This Saturday night battle between the Brisbane Broncos and Wests Tigers at Suncorp Stadium looks to be one of the more intriguing of the weekend.
Michael Maguire will face the last NRL club he coached before the Broncos for the first time, and he and his side will enter this one as heavy, heavy favourites.
The Broncos have started the season in red-hot form, with their only blip coming against the Raiders a few weeks back.
The Tigers have been impressive in 2025 too and came up just short of making it three wins in a row, going down 26-24 to the Warriors last Sunday.
However, this will easily be their sternest test of the season. One made all the sterner by the absence of star recruit Jarome Luai who is serving a one-match suspension.
Can the Tigers overcome the odds, recent history and the loss of Luai? Or will the Broncos pick up yet another home victory in 2025?
Let’s take a look at how these two sides will line up, along with some betting tips for the H2H, first try scorer and over/under markets. Check out our Broncos vs Tigers prediction and preview below.
Broncos vs Tigers Teams
Brisbane Broncos
1. Reece Walsh
2. Selwyn Cobbo
3. Kotoni Staggs
4. Gehamat Shibasaki
5. Jesse Arthars
6. Ben Hunt
7. Adam Reynolds
8. Patrick Carrigan
9. Cory Paix
10. Payne Haas
11. Jack Gosiewski
12. Brendan Piakura
13. Kobe Hetherington
14. Billy Walters
15. Corey Jensen
16. Xavier Willison
17. Jaiyden Hunt
Wests Tigers
1. Jahream Bula
2. Sunia Turuva
3. Adam Doueihi
4. Starford To'a
5. Luke Laulilii
6. Lachlan Galvin
7. Latu Fainu
8. Terrell May
9. Api Koroisau
10. Fonua Pole
11. Samuela Fainu
12. Alex Seyfarth
13. Alex Twal
14. Tallyn Da Silva
15. Royce Hunt
16. Jack Bird
17. Sione Fainu
Broncos vs Tigers Prediction and Betting Tips
Head-to-Head Prediction
After a little blip, the Broncos are back on track, with back-to-back wins over fellow Queensland sides.
They saw off the Dolphins last week in a wet and wild encounter and now in NRL round 5 must turn their attention to the much-improved Tigers.
Wests were unlucky to not hold on against a fast-finishing Warriors side last start, ultimately going down by two points to prevent them from winning three games in a row for the first time in eons.
If the Broncos can beat Dolphins in water, they can probably take the Tigers on land, particularly as Wests will be without star recruit Jarome Luai who is facing a ban for a high shot on Ed Kosi in his side’s loss to the Warriors.
Betting tip: Brisbane Broncos.
First Try Scorer Prediction
The man with the mo. Gehamat Shibasaki is the talk of the town in Brisbane at the moment.
Gifted a starting role through injury, Shibasaki was only supposed to play until Kotoni Staggs returned.
However, such have been his performances that Broncos coach Michael Maguire had no choice but to keep him in the team at the expense of Deine Mariner.
From NRL journeyman to certified cult hero, to first on the scoreboard here? We think he’s a red-hot chance.
Betting tip: Gehamat Shibasaki.
Over Under Prediction
The form guide is strongly pointing to the over here in this market. Set at 52.5 points, each of the Broncos last four home games against the Tigers have all gone over this threshold.
When form lines are this prominent, we find it hard to tip against them. We’ll be taking the over here.
Betting tip: Over total match points.
Broncos vs Tigers Match Details
Date: Saturday, April 5, 2025.
Kick-off: 7:35pm AEDT.
Location: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.