NRL 2022 Round 10 – Betting tips & Predictions

Round 10 of the NRL season is Magic Round, a much-anticipated weekend which will see all eight games played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. And without wanting to sound too hyperbolic, it looms as the most entertaining of the season to date. In an incredible quirk of the fixturing, no less than five of the eight games this weekend will be played between teams sitting alongside one another on the ladder. That includes a big game on Friday night between the Sea Eagles and the Broncos, another huge clash between the Eels and Roosters on Sunday afternoon, and the biggest of them all, a Grand Final rematch between the two best teams in it in the Storm and the Panthers. With so many similarly ranked teams matching up against one another there is plenty to gain, and plenty to lose, for many sides this weekend, so check out how all eight games are shaping up below.

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Newcastle Knights

May 13 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – 6.00pm

The first game of NRL’s Magic Round might not exactly be a clash of the titans, but at least it should be close. The Bulldogs and Knights are currently occupying the bottom two spots on the NRL ladder, having won just two games apiece in the first nine rounds of the season. The Bulldogs latest result was a ten-point loss to a Raiders side which has been struggling all year; not the ideal follow-up to a rousing win over the Roosters the week prior. The Knights, meanwhile, went down by 20 points to the impressive Cowboys last weekend, their seventh consecutive loss after they won their first two games of the season. Both sides desperately need a win, but given how poor the Knights have been since their hot start to the year it’s virtually impossible to tip them, even against the Bulldogs.

Bet on the Bulldogs to win @ $1.69 (Palmerbet)

Manly Sea Eagles vs Brisbane Broncos

May 13 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – 8.05pm

Friday evening’s NRL action continues with what looms as another close game, albeit hopefully a higher quality one when the Sea Eagles face the Broncos. Both these sides’ seasons are sitting on a knife’s edge, with five wins through nine games having them sitting in seventh and eighth spots on the ladder and just a game inside the top eight. Both of them are coming off strong wins last weekend – the Sea Eagles enjoying a 14-point win and the Broncos saluting by 20 – but while Manly only beat up on the lowly Tigers, Brisbane surprised the NRL world against the Bunnies. That made it three wins on the trot for the Broncos, and with the one prior having come against the Sharks they are in some dangerous touch. Though technically a home game for the Sea Eagles, this one will be played on the Broncos home turf and in front of their home crowd, and they can continue to demonstrate their improvement with what would be an upset win according to the betting sites.

Bet on the Broncos to win @ $2.21 (Bet365)

New Zealand Warriors vs South Sydney Rabbitohs

May 13 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – 3.00pm

In what is a serendipitous piece of fixturing, this will be the third game in succession to start Magic Round which will see teams sitting side by side on the NRL ladder against one another. The Warriors and the Rabbitohs are tenth and ninth respectively, though there is realistically a bigger gap between the two than those ladder positions would suggest. The Warriors have enjoyed a few impressive results this season, but have lost three of their last four games and are for the most part struggling against the better teams in the league. Whether the Rabbitohs, a Grand Finalist last year, still fit into that category is up in the air, particularly after their disappointing loss to the Broncos last Thursday night. Nonetheless, they should have the talent to get the job done and jump into the top eight with a win on Saturday afternoon.

Bet on the Rabbitohs to win @ $1.44 (BoomBet)

Gold Coast Titans vs St. George Illawarra Dragons

May 14 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – 5.30pm

After numerous big wins and very nearly advancing through to the second week of the finals last year, there were reasonably high expectations of the Titans heading into this year, but a fifth consecutive loss last weekend sent them tumbling to 14th place on the ladder with just two wins. What’s worse, they’re struggling to even be competitive, having lost their past three games by a combined total of 68 points. Those losses have, at least, been against some of the best teams in the league, a category that their opponent this weekend does not exactly fit into. The Dragons did well to win three consecutive games prior to last week after a slow start to the season, but the Melbourne Storm well and truly put them back in their place, handing them a 42-6 defeat. Though the Dragons deserve credit for their three-game winning streak, they are still well and truly in the development stage, and the Titans can begin their long climb back towards the top eight with a win against them.

Bet on the Titans to win @ $1.89 (PlayUp)

Melbourne Storm vs Penrith Panthers

May 14 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – 7.45pm

This is the game that we’ve all been waiting for, and it will deservedly get Saturday night all to itself. After meeting in last year’s Grand Final, the Storm and the Panthers have established themselves as far and away the best two teams in the league so far this season. The Panthers looked unstoppable to start the season, winning their first eight games, but a loss was always coming at some point. That point turned out to be last Friday night when they went down by two points to the Eels, but they’ll hardly be tearing their hair out about that result. They will, however, be eager to avoid a second loss on the trot, though they will have their work cut out doing so. With the Panthers loss last Friday the Storm jumped up to first place courtesy of the huge goal difference which they’ve established in no small part over the past three weeks, a period in which their cumulative score against their three opponents is 162-18. They have been in a different league to their opponents during that time, but obviously the Panthers will provide a far sterner challenge. The winner of this game will likely establish themselves as the outright Premiership favourite, and in a tense, high-quality clash, the Storm might be able to just sneak over the line.

Bet on the Storm to win @ $2.25 (PlayUp)

Cronulla Sharks vs Canberra Raiders

May 15 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – 1.50pm

The Sharks jumped back on to the winners’ list with a strong showing against the Warriors last weekend, running out 29-10 victors to retain their spot in the top four. Their record now sits at 6-3, and question marks surrounding whether or not they are the real deal are gradually beginning to be filtered out of the public narrative. They have given themselves a great chance at earning a top four spot and the double chance, and though they are clearly a level behind the Storm and the Panthers, they are establishing themselves as arguably the biggest threat to those two teams in the league. The Raiders’ season is not going as well. In a year which they entered with hopes of returning to the top eight, they have won just three of their first nine games and heading into last Friday night had lost five in a row. Fortunately for them, they managed to stop that slide with a 14-4 win in which they looked far better than they had been, but the Raiders are a different story entirely to the Bulldogs side which they won that game against. If they are the side we think they are, the Sharks should win this one easily.

Bet on the Sharks to win @ $1.37 (Palmerbet)

Sydney Roosters vs Parramatta Eels

May 15 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – 4.05pm

The fifth game of the round between teams separated by just one place on the ladder, the second Sunday game of Magic Round looks like one of the weekend’s best. The Roosters and the Eels are sitting in sixth and fifth place respectively, and there is plenty on the line; a win could see the Eels jump inside the top four and the Roosters get within striking distance, while a loss will see them tumbling, in Sydney’s case, potentially outside the top eight. After a shocking couple of weeks which saw them lose close games to the Dragons and the Bulldogs, the Roosters recaptured their best form last Saturday with a 44-16 victory, and they’ll need every bit of that form against the Eels. Parramatta also bounced back from what was a terrible performance against the Cowboys two weeks ago, knocking off the undefeated Panthers 22-20. It was a brilliant performance which raised them in the estimations of many, and if they can maintain that sort of form they are undoubtedly a top four side. This is a really intriguing matchup and could go down to the wire, but given their effort last week it’s tough to go past the Eels in a close one.

Bet on the Eels to win @ $1.73 (Bet365)

Wests Tigers vs North Queensland Cowboys

May 15 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – 6.25pm

The Tigers have found a way to be competitive in recent weeks after a 0-5 start to the season, but they were no match for the Sea Eagles last weekend and went down by 14 points. That resigned them to a 2-7 record, and it doesn’t get much easier this weekend against a Cowboys team which continues to prove the rapidly shrinking crowd of doubters wrong every week. Their latest win – their fourth on the trot – was a comfortable 20-pointer against the Knights; that took their record to 6-3 and saw them maintain their hold on third place, though with the Sharks and Eels breathing down their neck they’ll need to keep winning to stay there. They should have no troubles doing so this week, and should be far too strong against the Tigers.

Bet on the Cowboys to win @ $1.44 (BoomBet)