Couch Critic looks ahead to the forthcoming 2021 NRL season and nails up his best outright bets with @Olimp_SA
NRL – It’s back on in 2021!
Who is going to be the team to surprise in 2021? Who have the big boys will bite the hardest this time around and who will let their fans down this season? Is there a prolific tryscorer roaming around at a juicy price just ready to be gobbled up…? Let’s take a long term outright look at what I expect from the new season.
Team with the most losses: Cronulla Sharks @ 9.31
In my opinion you require at least one big ball carrier in the pack and then two solid players from your 6,7,9 trio. I don’t see this from the Dragons and having lost a number of good players from their ranks over the past two seasons and with a new coach at the helm I see them struggling. The Broncos, Bulldogs and Tigers are fancied to battle it out with them.
The Broncos had a dire 2020 campaign. The Brisbane side had incredible talent in the form of David Fafita, Payne Haas, Tevita Pangai Jnr and Kotoni Staggs at their disposal but somehow wet the bed. The Broncos will miss Staggs early doors and Fafita is gone for good but surely they can’t be as bad as last season. The Bulldogs have made some smart purchases in the off-season (Corey Allen at fullback and Flanagan to don the 7 jumper). The West Tigers will miss Harry Grant in no small way so it could be a tough year for the Tigers, but they did pick up a nice big confidence building victory in the pre-season trial match against Manly. Between the Dragons and Sharks I feel the latter offers the best value in this market.
Top Gold Coast Titans Tryscorer: Tino Fa'asuamaleaui @ 22.54
Don’t get me wrong, Anthony Don remains my main man for the Titans but given the price I can’t help but have a little nibble on the new Gold Coast lock to be prolific in 2021.
Top Manly Sea Eagles Tryscorer: Daly Cherry-Evans @ 41.00
It might seem silly pnting the halfback but like Cody Walker Cherry-Evens does enjoyed a rather regular visit over the chalk. In a season in which I expect the Sea Eagles to struggle the top tryscorer could come form a more unsuspecting place. The fact that Tommy Turbo is missing for the first few weeks also has me going this way.
Top South Sydney Rabbitohs Tryscorer: Latrell Mitchell @ 10.78
After a low-key 2020 I’m expecting a big season from the Rabbitohs’ fullback.
Team to not make the top 8: Manly Sea Eagles @ 1.76
Not a big price to lock your funds up for such a long period of period of time but I believe this to be a solid banker into some other longer term plays as I don’t see the Sea Eagles having the squad to compete with the top sides this season.
Top Tournament Tryscorer: Stephen Crichton @ 25.48
Many doubt whether the Panthers have it in them to replicate their 2020 success. I am still undecided with regard to how far they can go this season but do believe they have the players to pull of a top 4 finish. Crichton was in red-hot tryscoring form for them last season and I see no reason why he can’t be right in the mix again this season despite not being a winger.
Top tournament tryscorer Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow @ 40.18.
The Hammer as they call him is offered at a very tasty price I reckon. The only thing keeping me from smashing this is that I’m unsure of the Cowboys’ credentials this season. But Tabuai-Fidow is a finisher of note and should get all the game time required this year.
Top Tournament Point scorer: Ryan Papenhuyzen @ 7.84
The Melbourne Storm fullback is surprisingly big in my opinion. With Cam Smith gone Ryan will take over the kicking duties. He is also very likely to add quite a few tries. Yes, it might not be a championship winning season for the Storm this year but they should still be one of the better teams.
Grand Final Winner – South Sydney Rabbitohs @ 5.49
Toward the end of the season we started to see South play their very best footy. They have an icon coach and have added depth to their squad with Benji Marshall, Jai Arrow and Josh Mansour added to their roster. Latrell Mitchell should be much better than in 2020 with a full pre-season behind his back. I mentioned the crucial trio of 6,7,9 earlier and the Bunnies may very well have the best combination in the comp with Walker, Reynolds and Cook.
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change
Claim your 1st deposit bonus up to R3,000 here
Click here for details of our all current promotions
Watch out for NRL betting previews every week throughout the tournament which include best bets and tryscorer specials with @Olimp_SA
