NRL Preview: Sydney Roosters worth betting to beat Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles by 1-10 points
Recommended bet: Winning Margin – Sydney Roosters to win by 1-10 points @ 12/5 (3.40) with Sportsbet
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles play host to the Sydney Roosters at Brookvale Oval on Sunday afternoon, as the seventh in the table Sea Eagles look to cement their play-off spot against a second-placed Roosters team that will believe they can still overhaul Melbourne Storm to be crowned Minor Premiers.
A top eight finish is no longer looking assured for the Sea Eagles and the visit of the high-flying and in-form Roosters doesn’t make their task any easier.
After back-to-back heavy defeats on the road at St. George-Illawarra Dragons (52-22 a fortnight ago) and Melbourne Storm (40-6 last time out), Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles will be pleased to return to the home comforts of the Brookvale Oval.
They leaked an astonishing 92 points in those losses and have now conceded 30-plus points on five occasions this year, so it’s obvious that they have some major concerns from a defensive perspective.
By contrast the Roosters have won their last three and six of their last seven matches and are just two points shy of table-topping Storm as a result. A bid for the Minor Premiers is well within their reach as things stand, although they had to dig deep to see off the North Queensland Cowboys 22-16 last time out, battling back from a 10-point deficit at the interval to secure the win.
The Sea Eagles have had the better off things as far as the recent head-to-head record is concerned, winning four of the last five meetings between the teams, including an 18-12 victory at the Allianz Stadium in late March in what was Game week 5, during which Sea Eagles’ centre Dylan Walker crossed for a double.
Captain Boyd Cordner remains sidelined for the Roosters, but confidence must be in relatively short supply for the Sea Eagles, so it’s not difficult to see why the visitors are slight favourites for this match.
That being the case, backing the Roosters to win by 1-10 points Winning Margin at 12/5 (3.40) with Sportsbet looks a better value bet than simply backing them for the match at 4/5 (1.80) with Unibet.
