The Penrith Panthers (9-1) need to avoid the letdown when visiting Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. Penrith stomped Melbourne 32-6 in the Magic Round in a battle of top two teams on the ladder last weekend, but now the Panthers need to turn their attention to a road clash with the Sydney Roosters. Check the Roosters vs Panthers Betting Analysis below.
Sydney (6-4) is right in the hunt at 5th place on the ladder. The Roosters have been swept by Penrith the last two seasons, though, including defeats of 38-12 and 20-14 in 2021.
Last Game Records
Penrith looked very good in the Magic Round matchup vs. Melbourne, getting the 32-6 victory. The Storm were incredibly shorthanded, though, most notably playing their first game without the NRL’s top scorer Ryan Papenhuyzen. Penrith suffered their first loss of the season in Round 9, falling 22-20 to Parramatta.
The Roosters claimed their second straight win last weekend, toppling the Eels 31-24, the same Parramatta team that beaten Penrith the weekend prior. That was just another example of how frustrating this Sydney team can be in rugby betting, beating a good Eels team but also losing to the Bulldogs in Round 8 – the last-place team on the ladder.
Roosters vs Panthers Betting Analysis
Penrith is a whopping -345 favorite on the rugby betting odds for Saturday’s game. Oddsmakers have the point spread at -9.5 even though the Panthers are very much in a letdown spot after last week’s emotional win over Melbourne, even if it was a pretty easy 32-6 stroll.
The Roosters are +270 underdogs and had won three of four vs. Penrith prior to their current four-game losing streak in the head-to-head matchup. The Panthers did lose 22-6 in their last trip to Sydney Cricket Ground in 2019, with the Roosters not getting their home game last season as the matchup was played in Brisbane.
Sydney Aims For Consistency
Sydney is a tough team to wager with – or against – in rugby betting because they can win – or lose – to almost anybody in the NRL. The Roosters beat 3rd place North Queensland in round three but have also lost to last place Canterbury on April 30th, just the Bulldogs’ second win of the season.
The Roosters are at home on Saturday, and they have some momentum after two straight wins. Sydney is clicking on offense with 75 total points in their consecutive wins, which is great for a team averaging 22.1 ppg on the year.
Second-year player Sam Walker continues to be the rising star for the Roosters, scoring 25 points the last two weeks. He’s got five goals in each of the last two weeks and added a successful try to lead the win over Parramatta in the Magic Round.
No Letdown for Penrith
Last weekend’s showdown wasn’t the battle that it was expected to be, with Papenhuyzen, Reimis Smith, and Jahrome Hughes all missing the game for Melbourne. The Panthers still put on a dominating performance in claiming a position at the top of the NRL ladder all by their lonesome.
Now the big goal for the Panthers is to avoid the letdown in the trip to SCG. Penrith was already caught looking ahead to Melbourne in their lone loss of the season two weekends ago, and now they must get back up after beating their rival.
Penrith does come into round 11 with the second-highest scoring team in the NRL with 290 points, which is still 50+ behind the high-flying Storm. The Panthers are also second to Melbourne in tries (48) and goals (45) which just goes to show how impressive last weekend’s victory was.
Roosters vs Panthers Betting Preview
Saturday’s rugby predictions are a bit tough to call because Penrith is obviously the better team, but the letdown looms large after the Magic Round win over Melbourne. Sydney has looked like a complete team the last two weeks as well, and Walker is on a roll for this club.
Roosters vs Panthers Betting Prediction
Most people would assume Penrith gets the win in this round 11 matchup but do they cover the -9.5? This matchup was just a 20-14 Panthers win last year in Brisbane, so one would think the Roosters have a major advantage playing in an official home game in the 2022 version of this meeting.
How to bet on Roosters vs Panthers
Take Sydney +9.5
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