NRL Betting Preview: Sydney Roosters worth backing to beat St George-Illawarra Dragons by 1-12 points

Recommended bet:

Winning Margin – Sydney Roosters to win by 1-12 points @ 2.78 with Palmer Bet

The Sydney Roosters play host to St George-Illawarra Dragons at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon in the game of the round between the teams currently lying fourth and second in the NRL Premiership respectively.  

With the top eight teams in the Premiership separated by just four points going into this weekend’s schedule, there is still everything to play for in the final five rounds of the regular season as the teams seek to secure the best play-off positions.

The Roosters appear to be hitting form at just the right time, with last weekend’s emphatic 56-24 victory away to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles being their sixth win in their last seven games.  The one loss was a 9-8 defeat at home to the defending champions Melbourne Storm.

After back-to-back defeats at Storm and at home to Wests Tigers, the Dragons returned to winning ways last weekend with a 24-10 victory away to North Queensland Cowboys to leave them level on points at the top of the table, sandwiched between the Storm and South Sydney Rabbitohs.

The teams have already met once this season back in Game Week 8 in April, with the Dragons running out 24-8 winners at the ANZ Stadium.  Winger Nene Macdonald, who scored two of the Dragons’ four tries in that win, is almost certainly ruled out of Sunday’s clash with a foot injury.  2nd Row Tyson Frizell is another doubt, having missed last week’s win at the Cowboys through injury.

In the corresponding fixture at the Allianz Stadium last season, it required a Mitchell Pearce golden point extra-time field goal to get the Roosters home 13-12 on Anzac Day.  There’s been little to choose between the two teams historically either, with the Dragons having won 20, the Roosters 17 and one drawn match in 38 games to date.

Home advantage and momentum are with the Roosters here though and the best available betting odds a Roosters’ win are 1.68 with Unibet, with the same bookie offering 2.32 odds on the Dragons.  

The draw option is available at 19.00 with Palmer Bet, however a more attractive betting proposition is Roosters to win by 1-12 points at 2.78 also with Palmer Bet.