St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canberra Raiders
12th September 0600hrs
Rugby League – Australia – NRL
Pick Dragons +8 handicap
Bookmaker Bet365
Odds: 10/11 odds taken 04:25 GMT Thursday, 10th September
The Dragons fell last weekend to the Cowboys in a narrow defeat, leaving them with back to back losses now in their current form.
But even in defeat, they have been competitive and it will be interesting to see how they stand up to the challenge of the Raiders.
Canberra had a three-match winning streak snapped last weekend as they fell to the Roosters, an excusable loss.
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St George Illawarra Dragons Preview – Can the Dragons grab the win?
It has been back to back losses for the Dragons which could suggest that there are big problems there.
There isn’t. After back to back wins over Parramatta and the Brisbane Broncos, the Dragons have since lost by 4 points to the Titans and then last weekend by 1 point to the Cowboys.
So they have been keeping their games tight and even though it is only a W2 L3 record in their last five, they are digging in there.
The Dragons are the 21/10 underdogs for this game however which to be fair, does look like a tough one* (odds taken 04:25 GMT Thursday, 10th September).
The Dragons won’t be heading to the finals as they are six points outside of the top four with only three to play.
It is a W6 L11 record that they have taken this season and looking at the stats, this is likely to be a really tight contest.
The Dragons have averaged 18 points per game in this campaign, compared to 20 by the Raiders.
So these are not too particularly high-scoring teams and it could be quite the war of attrition on Saturday between them.
One area of difference is in defence where the Dragons have conceded five points more per game on average than the Raiders have done.
In the handicap market for Dragons v Raiders NRL betting a St George Illawarra Dragons +8 is a 20/21 option* (odds taken 04:25 GMT Thursday, 10th September).
That does look to be a fairly reasonable option as well, but the Dragons were within that margin in a loss to the Raiders in July.
Canberra Raiders Preview – Will the Raiders do the double over St George?
Back on July 3rd the Raiders collected a 22-16 win over the Dragons and have won three of their last four against them.
Canberra were ticking along in nice form, having put together a three-match winning streak with successes over the Broncos, Titans and Bulldogs.
That run was snapped when they met the Roosters last weekend, a team who the Raiders were level with on points in the top half of the table.
The Raiders are going to the finals this season but they are the second-lowest scoring side currently in the top eight.
So even though the Raiders are favourites in the match outright for this contest, will they be able to carve out a big margin of success over the Dragons?
A Canberra -10 option is at 11/10* (odds taken 04:25 GMT Thursday, 10th September).
Each of their last three wins in the league have been by a margin of at least 14 points.
But those were all against teams in the bottom four of the ladder.
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Only one of Canberra’s last three wins over St George Illawarra have been by a margin of more than six points.
The Canberra Raiders have scored a win in four of their previous eight visits to the WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
They are 2/5 in the match outright to collect another there on this weekend’s visit but there have been considerable injury problems for them.
St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canberra Raiders Betting Advice
The Dragons have lost four of their last five games played at the WIN Stadium, which cast some doubt over their chances here.
They have to be respected though because of their competitiveness and they are able to keep games close.
But the recent head to head swing has been going Canberra’s way, so we would have to support a win for the Raiders.
Key Facts – St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canberra Raiders Betting Tip
- St George Illawarra Dragons have lost their last two league games
- St George Illawarra Dragons have lost 4 of their last 5 at the WIN Stadium
- Canberra Raiders have won 3 of the last 4 against St George
But we have to consider a tight handicap margin line and it is the Dragon’s +8 handicap that looks the way to go in NRL betting* (odds taken 04:25 GMT Thursday, 10th September)..
None of their last four games in the Premiership have ended with a margin of more than four points (W2 L2)
As an alternative betting option we would consider a Raiders 1-12 winning margin option which looks like a very comfortable range for a 21/10 quote* (odds taken 04:25 GMT Thursday, 10th September).
The best betting odds for St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canberra Raiders
St George Illawarra Dragons to win: 21/10 at Bet365
Draw: 22/1 at Bet365
Canberra Raiders to win: 2/5 at Bet365
