St George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles
12th July 0930hrs
Rugby League – Australia – NRL
Pick Draw
Bookmaker Bet365
Odds: 11/10 odds taken 02:43 GMT, Saturday 11th July
Both the Dragons and the Sea Eagles are badly in need of a win. They have both lost their last two fixtures.
So there will be a bit of pressure on here as someone is about to hit a three-match slump.
After trading wins in the last campaign, there may not be too much to separate these two based on current form.
Table of Contents
St George Illawarra Dragons Preview – Dragons coming up short but battling well
Performance-wise St George are probably going to be relatively happy with their recent performances.
Even though they have lost their last two played against the impressive Roosters and then the Raiders, the Dragons have battled well.
They are clearly lacking a bit of quality, which is hurting them this season.
But the spirit and determination appears to be there and they look up for a fight.
It is a W2 L2 record that they have taken in their last four league games now.
Those have been their only two successes of the season, St George sitting on an overall W2 L6 record.
They do match up to the Sea Eagles in terms of scoring output this season however.
But will the difference on the day come in the defence?
The Dragons are far worse off in that department as they have conceded an average of 21 points per game in this campaign.
In comparison, the Sea Eagles have an average 16 points per game against them.
The Dragons do have some nice momentum in the head to head, having won four of their last five against the Sea Eagles.
The average winning margin this season for the Dragons, remembering they have only won twice, is 12 points.
A St George +2 in the handicap is at 5/6 to cover them with a bit of narrow leeway* (odds taken 02:43 GMT, Saturday 11th July)
Manly Sea Eagles Preview – Sea Eagles searching for form
The Manly Sea Eagles are W4 L4 this season in the Premiership.
They have struggled a little bit in putting points on the board in matches, not looking particularly threatening in that department.
But they have propped themselves up with a fairly decent defence, which has conceded an average of 16 points per game.
That’s not bad at all, far better as mentioned above, than the average of the Dragons this season.
A blow for the Sea Eagles is that prop Addin Fonua-Blake is suspended for this one and he has been electric for them this season.
Even though the recent head to head favours the Dragons in terms of coach v coach, the Sea Eagles’ coach Des Hasler is 7-2 against Paul McGregor of the Dragons.
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There always appears to be narrow margins coming into play when the Sea Eagles are involved.
They have scored 129 points and have conceded 129 points this season for example for a 0 points difference
Their average winning margin and losing margin is exactly the same at 9.2 as well.
St George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles Betting Advice
The Manly Sea Eagles are at best a very dogged, gritty side who are able to frustrate teams.
They were good in defence last weekend, as they have been in general this season, but couldn’t find the key creativity in attack.
They are badly missing Tom Trobojevic in that regard and they will be without him again.
Key Facts – St George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles Betting Tip
- St George Illawarra Dragons have won 4 of their last 5 against Manly
- St George Illawarra Dragons are W2 L6 this season
- Manly Sea Eagles have lost their last two
St George went down last weekend against the Raiders 22-16 but they were standing at 22-0 before running in three late tries in that one.
So they showed some spirit there to not just roll over and take the loss.
This has all the hallmarks of being a really tight game.
Because the Sea Eagles have done alright in Sydney against St George recently and because they boast the better defence, we will side with them.
Narrowly (but bold at the same time) in a -4 handicap at 11/10* (odds taken 02:43 GMT, Saturday 11th July)
The best betting odds for St George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles
St George Illawarra Dragons to win: 6/5 at Bet365
Draw: 20/1 at Bet365
Manly Sea Eagles to win: 8/11 at Bet365
