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NRL Round 20 Tips & Predictions

13/07/2023|Joel Caine|NRL Expert Predictions & Tips

A lot of the results for round 20 of the NRL will depend on who backs up from State of Origin Game 3. Injury won’t be the only thing that stops certain stars from lining up for their club sides; celebration could be a factor, too, especially if Queensland seals a clean sweep down in Sydney. Who will make it through Origin and the subsequent celebrations unscathed? Which teams can survive without their representative stars, and which sides will be praying they back up? Our expert NRL round 20 tips and predictions are below.   <h2>Newcastle Knights v Wests Tigers Prediction</h2> Friday, July 14, 8:00 pm AEST – McDonald Jones Stadium   The Knights and the Tigers get proceedings underway for round 20 on Friday night. The poor old Tigers showed vast improvement from their 74-0 loss to the Cowboys, with a more spirited showing against Cronulla, but ultimately still bit the dust. For the Knights, last week, they had a week off to celebrate their 66-0 demolition job of the Bulldogs in round 18. With Kalyn Ponga hitting top form, unburdened by Origin representation this year, playing at home, and the Tigers being the Tigers, we expect the Knights to get home comfortably in this one. Sugar’s final thoughts: The Wests Tigers have a chronic problem on their left hand side. In their last three games, opposition right wingers have had a field day against them.  First, Melbourne’s Will Warbrick scored four, then North Queensland’s Semi Valemei picked up a pair and finally, last week Cronulla’s Sione Katoa scooped up a hattrick.  The Knights’ Dom Young is having a great try Scoring year and it's difficult not to see him crossing the stripe in this one.  Sugar’s tip: Dom Young 1st,2nd or 3rd Try <h2>Canterbury Bulldogs v Brisbane Broncos Prediction</h2> Saturday, July 15, 3:00 pm AEST – Belmore Sports Ground   The Bulldogs recorded a rare, if narrow, win last week against a second-string South Sydney side. They survived a late scare as the Rabbitohs b-team came home with a wet sail, scoring a slew of late tries. This week they face a much tougher proposition – the high-flying Brisbane Broncos. While Brisbane is without Payne Haas and Reece Walsh, how the Doggies defended against a team of essentially rookies could be better. The Broncos are second on the ladder for a reason, and coming off a bye, we like their chances of winning in this one.

<h2>Manly Sea Eagles v North Queensland Cowboys Prediction</h2> Saturday, July 15, 5:30 pm AEST – Brookvale Oval   Two sides coming off a bye go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon at Brookvale Oval. Both the Cowboys and the Sea Eagles will be fully rested but sweating on the availability of their respective Origin stars. The Sea Eagles will need their skipper DCE to pull double duty this week if they want any hope of winning this one. Meanwhile, the Cowboys must hope most of their heavy Queensland contingent make it through Wednesday night unscathed. Luckily key characters Scott Drinkwater and Tom Dearden shouldn’t feature in Game 3, as both are reserve players for NSW and QLD, respectively. In terms of form, the North Queenslanders have all the running. The Cowboys have somehow come from the abyss to win four on the trot and rally just outside the top eight. Sugar’s final thoughts: Purely a value play here. They met this time last year in similar circumstances and it took the Cowboys three tries in the last seven minutes to escape with the two competition points.  Todd Payten’s side are flying but they head to Brookvale Oval after a heavy Origin affected couple of months.  Is there a minor slip up coming? The Sea Eagles when fresh (at the start of the season or after a bye) under Seibold have been superb, recording three big scoring wins - Round 1 31-6 v the Bulldogs, Round 3 34-30 v the Eels and Round 15 58-18 v the Dolphins Sugar’s tip: Sea Eagles 1-12   <h2>Sydney Roosters v Melbourne Storm Prediction</h2> Saturday, July 15, 7:35 pm AEST – SCG   Two more well-rested teams close out Saturday’s action, with the Sydney Roosters and the Melbourne Storm battling at the SCG. Usually a tightly contested, high-quality affair, this edition of this clash of the usual titans threatens to be undermined by Origin and the Roosters' form. No matter who suits up for them, you can always count on the Storm showing up; the same cannot be said for the Roosters this season. The Tri-colours have fallen all the way to 13th on the ladder after once being touted as favourites for this season’s title. Melbourne are decent favourites in the Head-to-Head (H2H) market, and unless an x-factor player like Joey Manu turns in a special performance for the Chooks, we expect them to deliver on their favouritism.

<h2>New Zealand Warriors v Cronulla Sharks Prediction</h2> Sunday, July 16, 2:00 pm AEST – Mt Smart Stadium   The Warriors return to NZ with a big win over Parramatta in their carry-on luggage. Unaffected by Origin, they blew their second-string opponents off the park, ensuring the contest was over by the halfway point. They will face much stronger opposition this week, with the Sharks, unlike the Eels, expected to be at full strength. Shaun Johnson’s participation is in doubt for the home side, with his wife due to give birth any day now. All things considered, this one is a coin flip, and the odds reflect as much as whether or not Johnson features will likely be the deciding factor.

<h2>The Dolphins v Penrith Panthers Prediction</h2> Sunday, July 16, 4:05 pm AEST – Dolphins Stadium   No matter what gets thrown their way in their debut season, the Dolphins simply refuse to roll over. Last week they once again got the best of Queensland rivals, the Titans, this time outlasting them in Golden Point. A Jamayne Issako penalty goal in the 87th minute was enough to get the Redcliffe boys over the line in a seesawing 23-21 victory. This week, they host Premiership favourites the Panthers. If some of their Origin stars fail to back up, the Dolphins are every chance of causing an upset, especially with Nathan Cleary still sidelined with injury. However, assuming Penrith’s Origin contingent makes it through Game 3 unscathed, we don’t expect the Dolphins to win; we do, however, expect them, as always, to ensure their opponents work for their win. <h2> </h2> <h2>Parramatta Eels vs Gold Coast Titans Prediction</h2> Sunday, July 16, 6:15 pm AEST – CommBank Stadium   Two sides out for redemption round out round 20. Both the Eels and the Titans tasted defeat last week but in very different circumstances. The Gold Coast came up just short against the Dolphins, going down in golden point. At the same time, the Warriors blew a second-string Parramatta side off the park. Before last week’s capitulation, the Eels were on a five-game winning streak. With key men Mitchell Moses and Clint Gutherson expected back on deck and playing at home, we’re tipping Parra to pick up where they left off when they were in the side and get the win in this one. Sugar’s final thoughts: The Eels, in particular Clint Gutherson, have found a real try scoring target in Bailey Simonsson. In his last seven  games he has missed out scoring on just one occasion. Marry this up with the Titans having the worst right hand side defence in the competition and he picks himself. We got Connelly Lemuelu over the line last week for the punters with similar logic and this looks an even better betting proposition. Sugar’s tip: Back Bailey Simonsson in one of the try scorer markets.

<h2>St George Illawarra Dragons, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canberra Raiders – BYE</h2>   The Dragons, Rabbitohs and Raiders all get the week off in round 20.

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