Eels vs Sharks Prediction
This is the game where I disagree with the bookies…

The Roosters have won seven on the trot and the bookies still have them as the outsiders tonight. I am not going to argue with that. But there is a big difference between the Panthers winning this and the Panthers winning it by five, and that gap is the whole bet.
$1.55
$1.87
$2.00
$10.23
Claim Tips at bet365 - Offer bet365
Odds correct at time of posting
There is barely a point between my number and the market’s here, and that is exactly the situation where I would rather have the points than the favourite. Penrith win this more often than not. They just do not win it by five often enough to lay that price.
Strip out the form lines and the noise and this is the tighter of the two defences by a distance. The Roosters have been scoring freely on their run, but the one night they ran into a defence with real teeth they won 14-6. That is the version of this game I am expecting.
Cody Ramsey comes in at fullback for the Roosters with James Tedesco not getting up from an ankle injury. That is the change of note in this one and it does not shift my four points. Everything else on the sheets landed the way I had it when I set the line.
This is the leg I actually want. Penrith have lost four of their past seven and they are a month without Isaah Yeo, who is out with a pectoral injury. A side in that shape can absolutely win a tight one against a good team, but winning it by five is a different ask, and I am not paying for it.
I have to be honest about the history here, because it is ugly reading for my line bet. Penrith have won five of the last six against the Roosters, including 40-4 back in March. But those wins came at Allianz and out at Penrith. The single meeting played at this ground went the other way, 38-32 to the Roosters.
Both of these sides can put points on, so I am not going to oversell it. My number lands on 40 against a market total of 41.5, which is about as close as these ever get. It is a small one for me, not the play.
Roosters +4.5 at $1.87. I make it Panthers by four, and four does not cover four and a half.
Penrith are the better side across a season and $1.55 to win it is fair enough. Laying four and a half points with this version of them is a different proposition though, so the Roosters and the points is where my money goes. The risk is obvious: if the Penrith side that put 40-4 on them back in March turns up here, this is over by half time and the line never comes into it.
Liam Martin to score a try, $3.80. He bagged a double two starts back and has crossed in three of his last six, so the tryscoring is already in his legs. I make this one four points either way, and in a scrap like that $3.80 is a good price for a bloke who keeps turning up.
Thomas Jenkins to score two or more tries, $3.35. This is a bloke who scores in bunches: a hat trick and a pair of doubles inside seven games, with two or more landing in three of them. Back him to go again and $3.35 looks generous for the shape of his form.
Liam Henry to score a try, $9.25. A try in three of his last seven, and they want $9.25 about it. That is the price of a player nobody has bothered to watch, and in a match I expect to stay tight he only needs one.
Robert Toia to score a try, $3.30. Four of his last six games have brought a try, which is the best strike rate on this page by a fair way. With Penrith and the Roosters inside a converted try on my numbers, Sydney will be throwing plenty at the line, and $3.30 is the steady leg my multi is built on.
These prop odds are Sportsbet’s, correct at time of posting. Prices move, so check before you bet and take the best one going. Late team changes can knock out any leg.
| Match | Penrith Panthers vs Sydney Roosters |
| Date | Thursday, August 13 |
| Kick-off | 7:50pm AEST |
| Venue | CommBank Stadium |
| Round | NRL Round 24 |
| Status | Scheduled |
| Our Tip | Multi: Panthers Win, Under 41.5 points & Robert Toia Anytime Try @ $10.23 |
| Predicted Score | Penrith Panthers 22 – Sydney Roosters 18 |
I have got the Panthers winning it, by about four points. Penrith at $1.55 is the play in the head to head. Four is not five though, which is why my line bet goes the other way.
My headline multi at $10.23 takes the straight win with the total and a player prop, Robert Toia Anytime Try. The win leg anchors it this week; the line bet on the card still stands as its own play.
I do not think so, though it is the tightest of my three legs. I have the game landing around 40 points against a market total of 41.5, so the under at $2.00 gets a bit of my money rather than a lot of it.
The Panthers play the Storm - at AAMI Park on Thursday 20 August in NRL Round 25.
The Roosters play the Wests Tigers - at Allianz Stadium on Sunday 23 August in NRL Round 25.