The premiership favourites square off against the pre-season wooden spoon favourites with a big watch on Nathan Cleary’s possible return after he was named on an extended bench for Penrith.
Best Bet
This is a very difficult game to try to bet early.
It is unclear whether the Dolphins will backup their only Origin rep in Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and if he does, what position he will play.
What happens with the Penrith team though is more telling. They have four players needing to backup from Origin with three of those including forward Liam Martin playing 80 minutes. Nathan Cleary has also been snuck into the extended squad in jersey No.24 and is apparently some hope of returning. His inclusion would see this line push north of 20.
There is more upside in betting Penrith early. Cleary would be a massive inclusion while Martin is probably the only doubt and the Panthers have depth in the backrow.
Penrith have tended to be undervalued on the road with 13 covers in their last 21 away from Penrith Stadium. They have covered 7 of 9 when favoured by 14.5 or more.
The Dolphins have been poor defensively so are unlikely to contain a strong Penrith attack.
Lay the points but monitor team inclusions.
Same Game Multi
Sunia Turuva has just five tries this year but three of those have come in the last seven weeks.
Izack Tago has been in scintillating tryscoring form with five tries in his last four games.
Value Bet
Jaemon Salmon can be expected to play an increased role this week with Martin and Yeo backing up from Origin and that puts him in a good spot to score. He scored in his last two NRL games and has scored twice from the bench in 2023.
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