First NRL Round 3 match is between Wests Tigers and South Sydney Rabbitohs with the opening kick to commence at 7:40pm local time. The game is to be played at ANZ Stadium which see’s home team Wests Tigers hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Wests Tigers and South Sydney Rabbitohs.

WHERE AND WHEN: ANZ Stadium, Friday 21 March 2014 Kickoff 7:40pm

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Odds Comparison:

Wests Tigers	4.10	4.25	4.25	4.25	4.10	4.40
South Sydney Rabbitohs	1.25	1.24	1.23	1.24	1.25	1.22

All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.

Preview:

Only the Storm could came back from 20 – nil against Manly, at Brookvale, and win in Golden Point time.

The Storm, without halfback Cooper Cronk and with a new look halves pairing in Ben Roberts and Ben Hampton, took the field for the opening round in the unfamiliar position of outsiders and in the first 40 mins, it looked like the punters were spot on.
Manly were immediately on the attack and their well drilled back-line took no time in clicking into gear, scoring three tries in the first twenty minutes of the game and it was only a try to Melbourne Storm centre Sisa Waqa in the last ten minutes of the first half, that provided the visitors with any reprieve.

At the commencement of the second half, Manly took the field without fullback Brett Stewart who had succumbed to a hamstring strain and who had been instrumental in Manly’s first half performance. His absence had a dramatic effect on the home-side and it was the opportunity Melbourne and their Skipper Cam Smith needed.

Three tries in the first fifteen minutes of the second half had the Storm back in the contest and with the scores tied at the final siren; the season’s first Golden Point game was underway.

No stranger to the big plays, Cam Smith stepped up five minutes into extra time to slot the first field goal of his career and give the Storm a remarkable win.

The Storm just know how to win. It’s a culture at their club.
Penrith recruited strongly over the off-season and secured the services of halves Peter Wallace and Jamie Soward along with experienced forward Brent Kite and powerful centre Jamal Idris amongst others.

The new signings all took their place in the starting line up for the opening game against a depleted Newcastle side and supported by the regular Penrith roster, put together a promising 30 – 8 win.

This week we’ll see just how good as the Panthers travel to Melbourne.

The Panthers registered a surprise win over the Strom at Centrebet Stadium last season 12 – 10 however the previous four matches all concluded in comfortable victories to the Storm by an average winning margin of 27.5 points.

Storm halfback Cooper Cronk returns from his shoulder injury with Ben Roberts now on stand-by to make their side as strong as it possibly can be.

It is a new Penrith side this year, so the recent record of comfortably wins by the Storm can be a bit misleading but the 8.5 start does look within their reach.

Teams:

Wests Tigers:

1. James Tedesco 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Keith Lulia 4. Tim Simona 5. Pat Richards 6. Braith Anasta 7. Luke Brooks 8. Aaron Woods 9. Robbie Farah 10. Keith Galloway 11. Liam Fulton 12. Bodene Thompson 13. Adam Blair 14. Martin Taupau 15. Ava Seumanufagai 16. Sauaso Sue 17. James Gavet 18. Cory Paterson

South Sydney Rabbitohs:

1. Greg Inglis 2. Nathan Merritt 3. Joel Reddy 4. Bryson Goodwin 5. Lote Tuqiri 6. Dylan Walker 7. Adam Reynolds 8. George Burgess 9. Issac Luke 10. Sam Burgess 11. Chris McQueen 12. Ben Te’o 13. John Sutton
14. Joe Picker 15. Ben Lowe 16. David Tyrrell 17. Luke Burgess 18. Kirisome Auva’a 19. Kyle Turner

News:

Wests Tigers coach Mick Potter is confident his promising young side won’t be picked apart by cashed-up rivals despite the joint venture’s well publicised financial problems.

The Balmain Leagues Club, a financial contributor to the joint venture, was handed a stay of execution on Wednesday after a judge extended an injunction that prevents the club being placed into receivership.

Developers Rozelle Village had argued in the NSW Supreme Court that the club – which owes it millions – has committed breaches that would allow its creditors to appoint a receiver.

The two parties return to court on Friday, with the NRL and the Tigers both issuing statements guaranteeing the future of the club and that it will not relocate.

The Tigers possess some of the hottest young talent in the game including Luke Brooks, James Tedesco, Tim Simona, Curtis Sironen, Mitchell Moses, Marika Koroibete and David Nofoaluma.

Both Brooks and Moses are signed with the Tigers through 2017 but Tedesco, Simona, Sironen and Koroibete are all off contract at the end of the season, with Simona’s current deal with the club concluding next year.

Tedesco has already been strongly linked to Canterbury as a replacement for Ben Barba which has irked Tigers chief executive Grant Meyer but Potter said he didn’t believe his charges would begin looking elsewhere because of the club’s troubled financial position.

“I don’t see it as much of a distraction for those young guys,” Potter said at training on Thursday.

“I’m pretty confident (we are here to stay) and the NRL has backed the Wests Tigers to be here for a long time.

“And I don’t think someone like Luke Brooks is ever going to wonder what is happening.

“I think Luke, and I don’t want to talk on Luke’s behalf, but I think he would just shrug his shoulders and say ‘it’s got nothing to do with me’.

“He just wants to play footy, it is not too much of an issue for him.

“He is a young kid who wants to enjoy himself and just get out there and play football.”

The Tigers battled a staphylococcus scare ahead of their 44-24 round one loss to St George Illawarra before rebounding strongly last week with a record 42-12 thumping of the Gold Coast.

Captain Robbie Farah said Balmain’s precipitous financial plight was not an issue for him or his teammates ahead of their round three clash with South Sydney on Friday.

“Its not distracting at all,” he said.

“Its not for us players to worry about. Our job is to go out there and play football and our CEO and the board can take care of everything else.

“There is no need to reassure us, we know everything is fine.

“We are not CEOs, we are not board members, we were not at the courts listening to the case.

“We are just excited about tomorrow night, it is a great challenge.”