Panthers vs Raiders NRL Round 5 betting tips – Friday, April 9

Two premiership hopefuls will renew hostilities this Friday night when the Penrith Panthers take on the Canberra Raiders at BlueBet Stadium in round five of the 2021 NRL campaign.

Historically, when the Panthers and Raiders clash, it is absolutely anyone’s game to win. The head-to-head reads 38 wins to the Raiders and 39 to the Panthers, but in more recent times it’s been Penrith who have had the wood with five wins from the last seven meetings. The Panthers have won 21 of a possible 24 games since the competition resumed after the 2020 COVID break, and it almost feels insane that punters can get better than $1.40 for them this week when you look at their recent form.

The last team to beat Penrith at home was Canberra back on July 28 of 2019, so there might be some value at the head-to-head price of $3 if you think the Raiders can repeat those efforts. Since that day, Penrith have won their last 10 games at their traditional home ground, and they look poised to extend that streak and go to 5-0 on the season.

Key matchup: James Fisher-Harris vs Ricky Stuart

James Fisher-Harris has become one of the best leaders in the NRL over the past 18 months, but will Ricky Stuart be game enough to start Josh Papalii on the bench again and not fight fire with fire? Stuart has successfully changed how he uses Papalii in the rotation and came up trumps against the Titans with the late change, but with Fisher-Harris’ dominance in recent weeks, the tinkering with the line-ups will be fascinating. Whichever way Stuart goes could potentially show how much he trusts his other middles, or how little he cares about what the opposition does when preparing his team to play.

Penrith Panthers betting info

We’ve started a trend where backing both Charlie Staines and Brian To’o is going to lead to more punters being in front at the end of the season. In the three games where the Raiders weren’t decimated on the interchange, they’ve conceded all their points out wide. It gives all the more reason to both Staines and To’o again, but the roughie to score at any time is Isaah Yeo on the back of some clever ball-playing at lock forward. At $7.50 with Sportsbet, how can you ignore that price for the New South Wales State of Origin rep?

Penrith Panthers

1. Stephen Crichton
2. Charlie Staines
3. Paul Momirovski
4. Matt Burton
5. Brian To’o
6. Jarome Luai
7. Nathan Cleary
8. Moses Leota
9. Mitch Kenny
10. James Fisher-Harris
11. Viliame Kikau
12. Kurt Capewell
13. Isaah Yeo
14. Tyrone May
15. Spencer Leniu
16. Matt Eisenhuth
17. Liam Martin

Canberra Raiders betting info

In the three games where they haven’t suffered an injury crisis, the Canberra Raiders have conceded less than 10 points per game. The +7.5 is not a bad option for them in that regard, with many predicting it will be a lot closer than the head-to-head numbers are predicting. Not many teams can pull apart the Panthers defence, but the unconventional way in which the Raiders use the football at times might be the key to causing them some headaches. It feels like a night where the effort of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad will get him into scoring positions that some others just aren’t capable of finding. The $4 is a terrific price for a fullback, let alone one who busts his gut every week like the Kiwi international does.

Canberra Raiders

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2. Bailey Simonsson
3. Jarrod Croker
4. Sebastian Kris
5. Jordan Rapana
6. Jack Wighton
7. George Williams
8. Josh Papalii
9. Josh Hodgson
10. Ryan Sutton
11. Hudson Young
12. Elliott Whitehead
13. Joseph Tapine
14. Tom Starling
15. Siliva Havili
16. Iosia Soliola
17. Ryan James

Panthers vs Raiders betting prediction

The Panthers should extend their winning streak at BlueBet Stadium to 11 games, but we think the +7.5 for Canberra is where the money should go. It will be a dog fight, and the Raiders still have a bit to prove regarding their premiership credentials.

Panthers vs Raiders same game multi

We like Brian To’o to score at any time with the Panthers by 1-12 and the Raiders at the +7.5 line. It’s a weird combination, but weird things happen when these two clash, and we think a narrow win to Penrith is where it will land after 80 minutes.