Dolphins v Cowboys
The Dolphins have already had a huge setback in losing Gilbert. Although I obviously wished that didn’t happen for my futures bets on the Dolphins, they still have the squad to shake up this competition.
Worryingly, their trial form was pretty poor. But some of that came down to the weird approach taken in rotating players. The Dolphins forced their forwards to play 40 minutes straight, meaning guys like Jesse Bromwich and Mark Nicholls played much longer stints than they normally would.
This means that the Dolphins’ form should not be read into that much. And it is not as if the Cowboys set the world on fire. Against a reserve grade Raiders outfit in Canberra, a full-strength Cowboys outfit made hard work of the Raiders.
With this game being played in Brisbane, I think the Dolphins are well placed here and I’m happy to back them with the +5.5.
Predicted score
Dolphins 20
Cowboys 20
Recommended bet: Dolphins +5.5
