The Canberra Raiders and the St. George Illawarra Dragons will both be looking to bounce back from crushing round 7 losses when they square off in their round 8 matchup on Friday. With Canberra desperate to stay withing striking distance of the league’s top title hopefuls and St. George completely and utterly desperate for a win, let’s find out which team is offering the best betting value against their NRL odds in this contest.
NRL Dragons Vs Raiders Round 8
Why Bet On The Raiders
The Raiders are sitting in seventh place in the NRL standings with eight points. Canberra has scored 128 points this season while allowing 97 points defensively (+31). The Raiders have gone an uninspiring 1-2 at home, but an encouraging 3-1 on the road this season. The bad news is that Canberra has dropped two straight and comes into this affair of an absolutely crushing 25-24 road loss against the league-leading Eels on Saturday, although they got a Golden Point for their effort. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad scored two tries in the loss while Josh Papalii and Elliott Whitehead added tries and Jarrod Croker went 4-for-4 on conversions. The Raiders failed to hold on to a narrow 12-8 halftime lead even though they put up a great effort last weekend. Now, Corey Horsburgh will be sidelined for 12 weeks after suffering a Lisfranc injury to his foot against the Eels. Joseph Tapine could return from a knee injury and halfback George Williams will play despite suffering a broken nose last weekend.
Why Bet On The Dragons
The Dragons are sitting in 12th place in the NRL standings with four points. St. George has scored106 points this season while allowing 146 points defensively (-40). The Dragons have gone 1-2 at home and 1-3 on the road. The Dragons were on the wrong end of a 26-12 road loss against Sydney on Friday. Mikaele Ravalawa and Zac Lomax scored on tries while Lomax went 1-for-2 on conversions and 1-for-1 on penalty goals. Still, it wasn’t nearly enough as St. George gave up five tries and a trio of conversions in the loss. Jacob Host (hamstring) could miss this affair, paving the way for Korbin Sims to take his spot on the bench.
General Match Info St. George Illawarra Dragons (2-0-5) vs. Canberra Raiders (4-0-3)
- When: Friday, July 3, 2020 at 3:00 AM AEST
- Where: GIO Stadium, Canberra
- Dragons Vs Raiders Live: Nine/Fox Sports
- Handicap: Canberra -11.5
- Money Lines: Raiders -434 / Dragons +320
Expert Analysis and Prediction
While St. George has won three of the last five meetings in this series, Canberra recorded an emphatic 36-14 smackdown road win against St. George the last time these two met back on July 14, 2019. Not only have the Raiders won two of the last three meetings overall, but this season, they are clearly the better team at both ends of the pitch. Canberra is also playing at home and relatively desperate to get the win and remain in the league’s top eight. The Raiders get the win to cash in as a moneyline pick, but I like the Dragons to keep it within the nearly 12-point spread.
Pick: Raiders 24 Dragons 18
Telstra Premiership 2020 Round 8 Matches
- Roosters vs Storm – Thursday 2nd July, 05:50 AM | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Cowboys vs Eels – Friday 3rd July, 05:55 AM | Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
- Sharks vs Titans – Friday 3rd July, 01:00 AM | Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
- Broncos vs Warriors – Saturday 4th July, 03:30 AM | Central Coast Stadium, Central Coast
- Panthers vs Wests Tigers – Saturday 4th July, 05:35 AM | Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
- Knights vs Sea Eagles – Sunday 5tht July, 02:05 AM | Lottoland, Sydney
- Rabbitohs vs Bulldogs – Sunday 5th July, 04:30 AM | Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
