Best bets & NRL Finals specials for Broncos vs. Panthers

A few weeks ago, the Brisbane Broncos looked as though they might offer a genuine threat to Melbourne Storm’s NRL Premiership tilt.

Now, after an awfully disjointed performance in last week’s qualifying final, an early exit seems a much more likely scenario for Wayne Bennett’s men.

There were only two points in it at the final whistle, but Brisbane gave the notoriously error-prone Sydney Roosters every chance to make it a much bigger margin than that.

Broncos star Matt Gillett told reporters on Monday that the coach had demanded a big response.

“Wayne was pretty hard on us this morning and I think that was a good thing to get us back into gear for what’s ahead with Penrith,” Gillett said.

“It was pretty intense and pretty physical as well, getting bodies in front. We had a lot of energy this morning and we’ll work through that the whole week.

“You play the way you train so if we’re going to train like that all week and come out on Friday night we know we’ve done that job here, it’s just a matter of doing it at Suncorp for 80 minutes and getting that result.”

One wonders how such a workload will affect Jordan Kahu, who continues to put his hand up for selection despite a lingering groin injury.

The Penrith Panthers might be missing club captain Matt Moylan for the rest of the year, but that did not stop them from pulling off a stunning reversal on Saturday evening.

Having lost Manly only a week prior, Anthony Griffin’s men bounced back with a decisive 22-10 result to dump the Sea Eagles out of the flag race.

Among the Panthers’ best was Dylan Edwards, who was in a knee brace with ligament damage only days before.

The 21-year-old fullback is expected to start again on Friday.

“We try to play really tough as a team and get through it,” Edwards told the press after the win over Manly.

“This is finals footy so it’s definitely a chance where you get to see how far you can go and how far you can push your body.”

Broncos vs. Panthers first tryscorer betting

$8.50 – Corey Oates

$9.50 – James Roberts

$11 – Jordan Kahu

$14 – Josh Mansour, Anthony Milford, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak

$15 – Darius Boyd, Tautau Moga

$18 – Tyrone Peachey

$19 – Benji Marshall

$21 – Dylan Edwards, Matt Gillett, Ben Hunt, Kodi Nikorima, Dean Whare

$23 – James Fisher-Harris, Corey Harawira-Naera

$26 – Bryce Cartwright, Nathan Cleary, Alex Glenn, Tyrone May

$31 – Trent Merrin

$36 – Isaah Yeo

$41 – Josh McGuire, Sam Thaiday, Peter Wallace

$51 – Jai Arrow, Adam Blair, Herman Ese’ese, Joe Ofahengaue

$61 – Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Sione Katoa, Moses Leota, James Tamou

$426 – No try scored

Market courtesy of Sportsbet.com.au

Corey Oates was a big threat from the wing last week in an otherwise disappointing display from the Broncos.

The big man was Brisbane’s only tryscorer in the first half against the Roosters, and he added another after the break to give them a sniff late in the game.

He has height and reach on most opponents, which makes him a solid bet at $8.50 to open the scoring.

Punters might also consider Sportsbet’s $4.50 quote on Oates to register either the first or the last try of the game.

If you are looking to other side of the ledger, Tyrone Peachey ($18) and Dylan Edwards ($21) are decent speculators for the Panthers.

NRL Same Game Multi bet

• Under 7.5 total tries – $1.50
• Under 39.5 total points – $1.93
• Brisbane Broncos by +13 points – $2.60

Multi pays $7.50 at Sportsbet

Sportsbet.com.au now gives punters the option to make multi bets with markets from the one game.

Better yet, the bookie is also running a cash-back special for NRL Same Game Multi bets throughout the finals.

If your ticket of three legs or more misses by one, Sportsbet will refund your stake up to $50 in bonus bets.

More NRL Finals specials

– $1 in CrownBet bonus bets for every point your team wins by
– Early payouts at Sportsbet if your team leads by 12 points or more
– Player specials and boosted odds at Ladbrokes for all NRL Finals Series games