Thursday’s NRL 2018 Round 1 match is between St George Illawarra Dragons and Brisbane Broncos. The opening kick is set to commence at 19:50 local time with the game to be played at Jubilee Oval. The home team St George Illawarra Dragons are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between St George Illawarra Dragons and Brisbane Broncos.
When: 19:50 | Thursday 08/03/2018
Where: Jubilee Oval
Preview:
With their prized off-season signings, the Dragons are slight favourites which augurs well for Dragons fans considering the Broncos are just 2-9-0 as an underdog since 2016.
Odds:
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Tip: Brisbane Broncos at $2.02
Value Bet: First Try Scorer: James Roberts $13.00
More Info:
Teams:
Dragons:
18 Matthew Dufty, 2 Nene Macdonald, 3 Euan Aitken, 4 Tim Lafai, 5 Jason Nightingale, 6 Gareth Widdop (c), 7 Ben Hunt, 8 James Graham, 9 Cameron McInnes, 10 Paul Vaughan, 11 Tyson Frizell, 12 Tariq Sims, 13 Jack De Belin. Interchange: 14 Luciano Leilua, 15 Kurt Mann, 16 Leeson Ah Mau, 17 Hame Sele, 19 Jeremy Latimore, 20 Zachary Lomax, 21 Blake Lawrie, 22 Joshua Kerr.
Broncos:
1 Darius Boyd (c), 2 Corey Oates, 3 James Roberts, 4 Jordan Kahu, 5 Jamayne Isaako, 6 Anthony Milford, 7 Kodi Nikorima, 8 Matthew Lodge, 9 Andrew McCullough, 10 Samuel Thaiday, 11 Alex Glenn, 12 Matt Gillett, 13 Josh McGuire. Interchange: 14 Tevita Pangai Jnr, 15 Joe Ofahengaue, 16 Korbin Sims, 17 Jaydn Su’a, 18 Tom Opacic, 19 Sam Tagataese, 20 Jonus Pearson, 21 George Fai.
NRL News:
Manly coach Trent Barrett has put the onus on Moses Suli to prove he belongs in the NRL by cashing in on his third chance in the space of two months.
The Sea Eagles this week signed Suli despite the 19-year-old getting sacked from the Wests Tigers and Canterbury during the off-season for a lack of professionalism.
Suli, whose weight is believed to have ballooned over the summer, has completed a number of screening tests at the club but has yet to begin training and won’t play this weekend.
Barrett said it was up to Suli to turn his career around.
“He’s only been there a few days. He’s not a bad kid. He’s a nice kid. He’s just got to get a few things sorted out,” Barrett said prior to his team’s captain’s run on Thursday.
“We’ll give an opportunity to do that.
“But certainly my focus this week’s been on the first grade side. We’ll do our best there but ultimately it’s up to the individual. I’ll just take that a day at a time.”
The Sea Eagles are likely to have picked up Suli on a far cheaper contract than the $1-million, three-year deal he signed with the Tigers last year before he made his NRL debut.
His arrival comes despite the NRL’s protracted investigation into salary cap cheating.
Manly were hopeful the governing body would finalise its decision on the matter after meeting with NRL officials last week.
“We were hoping that it’d be sorted out by now, but it’s out of our control,” Barrett said.
“It certainly hasn’t affected the players. It would be nice to get a bit of clarity on where we’re going, not just for this year but what our position is next year and beyond.
“Your salary cap and recruitment doesn’t stop. But unfortunately for us we’ve had the brakes on for a while now. Scott Penn and Lyall (Manly CEO Lyall Gorman) are doing their best to get a result.
“Hopefully it’s not too far away.”
