Boom Best
Penrith -1.5 v Manly ($1.90)
The withdrawal of star halfback Nathan Cleary has seen betting flip dramatically with the Sea Eagles firming from +4.5 underdogs to 1.5-point favourites. The Panthers win rate does drop without Cleary in the side but this was not unexpected with recruit Sean O’Sullivan training in the position. The Panthers have the supporting cast to cover for his absence. Penrith have dominated this matchup with 12 wins in the last 14 and have covered 24 of 37 at Panthers Stadium. Manly are famously poor starters, particularly under Des Hasler, so more than comfortable taking the defending premiers as an outsider.
Boom-o-meter: 65%
Boom Value
Manly Sea Eagles First Try Scorer ($4.00)
The Sea Eagles had more tries scored by their back three as a percentage than any other club and with the backline essentially the same a similar style is expected. Trbojevic scored a remarkable 28 tries in 18 games, failing to score in just three matches. He is big overs at $4 to score the Sea Eagles’ first try.
Boom-o-meter: 60%
Boom Boom
Viliame Kikau First Try Scorer ($21.00)
Bustling Panthers edge Viliame Kikau has 29 tries in 98 games, a quality strike rate for a forward. He comes off a season where he scored 9 in 27. When these teams met early last year he scored a double.
Boom-o-meter: 30%
Blog 