NRL Round 4 Betting Preview: Unbeaten Roosters Among Week Odds Favorites
A feast of upsets and tight rugby league have the difference between the best and the worst in the NRL as close as it has ever been after three rounds.
Every team has registered a win in the first three weeks, which is the first time that has happened in 44 years, while just two premiership points separate third spot from last.
The old maxim of "no easy matches" is more apt than ever, and three matches are considered just about too close to call by the oddsmakers in Round 4, according to AustralianGambling.com.au.
Thursday night's opening match between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters is not one of those, despite the bitter rivalry between these two sides.
The unbeaten Roosters are $1.40 to defeat the Rabbitohs ($3), despite South Sydney winning their past two matches with some ease.
Friday night sees Penrith Panthers go around the shortest-priced favorite for the round despite their early-season troubles. They are $1.20 to get the job done against the Newcastle Knights, who are $4.60.
The Brisbane Broncos also desperately need a win after losing their past two and are $1.63 to get one against the Canberra Raiders, who broke through for a much-needed victory last week. The Raiders are $2.30 to secure just their second win in the past 10 trips to Suncorp Stadium.
The oddsmakers are not sure what to make of either the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles or the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs, who both got their first wins last week. Their clash at Brookvale on Saturday sees the Bulldogs as $1.80 favorites with the Sea Eagles at $2.
It's a similar story in the match between the Parramatta Eels and the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks. They are both $1.90, with the Eels having won two of their first three, while the Sharks' premiership defence is in danger of stagnating at 1-2.
The Gold Coast Titans host the North Queensland Cowboys in an all-Queensland clash, with the Cowboys clear-cut favorites at $1.60 and the Titans at $2.35.
The Wests Tigers sacked coach Jason Taylor this week and interim coach Andrew Webster fronts up against the premiership favorites, the Melbourne Storm. The Tigers host the game at Leichhardt Oval and are surprisingly short in the market at $2.65 with the unbeaten Storm at $1.48.
The final match of the round is another flip-of-the-coin job with the St George Illawarra Dragons at $1.90 against the New Zealand Warriors, who are the same price.
