Panthers vs Warriors NRL Rd 24 betting tips – Friday, August 26

The penultimate Friday night double-header of the 2022 NRL season will get underway at the foot of the mountains when the Penrith Panthers host the New Zealand Warriors in Round 24.

The Panthers secured a thrilling late win over the Rabbitohs in their last start, while the Warriors suffered a 48-4 defeat in Townsville.

The Panthers were without their starting halves against a dark horse for the premiership and still managed to get the job done. To a certain point, it almost doesn’t matter who is wearing the black jerseys, as it seems whoever wears it on any given day will put forward a terrific performance. Excellence is so ingrained in the team at this stage that there just isn’t even a thought of Penrith slipping up against a competition cellar-dweller.

There is a big chance that Panthers coach Ivan Cleary will use this match as a chance to rest as many of his big guns as possible, with Isaah Yeo and Api Koroisau being the first names that come to mind. James Fisher-Harris in another who could be on reduced duties.

Whether Cleary decides to give his stars a spell this week or next will remain to be seen, and it might not be known until the final hour before kick off.

The Panthers are so far ahead of the Warriors that even resting some of these star players will have little to no effect on the betting market.

Had it been in New Zealand you could maybe argue that point, but Penrith’s absurd record at BlueBet Stadium slams that door shut.

All tryscorer bets should wait until the final teamsheet comes out at 5pm Friday afternoon, so be sure to knock off work early.

The Warriors in Australia has been a disaster in recent weeks. They have given up 40 points in their last two visits across the ditch and the competition for this game is as stiff as it gets.

While they can get up for a big effort at Mount Smart, asking them to try and cause a huge upset away from home is mission impossible. They come in as a $16 outsider with online bookmakers, which is comfortably the biggest price of the season.

There was some negative press about the lopsided results in Round 23, but a lot of those games were teams out of contention against teams in contention.

This is another contest of teams on different journeys. Sadly for Warriors fans, they should expect a hiding.

There is no universe that exists where any fan should throw money on the Warriors to win, nor even the +28.5 head start.

Key matchup: Sean O’Sullivan vs Shaun Johnson

Sean O’Sullivan will be up against his old club this week. He has been terrific in his limited chances at the Panthers and he comes up against one of his idols in Shaun Johnson.

Panthers vs Warriors NRL betting predictions

The Panthers will win by a cricket score margin. They’ll cover the -28.5 line and score at least 40 in this one. Go through all the markets and load up on ‘Race to 40’ exotics.

Panthers vs Warriors Rd 24 same game multi tips

Get on Panthers -28.5 with Brian To’o, Izack Tago, Viliame Kikau and Stephen Crichton to all score tries.

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