NRL Betting Tip: Back Brisbane Broncos to beat Penrith Panthers by 1-12 points in NRL Semi-final
Recommended Bet: Brisbane Broncos to win by 1-12 points @ 2/1 (3.00) with Sportsbet
Friday evening sees the first of the NRL Premiership semi-finals taking place at the Suncorp Stadium, as Brisbane Broncos face the Penrith Panthers.
The prize at stake for the winners is a place in next week’s Preliminary final, where they will face a trip to the minor premiers, Melbourne Storm.
The Broncos almost qualified directly for the Preliminary final after a spirited fight-back against the Sydney Roosters in their Qualifying final which they even briefly led late on before eventually going down 24-22 at the Allianz Stadium.
The Penrith Panthers pulled off a minor surprise in winning 22-10 at Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in their Elimination final, with the result coming just a week after they had lost 28-12 to the same team in Game Week 26 of the regular season.
In the head-to-heads, the Broncos beat the Panthers 32-18 at the Suncorp Stadium in Game Week 9 back in April, but the Panthers won four of the five meetings between the pair prior to that. It might also be worth noting that five of the last six meetings have all topped 40 points and that the Broncos have won four of the last five meetings at Suncorp.
Broncos’ coach Wayne Bennett has a big decision to make in whether or not to risk skipper Darius Boyd, as he attempts to make a comeback from a hamstring injury.If it’s decided not to chance Boyd’s return just yet, then Jordan Kahu, Kodi Nikorima or David Mead will play in the Broncos No.1 jersey. The Broncos were also missing Andrew McCullough (knee) against the Roosters and the absence of Boyd and McCullough certainly didn’t help them defensively.
The Panthers benefitted from the early return of full-back Dylan Edwards last week, but now must decide if Matt Moylan has overcome his off-field issues to take his spot in the side.
The availability of Boyd for the Broncos could be key to determining the outcome here, but we’re going to take a chance and put our money on the Broncos prevailing by 1-12 points @ 2/1 (3.00) with Sportsbet. Home advantage should see them prevail.
