South Sydney vs Brisbane Thursday night footy tips, April 26

7.50pm Thursday April 26, 2018, at ANZ Stadium

WHILE both teams will still consider themselves as genuine finals contenders, the result of Thursday night’s game between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Brisbane Broncos will go a long way to deciding which team will make the eight.

Souths have a 4-3 record heading into this round 8 match up, but few could argue they aren’t the current form team of the competition. Last week’s 20 point dismantling of the Raiders was highly impressive, backing up the previous week’s 12 point win over the Sydney Roosters.

A third-straight win on Thursday night would enhance South’s standing from being a finals contender into a premiership player.

It has been a fortnight of highs and lows for the Brisbane Broncos.

After snapping the Warriors winning streak in round 6 the men from Queensland were smashed by the Melbourne Storm to the tune of 14 points. The loss was not for a lack of effort however, but more so an inability to negate the reigning premiers’ attacking options.

A second-straight defeat for the Broncos could potentially leave the Broncos in the bottom four and see their current odds of making the top 8 ($2.10 at Sportsbet) balloon even further.

Players to watch – Rabbitohs v Broncos

Rabbitohs – Greg Inglis: In his 250th NRL game the man they call “GI” will be hoping to make a big impact. The superstar is close to finding his top-tier form after a brilliant try last week, his fourth-straight week of crossing the try line at least once. Look for Inglis to be a key component of South’s attack on Thursday.

Roosters – Anthony Milford: We saw the best and worst of Queensland superstar Anthony Milford last week, scoring a fantastic solo try before letting the ball go dead later in the match which helped Melbourne ice the game. There’s no doubting Milford’s best is brilliant, but finding consistency is the key.

Predicted Rabbitohs team

1 Alex Johnston, 2 Richie Kennar, 3 Greg Inglis (c), 4 Dane Gagai, 5 Robert Jennings, 6 Cody Walker, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 Thomas Burgess, 9 Damien Cook, 10 George Burgess, 11 John Sutton, 12 Angus Crichton, 13 Sam Burgess

Interchange: 15 Mark Nicholls, 16 Jason Clark, 17 Tevita Tatola, 19 Hymel Hunt

Predited Broncos team

1 Darius Boyd (c), 2 Corey Oates, 3 James Roberts, 18 Tom Opacic, 5 Jamayne Isaako, 6 Jack Bird, 7 Anthony Milford, 8 Matthew Lodge, 9 Andrew McCullough, 14 Sam Thaiday, 11 Alex Glenn, 12 Korbin Sims, 13 Josh McGuire

Interchange: 10 Tevita Pangai jnr, 15 Joe Ofahengaue, 16 Kodi Nikorima, 17 Jaydn Su’a

Rabbitohs v Broncos– who wins?

It is extremely hard to go past South Sydney in this one. The Bunnies’ last round success was sensational, and they are playing as if they believe internally they are a genuine premiership contender.

Conversely, the Broncos have been inconsistent at best and listless at worst.

Brisbane’s last round defeat against the Storm was troubling given how poor their defense was. Not only that, but the Broncos are third last in the NRL for points scored this campaign, a fact that will need to change if they are to be competitive on Thursday night.

We’re backing the Bunnies in here to make it a hat-trick of wins as well as cementing a position inside the top-eight.

Tip: South Sydney Rabbitohs to win ($1.60 at Sportsbet)