NRL Broncos vs Bulldogs betting preview & tips | Round 7, 22/4/22

The Brisbane Broncos return to Suncorp Stadium Friday Night as they take on the Canterbury Bulldogs for their second clash of the season. Both sides have lost troops through injury, with Brisbane set to miss veteran forward Ryan James and star fullback Tesi Niu, while the Bulldogs will be without Braidon Burns in the centres. This match shapes to be a must win for both clubs for very different reasons. The Broncos have been incredibly impressive and brave in defeat to both the Sydney Roosters and Penrith Panthers. Meanwhile the Bulldogs have been belted by the Storm, Panthers and Rabbitohs in their last three outings.

Early moves in betting markets have been in favour of the home team as the Broncos have shortened from $1.65 to $1.55 in head-to-head markets, while the Bulldogs are on the drift from $2.25 to $2.45. The Brisbane Broncos not only have 26 wins in 45 matches against the Bulldogs, but have won four of the last five clashes, three of them being by margins greater than 18 points. Brisbane welcome back their superstar front rower Payne Haas, along with in-form centre Herbie Farnworth to the starting side. All these factors point to the Brisbane Broncos winning Friday night by 13+ points, paying $3.20 with the online bookies.

Corey Oates has started his 2022 NRL season in better form than recent years, running for 161m on average, breaking 21 tackles and scoring five tries in six games. Three of those tries came in Brisbane’s match against the Roosters when he marked up on a smaller Kevin Naiqama. Brisbane will have another weakness to exploit with their right edge attack as Oates will mark up on star recruit for Canterbury, Josh Addo-Carr. Although he’s a NSW Origin calibre winger, Addo-Carr’s strength is not in the air. Expect Brisbane to target this mismatch of height on multiple occasions Friday night and see Corey Oates score twice or more, paying $5.50 at Palmerbet.

The potential for Brisbane to score points is match equally by Canterbury’s inability to stop opposing teams from scoring. The Bulldogs have the 2nd most points allowed in the competition at 145 in six matches. Brisbane have shown they can score on the right-hand side through winger Oates and centre Herbie Farnworth. However, Brisbane is still unlocking their left edge attack as Kotoni Staggs and Selwyn Cobbo work on their combination. This combination looks to be improving with every game, and with weather conducive to points scoring on Friday, taking the ‘overs’ for total points of 38.5 looks a very valuable play.

KEY MATCH UP: KOTONI STAGGS v AARON SCHOUPP & JAKE AVERILLO

The battle of the centres on Friday night will be a must watch for many reasons. The first being that Jake Averillo has lined up in the left centre position when playing in the role so far this season. Casting back to the end of last season, Aaron Schoupp also occupied the left edge for Canterbury. Schoupp is a bigger body than Averillo and looks the logical decision to take on Staggs Friday night, however, logic has not been Trent Barrett’s strong point this season.

Since Schoupp has not established he is a genuine first grade centre, and Averillo would face an enormous physical battle in opposing Kotoni Staggs, the right centre position for Canterbury is key. Whoever takes on Staggs will have their hands full containing Kotoni on Friday night, and if Canterbury cannot limit his impact, they cannot expect to win this game.

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