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One of the best weekends in the NRL season is the Magic Round, where every team converges on a single location to play a full weekend schedule.

We had that last weekend, so now it’s back to business as usual, with another full slate of rugby action set to come out way this weekend.

My Analysis for NRL Round 12 Top Games

We did see some movement in the standings, or the ladder as it is referred to in the NRL, which means we have some very big games ahead of us this weekend. There are 17 teams in this league, but only the top 8 will move on to the playoff rounds, so it certainly is still all to play for. There is one game that stands out above all others, but we will get to that one soon enough. In all, let’s look at the 3 biggest games in Round 12 of the NRL this weekend.

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MyBookie NRL Betting Odds

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles +131 vs Melbourne Storm -152

We have a 2nd versus 10th matchup here, but it might not prove to be as lopsided as the standings suggest. The Sea Eagles are the team down in the #10 spot, but they have been pretty decent at home, going 4-2 in their own stadium. Overall, though, they have just 2 wins in their last 5, albeit just 1 point back of the cut line. The Storm is 8-2 to this point in the season and are 4-1 in their last 5 games. They have only played 3 road games thus far and have won 3 of them.

Canberra Raiders +307 vs Sydney Roosters -417

If you take a look at the ladder before this weekend’s games, you will see that a lot of teams are stuck very close together in terms of their point totals. We will almost certainly see some changes to the standings this weekend, especially in this game, as you have #6 and #7 going head-to-head. The Raiders are on 14 points and hold the #6 spot, with the Roosters sitting right below them on 12 points. The Raiders have the home field edge, but will these two swap positions after this weekend?

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks -159 vs Penrith Panthers +133

This is easily the best game on the schedule this week, as we have the ladder leader going against the team sitting in the #3 spot. The Sharks are the team at the top, losing just once in 10 games this season. They are also unbeaten at home this season, so they will have a definite edge over the Panthers this weekend. Penrith has been great at home, but they are just 3-3 in road games, which does not bode well ahead of a road trip to face the best team in the league.

Match Highlights 🎥 – #NRLBulldogsDragons

A slashing seven-try second half carried the Bulldogs to a win over the Dragons! pic.twitter.com/fzZfIhZ7Fv
— NRL (@NRL) May 23, 2024