NRL Betting Tips: Back Brisbane Broncos to return to winning ways against Penrith Panthers

Recommended bet:

Match Result – Brisbane Broncos to Win @ 10/11 (1.91) with bet365*

Brisbane Broncos play host to the Penrith Panthers at the Suncorp Stadium on Friday evening, with both teams eager to cement their top eight positions as we edge towards the home stretch of the regular NRL Premiership league season.

Going into the weekend’s games, the Broncos lie eighth in the table, while the Panthers are two points better off in fifth.  Both teams will be looking to put a decent run together over the closing fixtures, not just to cement their top eight positions so as to secure a place in the Finals Series, but also to try and finish in the top four, if not top two.

Those ambitions were dealt a blow for both teams last time out, with both going down to defeats.  The Broncos lost 26-6 at home to the New Zealand Warriors (and gave the chasing pack renewed hope of catching them in the race for a Finals Series place in doing so), while the Panthers went down to a 24-12 loss at home to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (for what was their third loss in four games).

One area of concern for the Broncos is that they’ve not got a great defensive record this season, having conceded a total of 360 points at an average of 21.2 points per game.

The teams met twice last season, with the Broncos accounting for the Panthers 13-6 in the Series Finals Semi-Final.  Earlier in the campaign they had also prevailed, winning 32-18 in Game Week 9 of the regular season.

The Broncos have concerns over Tevita Pangai Jnr (hamstring) and James Roberts (Achilles) for Friday’s game, but back-rower Jaydn Su’A is definitely ruled out, possibly for the rest of the season, after scans on Monday revealed he had broken his ankle.

There’s very little to choose between the two teams as far as the online bookies are concerned going into this game, with the Broncos offered at 10/11 (1.91) with bet365* and the Panthers at Evens (2.00) with Unibet.  The draw in regular time is available at 20/1 (21:00) with bet365*.

The Broncos were hugely disappointing in their defeat to the Warriors and, particularly with home advantage, one would expect a response here from Wayne Bennett’s charges.

* Odds correct at the time of writing