Sharks v Cowboys NRL betting tips & odds | Finals Week 1

A super Saturday of finals NRL continues in ‘The Shire’ where the Cronulla Sharks host the North Queensland Cowboys at Pointsbet Stadium in Cronulla. The Sharks will be looking for their second premiership in the club’s history, and the home field advantage will be pivotal if they are to win it all this season.

The Sharks have had one of the smoothest ends to the regular season, winning six in a row over five bottom six teams and the Rabbitohs, having been beaten by the Panthers prior to that winning run. On the other hand, the Cowboys have faced more hurdles being beaten by the Rabbitohs, Roosters and Sharks in their last eight games, although injuries and off field issues have played their role in those losses.

The last time the Cowboys and Sharks met was in round 18 in Townsville where the Cowboys were missing Murray Taulagi, Valentine Holmes and Tom Dearden as they stepped up to the State of Origin arena to win the decider for Queensland. Meanwhile, the Sharks were able to keep Nicholas Hynes and Dale Finucane who were in the NSW squad, but not needed for the decider.

These two clubs have met 49 times for Cronulla to be victorious a whopping 32 times. The North Queensland Cowboys have been an enormously different side this season to previous ones, and even the side the Sharks played in round 18 is vastly different to the one they will play this Saturday. With this in mind, the Cowboys are a great value play to win this match and get a week off in this finals series paying $2.15 with the top Australian betting site.

Weather for the greater Sydney region is predicted to be very poor, and Cronulla Sharks is no different. Rain is predicted from Wednesday to Friday will make the surface very heavy and boggy, and as usually happens in Cronulla, the dew will set in during the evening making the surface slippery under foot. At the same time, both sides are heavily dependant on defence, making the unders play for 43.5 points being one of the best bets of the game at $1.90.

This combination of strong defence and wet conditions will make scoring very difficult, but there is one stand out try scorer in this match. Jeremiah Nanai has thrown his name in the ring for NRL Rookie of the Year off the back of his incredible break out season. Nanai will find himself the target of both attacking kicks in the air and on the ground, as well as set plays directed at Hynes who will be the smallest defender on the Sharks left edge. Nanai also has an incredible ability to be in the right place at the right time and is a great value play to score at any time paying $3.05.

KEY MATCH UP: WILLIAM KENNEDY v SCOTT DRINKWATER

The battle of the fullbacks will be pivotal on both sides of the football in this finals match. Kennedy is returning from an ankle injury and will need to step up quickly to give his side the best chance of winning a week off en route to what will hopefully be another grand final appearance. Kennedy will have his hands full organising his defensive line with Drinkwater out the back of the Cowboys attacking line, with Drinkwater posing so many different threats in attack.

Drinkwater arguably has a stronger passing, kicking, and running game than Kennedy, a bridge that Kennedy will need to bridge to get a Sharks win.The winner of this match will come off the back of whichever of these two fullbacks does a better job of organising their defensive line to plug holes the opposition will be looking to exploit.

Cronulla Sharks v North Queensland Cowboys elimination final predictions

Absolutely get on the Raiders at +8 for a $2 return at Neds. If you’re really confident, the Raiders early in the week will be north of $3 in the head-to-head market and should be backed. The handicap is just paying respects to the excellence of the Melbourne Storm as an organisation.

Sharks vs Cowboys finals same game multi tips

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