NRL Friday try betting & line tips, Roosters vs. Sea Eagles

Friday, March 31 from 8pm at Allianz Stadium.

THIS Friday’s clash between the Sydney Roosters and the Manly Sea Eagles shapes up to be the best game of the round.

The Roosters are crowing loudly after winning their first four games of the season and sitting atop of the NRL premiership ladder on eight points.

With wins coming against the Titans, Bulldogs, Panthers and Rabbitohs, the Roosters have looked like their old selves again after going missing for much of 2016.

New singing Luke Keary is mixing it up well with Mitchell Pearce and the Roosters’ forwards are getting good go forward ball which enables a slick back line to work in fine order.

How long its winning streak will continue for? We’re not sure, but the competition points won’t come easy against the Sea Eagles this Friday night.

The Sea Eagles were living up to their outsider tag early in the season with back-to-back losses. The once-proud club was knocking on the door of extinction after losses to the Eels and the Rabbitohs – the latter being a 18-38 defeat.

Somehow they have managed to turn the season around with two impressive victories. The Sea Eagles caused the upset of the season by trouncing the North Queensland Cowboys at 1300Smiles Stadium by a margin of 22 points.

They carried that momentum into round four where they scored a 36-0 win over the hapless Bulldogs. They’re a team in form and there’s plenty to like about their progression through the opening rounds of the new NRL season.

What the market tells us

The market suggests that the Sydney Roosters should be making it five-from-five this Friday night, but there shouldn’t be much between the sides.

The current line is set at 7.5 which means the Roosters will need to win by more than a converted try – something the team has done in only two of four wins this season so far.

Punters looking to back the Sea Eagles should be confident heading into this game. The Roosters are an imposing team, but the Sea Eagles have a good winning record at Allianz Stadium and a 16-12 winning advantage over the Roosters.

That includes a 22-20 win the last time these clubs met, so the games have been closely-contested and punters should enjoy getting a +7.5 points start.

Roosters team and first try-scorer tips

The Roosters team will be bolstered by the return of Blake Ferguson and Jake Friend. Ferguson is set to come off the bench after missing the last two games and Jake Friend will slip right back into the hooker role.

1. Michael Gordon – $20
2. Daniel Tupou – $9
3. Latrell Mitchell – +900
4. Joseph Manu – $12
5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall – $9
6. Luke Keary – $18
7. Mitchell Pearce – $31
8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves – $34
9. Jake Friend – $46
10. Dylan Napa – $36
11. Boyd Cordner – $15
12. Mitchell Aubusson – $21
13. Aidan Guerra – $31

Surprisingly, fullback Michael Gordan is paying $20 at Sportsbet to score first this Friday night.

The man at the back for the Roosters has scored four tries from four games this season and there’s no reason why he won’t score again against the Sea Eagles.

He’s an experienced fullback which can asserted himself into the back line, making him a try-scoring threat throughout the game.

We scored the prize last week when Latrell Mitchell scored first at big odds and we’re following him in again. The classy centre has now scored five tries from four games and bookmakers are once again offering double-figure odds.

We’ll happily take the +900 on offer at CrownBet.com.au for a young player which is making leaps and bounds in the NRL for the Roosters.

One player we like to score throughout the game is Luke Keary. He’s found another level since coming to the Roosters and he has surprisingly good speed.

We’re expecting Keary to go close in this game and he’s paying a handy price of $3.50 to score at any time during the game.

Sea Eagles team and try-scoring tips

The team stays the same for the Sea Eagles. Jarrad Kennedy, Lloyd Perrett, Matthew Wright and Shaun Lane have been named on an extended bench.

1. Tom Trbojevic – $12
2. Jorge Taufua – $14
3. Dylan Walker – $17
4. Brian Kelly – $21
5. Akuila Uate – $14
6. Blake Green – $36
7. Daly Cherry-Evans – $36
8. Brenton Lawrence – $81
9. Apisai Koroisau – $36
10. Martin Taupau – $46
11. Frank Winterstein – $46
12. Curtis Sironen – $34
13. Jake Trbojevic – $46

It’s hard not to like Tom Trbojevic. The Sea Eagles fullback puts his all into every game and he has been rewarded with three tries this season.

He has made only 18 tackles this season which is surprisingly low for a fullback, but that has kept him fresh and he has been able to make a team-leading five line breaks.

Trbojevic is the heart of the Sea Eagles and we think he can score first at odds of $12 at Sportsbet. He’s also good value at $2.30 to score at any time.

Another player who is no stranger to scoring tries is Akuila Uate. The former Newcastle Knight’s star has already scored twice for the Sea Eagles and the powerful Fijian will be tough to stop against the Roosters.

Look for Uate to target the halves of the Roosters and get himself over the white line. He’s currently +175 to score which is great money for value punters.