Abbey & Kahu try scorer tips, NRL Thursday Bulldogs vs. Broncos

Thursday, March 30 from 8.05pm at ANZ Stadium, Sydney.

YOU know you’re struggling in the NRL this season when the only win you’ve notched from the first four games has come against the struggling New Zealand Warriors.

That’s the situation the Canterbury Bulldogs find themselves in ahead of a must-win match the Broncos on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs got thumped 36-0 at the hands of the Sea Eagles last week and could be without Moses Mbye after he was cited with a grade 1 shoulder charge in the loss.

The Bulldogs come up against a Broncos side which secured a narrow one-point victory against the Raiders and should enjoy the lesser competition this week.

The Broncos have faced the Sharks, Cowboys, Storm and Raiders to open the season and going 2-2 is about par for the course. They’ve lost both games by two points or less and with a bit of luck, the Broncos could have been leading the competition.

Coming up against an out-of-form Bulldogs team looks like a soft kill for the Broncos this Thursday night and bookmakers seemingly agree.

-263.16 for the Broncos suggests that bookmakers have taken plenty of action on the Queensland side and we’re expecting more money to come for them during the week.

We think the Broncos are going to be tough to beat, so we’ve looked at the try-scoring markets to find the best value this Thursday night.

Bulldogs first try-scorer market and tips

The Bulldogs lineup looks a bit different this week with some fresh faces in the squad – that’s usually a good sign for punters.

The newer players tend to try hard to impress their new teammates and that’s what we’re expecting from Brad Abbey and Marcelo Montoya this Thursday night.

They are currently the two favourites for the Bulldogs which indicates that the bookmakers think they’re due a big game and Brad Abbey is coming off a solid outing against the Sea Eagles.

The Bulldogs fullback led the team with 15 runs and he finished second behind David Klemmer in metres gained with 115.

His defense did come into question after missing three tackles at the back, but he definitely wasn’t the worse Bulldog out on the park that night.

He’s currently +1200 at Sportsbet.com.au to score first and he’s capable of pulling out the extra effort to get his team off to a good start.

The Bulldogs had only one line break against the Sea Eagles, which is hard to believe given their talent, but at least Brenko Lee made the effort on defense. The centre made 15 tackles and 87 metres on offense, which ranks highly for this upcoming game.

Lee puts in the hard effort and we think he might get rewarded with a try this Thursday. He’s currently $3.25 to score with CrownBet.com.au and that’s good value in our opinion.

Bulldogs first try-scorer market:

Brad Abbey – $13
Marcelo Montoya – $14
Brett Morris – $15
Brenko Lee – $17
Josh Morris – $19
Moses Mbye – $26
Josh Reynolds – $31
Adam Elliot – $34
Josh Jackson – $34
Raymond Faitala-Mariner – $34
Michael Lichaa – $36
David Klemmer – $41
James Graham – $56
Greg Eastwood – $61
Sam Kasiano – $81
Aiden Tolman – $81
Danny Fualalo – $81

Broncos first try-scorer market and tips

The Broncos don’t lack try-scoring talent and there’s a wealth of options for punters this Thursday night.

Topping our list is Jordan Kahu who wasn’t able to score last week, but he has shown good form throughout the season and is playing in career-best form.

Kahu kicked the game-winning field goal against the Raiders, which will do his confidence plenty of good and we think he can score the first points of the game against the Bulldogs.

Kahu is currently $9 to score first which is a touch short, but there’s plenty of confidence there and he should give punters a sight.

One player at more value odds is Ben Hunt. The enigmatic play maker shows glimpses of that star power he possesses, but he can look ordinary at times as well.

Hunt did a power of work defensively against the Raiders which should be applauded as he’s not the biggest player in the NRL. That work might get rewarded with four points on Thursday and the $19 on offer is a considerably good price.

Expect Hunt to take the ball from the scrum and use his electric speed to stifle the defense.

Broncos first try-scorer market:

Corey Oates – +700
Jordan Kahu – $9
Anthony Milford – $11
Tautau Moga – $13
Darius Boyd – $13
James Roberts – $13
Ben Hunt – $19
Alex Glenn – $36
Tevita Pangai – $36
Herman Ese’ese – $36
Matt Gillett – $36
Sam Thaiday – $36
Adam Blair – $36
Korbin Sims – $36
Andrew McCullough – $36
Jai Arrow – $46
Josh McGuire – $46