NRL Storm vs Roosters

Thursday Night sees the surprise packet of the 2023 season take on a perennial Premiership heavyweight, as the Dolphins take on the Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium. With both teams coming off solid wins in round 6, this should be a high-quality affair to kick things off in round 7.

Draftstars has a $15,000 guaranteed contest for the first game of the round, with the winner set to pocket a cool $1,133. With several other contests available, there’s a contest for everyone, so get involved and make this game even more interesting.

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Team News

The Dolphins see a change on the wing, with Robert Jennings coming back at the expense of Edrick Lee. They also welcome back Jesse Bromwich, replacing Poasa Faamausili. Meanwhile, Jarrod Wallace (concussion) is out, with JJ Collins joining the bench. No other changes expected.

For the Rabbitohs, they welcome back Jai Arrow, who has been named in the front row in place of Tevita Tatola (knee). Alex Johnston also returns, with Taane Milne dropping to 18th man.

Betting Markets

The Dolphins ($3.50) vs South Sydney Rabbitohs ($1.31)

Points total – 44.5 points

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Match Overview

Despite a positive performance last week from the Dolphins, I still get the sense that their season is on the decline. After hitting such highs early in the season, then losing their halfback, it’s only natural that the Dolphins will go backwards. And whilst coach Wayne Bennett will often have this team up, this week I can see the Rabbitohs building on their win from last week. Bennett won’t allow the team to be embarrassed, so I don’t see an absolute route, but I don’t think the Bunnies will have too many issues with getting the win here.

Love It – Campbell Graham - $15,970

Campbell Graham has quickly turned himself into an elite centre, one who has often been described as a top defensive centre, but is now getting his due for his attacking prowess. The Dolphins edge defence has leaked tries all season, and I can’t see any reason why Graham won’t be able to cross the line for the 7th time this season. And as mentioned in several of these articles already, Graham is a rock defensively, and also gets a solid number of points from runs. A tremendous floor, and an ever-increasing ceiling, for one of the best centres in the game.

Love It – Cody Walker - $17,160

Cody has had his temper under control the past few weeks, and it’s no coincidence that he, and the Rabbitohs have looked far better for it. With a three-week average of 70, and a chance at the Rabbitohs running up a score on a leaky Dolphins defence, Walker has the ability to go large for a 4th week in a row. Whilst the obvious choice in this slate is Damien Cook, I like the idea of saving close to $6,000 here on another premium half option. 

Love It – Cam Murray - $22,260

Murray continues to deliver, with a 3-game average of 71.6. Murray didn’t have to work as hard last week, in the Rabbitohs’ 50-16 demolition of the Bulldogs, but still managed a score of 64 as he crossed the line for his first try of the year. He can do it in so many different ways, that it’s hard to leave him out of your team. Despite the easy win last week, Murray played 75 minutes, meaning Jason Demetriou may be happy enough with Murray’s fitness to play him close to 80 minutes each week now. 60+ at a minimum, barring injury.

Hate It – Jai Arrow - $18,580

Whilst Arrow playing in the middle should be good for his base statistics, I’m not sure his minutes will be there to justify this price tag. Arrow has only played 22 minutes this season, which in my opinion indicates he will struggle to get through big minutes in the middle this week. The other downside is playing in the middle decreases Arrow’s chances at attacking statistics. Whilst there aren’t many premium forwards in this slate, I wouldn’t advocate to pay this money for Arrow this week.

Hate It – Latrell Mitchell - $18,440

I love fading Latrell apparently, as he sits in the ‘Hate It’ list yet again. Las week, Mitchell showed everyone what he’s capable of, scoring three tries on his way to a score of 83.2. This week, he’s the most expensive outside back in the slate, $2,500 more expensive than Campbell Graham. And whilst Latrell’s upside is close to as good as anyone’s, I also like to fade Latrell because he’s always so popular. It’s a contrarian view, but one where it could get you a head start on the field if Latrell has one of his lazier games.

Who Knows – Alex Johnston - $14,130

The Dolphins have been hammered by opposing wingers this season, and if there’s one man who can pile on the tries, it’s Alex Johnston. It’s been a slow start for AJ, scoring only two tries in his opening five games, but it’s only a matter of time before he crosses the stripe multiple times in a game. The downside for Johnston is if he doesn’t score tries, he is mediocre at best, averaging just 25 in games without a try. As the third most expensive outside back in this slate, it’s high risk, high reward for the Rabbitohs winger.

 

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