NRL Round 23 Saturday Tips | Sea Eagles vs Sharks, 20/8/22

Super Saturday NRL continues on the northern beaches of Sydney as the Cronulla Sharks travel to Brookvale to take on the Manly Sea Eagles. The wings of the Sea Eagles have been clipped with almost every problem you can imagine. Issues off the field have definitely carried onto the field, as they played the Titans into form last weekend on the Gold Coast.

For the Sharks, they came away with a handsome win in the end over the Tigers, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the top four side. The Sharks will be looking to solidify their top four credentials this weekend, while the Sea Eagles are still a mathematical chance of making the top eight. Who will come out on top in this one?

You would think that the Manly Sea Eagles season could not possibly get worse, between injuries on the field and issues off of it, until news broke Thursday that fullback Reuben Garrick has been ruled out for the rest of the season. This will bring Alfred Smalley onto the wing and push Tolutau Koula to the fullback role. For the Sharks, Toby Rudolph has been ruled out with a knee injury that will see him return in the finals, which brings Aidan Tolman onto the bench. Strike Siosifa Talakai is out with injury, as Morgan Harper breathes a sigh of relief, with Connor Tracey taking his place. Matt Moylan also returns to the Sharks starting side to bolster their line up for this clash.

The Sea Eagles have faced the Cronulla Sharks on 34 occasions and won 23 of them, however, it is fresh in the minds of fans the league over that Talakai and the Sharks beat the Sea Eagles handsomely in Cronulla. Taking into account current form and injuries for these two sides, it’s incredibly hard to see the Sea Eagles turn the tides on the Sharks this weekend. In winning margin markets, you can get $2.05 for the Sharks to win by 19+ points which looks one of the safest bets of the whole weekend.

With Matt Moylan’s return to the left edge attack for the Sharks, there will be more tendency for the Sharks to swing the ball that way. Add into the equation that Brad Parker and Smalley have never defended together before, there will be weaknesses in Manly to exploit. Ronald Mulitalo and Tracey are genuine try scorers who can do it from anywhere on the park. Both players are paying $1.42 and $1.98 respectively with the top Australian betting sites to score at any time during the match and they look locks to do so.

When attacking on the right hand side for the Sharks, it will be Nicho Hynes and Lachlan Miller who are most likely to get a try of their own. Hynes’ running game and footwork is almost unrivalled in the halfback position, while Miller is an absolute freak of an athlete who could score from 100m out or off the back of a kick to his corner. There is value with Hynes to score at $3.15, while the $1.48 for Miller will just add more value.

Clear skies are predicted for Saturday’s clash and the Sharks are expected to put on a clinic against the Sea Eagles, and this is directly reflected in the total points market. Set at 51.5 points, the bookies have this game as a high scoring one. However, it will be the Sharks doing the bulk of that scoring and it’s unlikely they score nine converted tries on their own. Safest way to play this market is to back the -51.5 total points at $1.95 with Palmerbet.

KEY MATCH UP: DALY CHERRY-EVANS v NICHO HYNES

All eyes will be on the match up of the half backs, especially the eyes of Australian coach Mal Meninga, as he prepares to select a world cup side for this year. Cherry-Evans owns the jersey at this stage, but poor form could see him lose that jersey, and if there was an injury to Nathan Cleary, Hynes would likely be the next man in for the Kangaroos. Running, kicking and passing games for these two players are their strongest points. Where Hynes has the advantage is in defence as Cherry-Evans can be a liability rushing out of the line. Look for Hynes to put his hand up as a real World Cup smokey for Meninga and the Kangaroos.

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