eight weeks ago and are $2.90.

Cronulla will be looking to consolidate their position in the top four when they travel to New Zealand to play the Warriors on Friday night. The Sharks start $1.65 favourites for the match but will be wary knowing the Warriors have won six of eight matches at Mt Smart this year.

The Warriors are $2.26 having lost seven of their past nine against the Sharks including three of their past four at this ground.

St. George Illawarra breathed new life into their season with a thumping win over Manly last week, and they will be looking to continue that form when they travel to Newcastle to take on the Knights.

The Dragons are the shortest-priced favourite for the round at $1.25 against the Knights ($4.05) having won nine of the past 10 matches between the two teams.

Canberra's campaign looks to be done for after they slipped three games out of the top eight, but the Raiders are $1.54 favourites in their clash against South Sydney ($2.50) at ANZ Stadium.

The Gold Coast Titans are in a similar situation to the Raiders having slipped from contention, but they go into their clash against the Wests Tigers on Sunday as $1.26 top picks, with the Titans at $3.95.

The St George Illawarra Dragons' season is in serious danger of slipping into irrelevance ahead of Sunday's crucial NRL clash against the Manly Sea Eagles in Wollongong.

The Dragons were top of the ladder after seven rounds but have since lost seven out of their last 10 matches to slump to eighth, just two points clear of the Penrith Panthers in ninth having lost to two teams outside of finals contention in the past two weeks.

They may have thrashed the Sea Eagles 35-10 at Brookvale back in Round 6, but they go into this match as $2.14 AUD outsiders, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, with a line of 2.5 points in their favour.

Since that last meeting, Manly have won eight of their 11 matches and sit in third, six points clear of the out-of-form Dragons. The Sea Eagles are $1.72 to win their first game in Wollongong since 2003 having lost their past four there by an average of over 20 points.

That match is by far the closest in the round, with none of the other seven matches featuring two teams inside the eight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMYwItIvbFA

The next closest game is expected to be between two teams who are relying on late-season revivals to replace the Dragons inside the eight, the Penrith Panthers and the Gold Coast Titans.

The Panthers host this one at Pepper Stadium and are $1.52 to the Titans' $2.56. The Panthers were second bottom just 10 weeks ago but have won six of their past eight, including victories over the Sea Eagles and the Warriors in the past fortnight.

The Titans have put together three straight wins, including one over reigning premier Cronulla last week to keep their season alive and did win last time they played in Penrith last year.

The round kicks off Thursday night when the Brisbane Broncos welcome the Canterbury Bulldogs to Suncorp Stadium. The Broncos' progress this year has been consistent but unspectacular, and in fourth place, they are well-poised to attack the last six weeks of the season.

They go into this match as $1.30 favourites, but the Bulldogs beat them earlier this year (10-7), one of Canterbury's seven wins of the year. The Dogs are big outsiders at $2.60 with a 9.5-point line in their favour. They have won three of their past four against the Broncos.

The Sydney Roosters come off the bye into what looks a straightforward clash with Newcastle on Friday night at Allianz Stadium.

The Roosters are the shortest-price favourites of the round at $1.15, with the Knights at $5.60 having won just one of their past eight against the Tricolours.

In fact, Newcastle haven't beaten the Roosters at Allianz Stadium in eight years and lost 24-6 when the teams met in Round 7.

Later that night, Cronulla look to bounce back from that shock loss to Gold Coast when they host the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Shark Park.

The Sharks slumped to fifth with that defeat and desperately need the points in this one to keep in the fight for the top four. They are $1.35 to beat the Rabbitohs, who are $3.25 with their season seemingly over.

Premiership favourites Melbourne Storm are $1.50 favourites to take the two points when they travel to the national capital to take on the Canberra Raiders ($2.62) on Saturday evening.

Later that night, North Queensland Cowboys, whose only defeat in their past six came via golden-point against the Storm, host the New Zealand Warriors. The Cowboys are $1.35 to win that one, with the Warriors at $3.25.

The round finishes off on Sunday when Wests Tigers host Parramatta Eels at ANZ Stadium. The Eels, currently eighth, are $1.33 favourites for that game, with the struggling Tigers at $3.40.

Queensland Maroons produced a spectacular performance to beat New South Wales Blues 22-6 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia, in Game 3 of the 2017 State of Origin on Wednesday and seal a 2-1 comeback series win.  

Valentine Holmes scored a hat-trick of tries for Queensland in front of a raucous crowd, while Jarrod Wallace claimed the Maroons' fourth to earn an 11th series win in 12 years.

Josh Dugan went over for the Blues just after half-time to give them a glimpse of a comeback after a first-half hammering, but Queensland quickly reestablished their dominance and eventually won with ease.

NSW Blues provided both lineups ahead of kick-off:

Our men.#uptheblues pic.twitter.com/82j7hp3AXV

— NSWBlues (@NSWBlues) July 12, 2017

Queensland.#uptheblues pic.twitter.com/OWf2mUeMVI

— NSWBlues (@NSWBlues) July 12, 2017

The opening exchanges were even, with both the Blues and Maroons showing excellent defence.

But it was New South Wales who were making more mistakes and Queensland slowly began to take control of proceedings before 21-year-old Holmes opened the scoring in the 15th minute.

He finished off a slick team move started by Billy Slater in impressive fashion, holding off three NSW defenders to score in the corner, and Cameron Smith duly slotted the conversion.

Three minutes later Cooper Cronk looked to have scored Queensland's second try after an excellent break, but the score was ruled out after he was rightly adjudged to have dropped the ball before the line under pressure from Brett Morris.

Cronk more than made up for his mistake in the 26th minute, though, when he set up Holmes for another score in the left corner with an inspired flat cross-field kick, per NRL:

Holmes strikes again!#Origin #NRL pic.twitter.com/pz4Fy2GCzQ

— NRL (@NRL) July 12, 2017

The Blues could not live with the intensity of the Maroons, and three minutes from the break NSW were spared further punishment when another Holmes try was ruled out for a forward pass.

The 12-0 scoreline at the break flattered the Blues, who had been outplayed for most of the opening period.

However, they looked in much better shape at the start of the second half as Dugan plucked Mitchell Pearce's kick out of the air in the 48th minute and ran in a try under the posts to put NSW back in contention.

A slight momentum shift toward the Blues was apparent, but they could not take further advantage, and Holmes ran in his third try of the night on the hour to all but seal the match and the series.

Cameron Munster deserved huge credit for setting up the score as he produced a dazzling run to open up space before offloading to Holmes, who claimed the pass brilliantly before going over.

Seven minutes later it was then Wallace's turn to get on the scoreboard, running in under the posts from three metres out after an inside pass from Munster. 

With the first and third teams on the NRL ladder having the week off, Cronulla, Brisbane and Manly are all looking to strengthen their positions in the top four as we head into the post-Origin period.

Cronulla travel to Gold Coast on Saturday night to take on the Titans, hoping to stay clear in second place and maintain the pressure on top-placed Melbourne.

The Sharks had five players involved in Origin 3, and exactly how many of those players return three days later will play a large part in determining the market for the match against the Titans.

As it stands, Cronulla are $1.60 AUD favourites, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, with the Titans, who knocked off the Dragons in their last match and must continue winning if they are to have any hope of making the finals, at $2.38.

Fourth-placed Manly had their five-match winning streak snapped when they were beaten by Penrith last week but can get things back on track when they face the Wests Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Brookvale.

The Sea Eagles are the shortest-priced favourite of the round at $1.17, with the Tigers on $5.25, with a huge line of 15.5 in their favour. Interestingly, the past six matches between these two have all featured a margin of at least 10 points, but they haven't met since Round 2 last year.

The Tigers had lost seven straight before beating the Knights last time out, but this looms as a much tougher task having not won at Brookvale in 14 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXkyMYlKpyQ

The Brisbane Broncos, who are always heavily impacted by Origin and have gone 2-3 over the Origin period this year, travel to Newcastle to face the Knights on Saturday evening.

Again, this market will be impacted by how many of the Broncos' best players back up from Wednesday, but they are listed at $1.30 on the betting lines with the Knights, who are on a six-match losing streak, at $3.60. The Broncos have won five straight against the Knights and haven't lost in Newcastle since 2010.

Round 19 begins in Auckland on Friday night with the New Zealand Warriors and the Penrith Panthers desperate to keep in touch with the top eight.

Both are four points out of the finals fight, with Friday's match somewhat of an early elimination matchup. The Panthers may have beaten the Sea Eagles last week, but they go into this one as $2.20 underdogs having lost their past two at Mt Smart Stadium.

The Warriors have won their past five at home and go into this one as $1.68 favourites.

Canberra Raiders are two points further back in 11th and face a must-win match against St George Illawarra at GIO Stadium later on Friday night.

The Dragons look like the most vulnerable team in the eight having lost six of their past nine and are $2.58 outsiders as they travel to the national capital, where they haven't played in two-and-a-half years.

So far the Raiders have been inconsistent but can keep their season alive with a win here. They are $1.52.

The sixth-placed North Queensland Cowboys could also be suspect to a late-season slump without Johnathan Thurston, but they have been battling away well recently, winning four of their five games over the Origin period.

South Sydney host them in Cairns on Sunday, a match which should be a virtual home game for the Cowboys, who are rightly $1.68 favourites.

South Sydney couldn't get past a half-strength Sydney Roosters team here and are unlikely to be able to knock off the Cowboys. The Rabbitohs are $2.20.