Friday’s NRL 2017 Round 24 match is between Brisbane Broncos and St George Illawarra Dragons. The opening kick is set to commence at 20:00 local time with the game to be played at Suncorp Stadium. The home team Brisbane Broncos are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Brisbane Broncos and St George Illawarra Dragons.
When: 20:00 | Friday 18/08/2017
Where: Suncorp Stadium
Preview:
The Broncos have scored two big wins in two consecutive weeks as they zero in on a top-two finish. But a desperate Dragons side could prove a tricky hurdle to overcome. St George-Illawarra have been inconsistent lately, slipping from their top-four perch, but are capable of piling on the points when on song and simply need to win to remain a chance of playing finals football. However, they haven’t triumphed at Suncorp Stadium since 2009, and this Brisbane outfit looks to be the real deal.
Key: This one will be decided up front. The Dragons average more running metres than any other team. The Broncos are a very narrow second.
Tip: Brisbane
Odds:
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Tip: Brisbane Broncos at $1.22
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Jordan Kahu at $9.50
More Info:
Head to Head: Broncos 22 Dragons 14
Last clash: Round 22, 2016, Brisbane 12 Dragons 8 at Wollongong
Tab Sportsbet: Broncos $1.28 Dragons $3.85
FootyTAB: Dragons +9.5
Teams:
Broncos: 
1. Darius Boyd 2. Corey Oates 3. James Roberts 4. Tautau Moga 5. Jordan Kahu 6. Anthony Milford 7. Kodi Nikorima 8. Korbin Sims 9. Ben Hunt 10. Adam Blair 11. Alex Glenn 12. Matt Gillett 13. Josh Mcguire 14. Sam Thaiday 15. Tevita Pangai 16. Jai Arrow 17. Herman Essese 18. Benji Marshall 19. David Mead 20. Jaydn Su’a 21. Tom Opacic
Dragons: 
1. Matthew Dufty 2. Nene Macdonald 3. Josh Dugan 4. Timoteo Lafai 5. Jason Nightingale 6. Gareth Widdop 7. Kurt Mann 8. Leeson Ah Mau 9. Cameron McInnes 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Joel Thompson 13. Jack de Belin 14. Tariq Sims 15. Hame Sele 16. Blake Lawrie 17. Taane Milne 18. Josh McCrone 19. Will Matthews 20. Luciano Leilua 21. Euan Aitken
NRL News:
Cronulla halfback Chad Townsend reckons it would be a “disaster” if NRL teams have to offload contracted players because of salary cap uncertainty.
NRL club bosses are due to meet on Thursday to discuss next year’s cap figure, which still has not yet been set – a situation Townsend believes is totally unfair to players.
Clubs were informed in April the cap would be around $9.2 million and most have budgeted accordingly.
However, some are pushing for extra discretionary funds, which would see the cap effectively rise to $9.6 million.
A stalemate is likely given a several clubs don’t want it to be lifted four months after the initial figure was set.
That could lead to a situation where contracts are torn up and players are left in no-man’s-land as teams like Canterbury scramble to fit under the cap.
Wests Tigers skipper Aaron Woods is one such example, with the Bulldogs-bound forward telling NRL 360 he had no back-up plan if the Bulldogs couldn’t make room for him in 2018 after spending big on a recent signing spree.
Townsend said urgent clarity was needed.
“Clubs are hearing they’re not sure about salary cap for next season which, in my opinion, is a disaster,” Townsend told reporters on Wednesday.
“If teams have to shed players and players don’t know where they’re going to play, but they’ve got a contract, I don’t think that’s a very good working environment.
“You don’t want that to happen to anyone who’s got a contract that could be up in limbo.
“The length (of time) it’s taken has been a bit frustrating for players across the board but hopefully they can sort it sooner rather than later.”
NRL chief Todd Greenberg faces a difficult task on Thursday in convincing enough teams to agree to a collective bargaining agreement and salary cap offer, which will then be taken to the Rugby League Players’ Association.
The RLPA, meanwhile, is planning a meeting of more than 300 players in Sydney on Monday to keep them in the loop on negotiations.
“It’s going to be huge, just to see exactly where the RLPA’s at and for us to get educated about what’s going on and where we’re up to and if there’s any decisions that need to be made,” Townsend said.