Round 9 of NRL should be a belter as we look forward to a headline game between the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Melbourne Storm. The Storm passed a tricky looking test with flying colours last week as they defeated the Warriors by 40, while the Dragons beat the Roosters at home to maintain their position at the top of the ladder.
Each of those outcomes was predicted by a majority (albeit a slim one in the case of the Storm) at Superbru, and here we’ll be looking at what the crowd expect to see in Round 9 based on tips that have been made so far. The average Superbru player managed 4 out of 8 correct tips last week with notable upsets including the Raiders’ win over the Cowboys (tipped by 16%) and the Eels’ home victory against the Wests Tigers (19%).
Here’s what the Superbru NRL crowd have tipped for Round 9 thus far:
The Bulldogs are still yet to get going in this campaign with just two wins from eight and the majority of the Superbru community expect them to lose again this week at the hands of the Broncos. 93% are tipping the Brisbane side to win.
A very even game on paper, and a very even game judging by tips made so far! 54% of players are backing the Knights to get their third successive win but the current average margin pick taken from all saved predictions is one of the smallest we’ve seen this season at just 0.13!
There’s a far clearer favourite in this game with 88% tipping the Panthers to continue their strong start to the season with a win over the Cowboys. The home side managed an eight point victory over the Bulldogs last week and the current average pick suggests they’ll win by an identical margin on Friday.
Each of these teams has a record of 3-5 for the season yet the Raiders are the clear crowd favourite for this one. 86% are tipping them to beat a Titans team that have lost their last three.
This should be a really interesting game in Auckland. Both sides have had strong starts to the season though have each suffered a couple of defeats in recent weeks. Despite the Wests Tigers last two games only resulting in very narrow losses (just two points), there’s a strong majority of 84% tipping the Warriors to beat them at home with the average margin pick standing at 5.
The Eels may have just found form and pulled off their only two wins of the season in the last two weeks, but there is still only a minority expecting them to defeat the Sharks. 81% are tipping the home side and the average margin pick is 5.5.
The big clash of this week! As you may expect, there are slightly more tippers leaning towards the Dragons for this one given their top of the ladder status. 60% expect the Dragons to win and the average margin pick is just 2.
Finally, there’s a very clear favourite in the match that will wrap up Round 9 of NRL as 94% are tipping the Roosters to comfortably defeat Manly at the Allianz Stadium. The Sea Eagles have lost their last four while the up and down form of the Roosters suggests the Sydney side is due a win this week!