An Alternative NRL Round 4 Preview – The Kick To Come

Welcome to the Kick to Come – our alternative NRL Round 4 Preview of all the big Rugby League ahead this weekend.

We supply the shortest possible match by match preview, pick a few things were are excited about, and why we are reaching for the pillow, there’s the NRL’s most pointless tipping competition, and a Wrasse sized bit about NRL odds/betting, a dabble into Supercoach and we have the low down on the Rugby League on TV to let you do your best sloth-work.

Doing many things, with not a lot of quality, just the way we like it. 

Want to read more? Of course you do. Our NRL Round 4 Preview awaits.

NRL ROUND 4 PREVIEW – MATCH BY MATCH IN 20 WORDS OR LESS

THU 7:50pm – COWBOYS v PENRITH

The Cowboys have lost their last two, Penrith have lost star half Nathan Cleary for up to 10 weeks. After two tough games on the road in Brisbane and Melbourne, surely the Cowboys will find the form again in Townsville.

Side Interest – Can the Panthers go down 14-0 for a fourth consecutive week. And Tyrone Peachey in the halves.

FRI 3pm – RABBITOHS v BULLDOGS

The now traditional Good Friday clash between the 2014 Grand Finalists, both impressed last weekend after being reasonably Meh previously in the 2018 season. Will one of them return to mediocrity this weekend. Perhaps both.

Side Interest – Is this the week Dane Gagai finally goes berserk and lights up the NRL?

FRI 7:50pm – SHARKS v STORM

Another Grand Final rematch, this time from 2016, and neither side looks at their very best yet. Doubtless the Storm will only improve, a worry for the rest of the competition. The Sharks did the job against Parramatta and that’s about it.

SIDE INTEREST – Will we see the best from Brodie Croft this week? Sad one of Rugby League’s nice guys Trent Hodkinson gets the boot back to the reserves.

SAT 4:30pm – ROOSTERS v WARRIORS

A former golden rule of tipping was never tip the Warriors away before Origin starts. But now, surely the Warriors won’t keep winning will they? Two away wins already. It doesn’t get much harder than the Roosters who cruised their way to a big win over the Knights.

SIDE INTEREST – Former Rooster RTS for Warriors v Former Tiger James Tedesco for Roosters.

SAT 6:30pm – SEA EAGLES v RAIDERS

Manly had one of the largest turnarounds last weekend, going from 50+ to nil winners, to being humbled by Souths by 28. Now there’s the fallout from the Salary Cap. Prime conditions for an opening Raiders win for 2018. This one will probably be very close, and probably be lost by Canberra, who don’t seem to know how to win.

SIDE INTEREST – How can the Raiders lose the game this week?

SUN 4:10pm – DRAGONS v KNIGHTS

Fresh from humiliating the Titans in Toowoomba, the Knights are next for the Dragons. Newcastle themselves coming off a large loss. Saying all of that, we reckon this could be the game of the week.

SIDE INTEREST – Gareth Widdop and Kalyn Ponga

SUN 6pm – BRONCOS v TITANS

What’s this then? A game at Suncorp Stadium on a Sunday. And a local derby no less. And there’s an Intrust Super Cup game as a curtain raiser. The game should sell out as fans in Brisbane take advantage of the novelty. Oh, and the Broncos by plenty.

SIDE INTEREST – Bryce Cartwright.

MON 4pm – TIGERS v EELS

The Tigers have been great to follow as they have gone from a certain busted arse team certain for the bottom three to a team of battlers that most people have boarded the bus for. Parramatta for all their stars have done nothing. At 27 points, the Tigers have only scored 9 more than the Eels, but somehow have won twice, and arguably a third. The difference is trying. Even their one superstar name has had to tough it out through Intrust Super Cup.

SIDE INTEREST – Will the loss of Jarryd Hayne improve things?

NRL ROUND 4 PREVIEW – 3 THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO

1 – 4 Day Easter Weekend full of rugby league across 5 days.

2 – Sunday afternoon Football in Brisbane

3 – The End of Daylight Savings. Can’t hold breath for Queensland to get it.

NRL ROUND 4 PREVIEW – THINGS TO AVOID THIS WEEKEND

Ball Tampering and or David Warner

Channel Nein

NRL ROUND 4 PREVIEW – TIPPING COMPETITION

Time to see how well we can tip. And what kind of ridiculous things we can use for a tipping compeditor. As ever the dog is back as our resident Paul the World Cup Tipping Octopus. Who will triumph in Rugby League’s most pointless tipping competition? Find our below.

THE GURGLER’S NRL ROUND 4 TIPS

COWBOYS to beat Panthers
RABBITOHS to beat Bulldogs
STORM to beat Sharks
ROOSTERS to beat Warriors
RAIDERS to beat Sea Eagles
DRAGONS to beat Knigts
BRONCOS to beat Titans
TIGERS to beat Eels

THE DOG’S NRL ROUND 4 TIPS

Like the infamous octopus at the 2010 Football World Cup, we have our own Muttstradamus to provide tips every week.

COWBOYS to beat Panthers
BULLDOGS to beat Rabbitohs
SHARKS to beat Storm
ROOSTERS to beat Warriors
RAIDERS to beat Sea Eagles
KNIGHTS to beat Dragons
BRONCOS to beat Titans
TIGERS To beat Eels

GUEST TIPSTER ROUND 4 TIPS – WHERE WE’D RATHER SPEND AN EASTER LONG WEEKEND

COWBOYS to beat Penrith
RABBITOHS to beat Bulldogs
STORM to beat Sharks
ROOSTERS to beat Warriors
SEA EAGLES to beat Raiders
KNIGHTS to beat Dragons
TITANS to beat Broncos
DRAW

Background:

Where would we rather spend a Long Weekend? That is the question. As it is an Easter 4 Day Long Weekend, and a lot of people will be getting on the road or away, we’ve thought about using that for our Guest Tips this week. Essentially we have compared the two teams, and where their physical location is, and decided which place we’d rather spend a 4 day weekend at if forced to. That team then gets the Guest Tip for Round 4.

CURRENT SCOREBOARD

THE GURGLER – 12/24 – Last Week 4
MUTTSTRADAMUS 6/24- Last Week 3
GUEST TIPSTERS TOTAL – 11/24 – Last Week 4
Guest Tipsters Breakdown:
R1 – OUR 2018 SEASON PREDICTIONS 3/8
R2 – INTERNET RANDOM RESULT GENERATOR 5/8
R3 – WORST LOSSES EVER 4/8

NRL ROUND 4 PREVIEW – ODDS AND SODS

HEAD TO HEAD ODDS

COWBOYS $1,25 PANTHERS $4.10 – Panthers +10.5 start
RABBITOHS $1.75 BULLDOGS $2.10 – Bulldogs +2.0 start
SHARKS $2.40 STORM $1.58 – Sharks +4.0 start
ROOSTERS $1.31 WARRIORS $3.50 – Warriors +9.5 start
SEA EAGLE $1.52 RAIDERS $2.55 – Raiders +5.5 start
DRAGONS $1.35 KNIGHTS $3.25 – Knights +8.5 start
BRONCOS $1.25 TITANS $4.00 – Titans +12.5 start (into $1.80)
TIGERS $1.87 EELS $1.95 – Eels +1.5 start

SUPER MULTI MADNESS

Here’s our Mega Multi Madness for NRL Round 4

COWBOYS to beat Panthers
RABBITOHS to beat Bulldogs
1st HALF UNDER 17.5 Points (Sharks v Storm)
ROOSTERS to win by +6.5
RAIDERS to win
TOTAL POINTS OVER 42.5 (Dragons v Knights)
BRONCOS -12.5 start
TOTAL POINTS UNDER 36.5 (Tigers v Eels)

$1 could “pay” $136

TICKET TO RIDE

Here’s where we lay down our best bet of the weekend and attempt to roll it over each week into a 25 Round Cash Cow. A year long moving All Up.

THIS WEEK’S BEST BET

$3.52 x Broncos to beat Titans @ $1.25

LAST WEEK’S RESULT

WIN – $1 on Storm to win @ $1.60

CURRENT RUN / RETURN

2 Weeks – $3.52

BEST RUN / RETURN SO FAR

2 Weeks – $3.52

WILLIAM HILL BUILD A BET

The William Hill wagering company offer punters a chance to tweet their own bet, a nice option, and one we will look to have some fun with. Each week we will try and get odds on the most absurd betting options and post it here.

This week’s Build A Bet with William Hill…

Now that people are talking NSW Origin halves, it is time to get a bet on.

RUGBY LEAGUE TV VIEWING THIS WEEKEND

Hard week at work? Need some sweet, sweet Andy Capp lounge time? Here are all the fixtures we could find for your great day/night in.