NRL Round 16 Review: Big scores and upsets galore

Round 16 of the 2020 NRL Premiership didn’t promise too much at first glance, but it delivered a string of upsets that have suddenly revived the finals race.

One punter put $400,000 on the Roosters at $1.04 to earn the easiest $16,000 one can make, while we at BettingSite.com.au tipped you some tryscorers and were just moments away from a $71 return on Sunday afternoon.

Let’s take a look at the major talking points and NRL betting results from the week just gone.

Eels 038 Rabbitohs

What a statement from the South Sydney Rabbitohs, who played some of the most beautiful attacking footy seen for many a year.

Souths had been long touted as flat-track bullies, but you couldn’t help but admire the way in which they absolutely destroyed Parramatta.

It’s not all roses for the Rabbitohs, however, as they will now be without Latrell Mitchell for the remainder of the season.

Mitchell had been quietly putting together an excellent season at fullback since the competition resumption, so his loss is significant.

Hopefully you all listened to the ‘whoever starts at left wing’ tip for the Bunnies and put plenty on Corey Allan. Never in doubt!

It was otherwise slim pickings from this game, as it would have been for a lot of punters.

Dragons 1014 Titans

This game had few neutral excited and the 2-0 half-time score did little to get the blood pumping.

It turned out to be a memorable evening for Gold Coast Titans fans, however, with their team scoring two tries in three minutes at the death to steal a win from the Dragons.

The late-blooming Jamal Fogarty has been a shining light for the Gold Coast this season, so it was fitting that he secured the win with the final try.

This was a contest where we scored nothing but big, fat losses across the board, but well done to the Titans for their fifth win of the year.

Roosters 5812 Broncos

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Brisbane Broncos were beaten by the length of the Flemington straight.

This was the one game of the round that went according to script from start to finish, with the Sydney Roosters running in 10 tries to two and the Broncos embarrassing themselves even further in a shocking week which saw their coach leave the club.

The aggregate score in this fixture for season 2020 is 117-12, which is almost inconceivable.

We went big and said the -40.5 line for the Roosters was in play, and a 78th-minute try to Brett Morris got us across the line. God bless the Morris twins.

Warriors 366 Knights

It’s almost inconceivable, but the New Zealand Warriors‘ mauling of the Knights means they are still a mathematical chance to make the top eight.

One punter had a multi on a Warriors 13+ win with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to score anytime, and all you can do is tip your cap for having the guts to back that.

The Newcastle Knights were awful, and it looked like the injury toll and 13 straight weeks of footy left them incredibly flat on the day.

This was a bludger of a contest all around, except for Warriors fans. You deserve every ounce of happiness this result gave you.

Sharks 2812 Cowboys

The Cronulla Sharks‘ win keeps them four points clear of ninth place, but they will have to keep winning to ensure they finish in the eight.

The North Queensland Cowboys have been awful in New South Wales this season, and they dished up another rubbish performance on Saturday despite scoring first.

It was their ninth loss in a row, and the Sharks 13+ prediction got home with relative ease.

He might not have scored first like we thought he was a chance to do, but Braden Hamlin-Uele proved again that he is a force to be reckoned with from close range.

In the coming weeks he will be a juicy anytime scoring option because of his potency close to the line, so that is one for the black book.

Panthers 306 Tigers

This was a predictable outcome for both clubs: Wests Tigers try hard for a while and look competitive before they fold, but Penrith Panthers have all the answers.

Three points clear of second place with four rounds to go, Penrith now look to have the minor premiership stitched up.

The 30-6 score line was fantastic for all those on the 13+ margin, but we took the -24.5 start with Penrith – one point away from saluting with another outlandish line prediction.

Storm 306 Sea Eagles

A few big guns returned for the Melbourne Storm, and they looked a million bucks.

Their 16th consecutive win in Queensland means it is now a mere formality they will finish second, so good luck to whoever finishes third and has to face them in week one of the NRL 2020 finals.

The left edge for the Storm was in frightening form, putting together some unbelievable play for a Josh Addo-Carr double and Justin Olam hat-trick.

While we were half a point off in the Panthers game, we aced it with the -23.5 line on Melbourne. Nothing like a garbage time try to secure a 24-point win and a tidy payout.

Remember when we said to put the house on Addin Fonua-Blake to score first at $71? We hope you just put it on for him to be Manly’s first scorer, as he crossed just moments after Olam scored.

Raiders 3420 Bulldogs

This was meant to be an easy Canberra Raiders win coming in as short-priced favourites, but it didn’t quite happen that way.

We were a week late with our Dallin Watene-Zelezniak prediction, and there was another upset on the cards as the Canterbury Bulldogs stormed out to a shock 20-12 lead.

When Tom Starling was sin binned just minutes into the second half, the Raiders were in real trouble – or at least they should have been.

It wouldn’t be a Canberra game without something unusual happening, and right on queue, they scored three tries with 12 men on the field. Unheard of.

From eight down at half time, the Raiders 13+ came through once again and the punters rejoiced.

As for our -18.5 start for Canberra… imagine if they played with 12 the entire game? It would have come home without a doubt in the world!