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We are now down to round 26 and is the last round of the 2009 NRL season. It is setting up to be a good one as the last couple of finals positions are still up for grabs.

The top teams will be looking for big wins to make their presence felt, while the bottom teams will be trying to upset whoever they can. At the end of the day, no-one wants to lose this week whether they are bottom or top of the NRL ladder.

The odds that are listed below are from BetFair. NRL betting is best at BetFair with a wide range to choose from including winning margin and first try. Check out our review of BetFair Here.

My Round 26 tips are as follows.

Friday September 4^th @ 7.35pm

St. George Illawarra vs. Parramatta Eels

It is my belief that this will be a very close match. The dragons have not been in the best of form lately and the Parramatta Eels could most certainly use the win. With the NRL finals so close both teams will be giving it their all.

My Prediction – St. George Illawarra by less than 12.5 points with odds of $2.90 @ BetFair

Friday September 4^th @ 7.35pm

West Tigers vs. Bulldogs

The Bulldogs shouldn’t have too much trouble here, but the West Tigers will be fighting hard. With the Tigers having an outside chance of making the finals it could turn into a thriller of a match.

My Tip – Bulldogs by less than 12.5 points with odds of $2.40 @ BetFair

Saturday September 5^th @ 7.30pm

Manly Sea Eagles vs. Gold Coast Titans

The Manley Sea Eagles will be playing for a top 4 finish here as they currently sit in 5^th place on the NRL ladder. The Gold Coast Titans can’t fall below third place will only really need to find some nice form for the finals. It should be a close match-up.

My Tip –Manley Sea Eagles by less than 12.5 points with odds of $2.20 @ BetFair

Saturday September 5^th @ 7.30pm

Cronulla Sharks vs. South Sydney

Both teams have nothing to lose here. However, the Sharks may end up with the wooden spoon if they don’t take the points. South Sydney’s season is already over with no chance of making the NRL finals.

My Tip – South Sydney with odds of $1.54 @ BetFair

Saturday September 5^th @ 7.30pm

New Zealand Warriors vs. Melbourne Storm

The Melbourne Storm should be able to run all over the Warriors in this round 26 match. The Warriors are sitting pretty way down in 14^th place while the Melbourne Storm will be playing to hold their top 4 position.

My Tip – Melbourne Storm with odds of $1.42 @ BetFair

Sunday September 6^th @ 2pm

Sydney Roosters vs. North Queensland Cowboys

Similar to the Rabbitohs vs. Sharks game, this one probably won’t be very interesting. The Roosters will be trying to take the win to avoid the wooden spoon however and could be worth watching.

My Tip – North Queensland Cowboys by less than 12.5 points with odds of $2.20 @ BetFair

Sunday September 6^th @ 3pm

Newcastle Knights vs. Penrith Panthers

This will be the match of the round in my opinion. With the two teams sitting in 8^th & 9^th respectively, the loser of this clash will not play finals. Although it is my feeling that the Knights will get up in the end, it should be a very close match.

My Tip – Newcastle Knights with odds of $1.59 @ BetFair

Sunday September 6^th @ 7pm

Canberra Raiders vs. Brisbane Broncos

While the Raiders are sitting down in 13^th place with no chance of a finals birth, Brisbane will be playing for a shot at the top 4. Currently in sixth place, they are only one point behind 4^th placed Melbourne Storm and will be giving it their all to take this top 4 place from them.

My Tip – Brisbane Broncos with odds of $1.34 @ BetFair

The Bulldogs are currently paying $1.22 for the regular season win which is almost a sure fire bet and they are also tipped to take home the NRL Premiership with odds of $4.90. St. George Illawarra has odds of $5.10 for the NRL Premiership.

My tip for the 2009 NRL Wooden Spoon is the Sydney Roosters paying $1.26. Cronulla is paying odds of $3.30.

BetFair also has many other options for betting on the NRL and you should head along now, set-up your account and prepare to win some money before the end of the 2009 NRL season.

With only three rounds left to be played in the 2009 NRL season many teams will be trying to ramp up the intensity in this weeks round 24 clashes, particularly those in the middle of the ladder.

A loss this week may very well result in not playing finals for a few teams as the competition has been rather tight this year. There is only three points separating the teams placed 5^th through 12^th.

The biggest surprise of last week was the amazing defeat that Brisbane handed Penrith. 24-18 down at half time, Brisbane came out in the second half and turned the game around with 40 unanswered points. The final score was 24-58 in favour of Brisbane.

Also, the Bulldogs have now secured a top four finish with a 10 point win over North Queensland in Townsville on Friday.

All the odds below are from Betfair. Betfair always have the best odds because you bet against other people and not an actual bookmaker. Checkout our Betfair review for more info on why Betfair is a smart choice.

My Round Twenty-Four tips are as follows.

Friday August 21^st @ 7.35pm

St. George Illawarra vs. Brisbane Broncos

This match-up to be played on Friday night is bound to be a thriller as both teams are in great form. It was hard to go past Brisbane after their amazing win last week, but you just can’t go against the likes of St. George Illawarra.  Although I am backing the Dragons, I would not be surprised if the Broncos were able to get up and win.

My prediction is St. George Illawarra with odds of $1.36 @ BetFair by less than 4-12 points.

Friday August 21^st @ 7.35pm

West Tigers vs. Parramatta Eels

Looking to be yet another close game for Friday night, I don’t believe that the West Tigers will be able to keep with the Eels on this occasion. Although I would expect a close game, the Parramatta Eels should not have too much trouble winning this one.

My Tip – Parramatta Eels ($1.80 @ BetFair) by 4-10 points.

Saturday August 22^nd @ 5.30pm

Newcastle Knights vs. North Queensland Cowboys

Newcastle should be able to get up here, but, in my opinion, the North Queensland Cowboys will be right with them all the way. Whatever way this game goes, I wouldn’t expect the difference to be greater than 10 points.

My Tip – Newcastle Knights ($1.46 @ BetFair) by less than 10 points.

Saturday August 22^nd @ 7.30pm

Penrith Panthers vs. South Sydney

Blow-out is all I’ve got to say here. Penrith, although taking an upsetting loss last week, are still the better side in this match-up and this should be clearly shown on the scoreboard at the end of the game.

My Tip – Penrith Panthers ($1.56 @ BetFair) by 8-15 points.

Sunday August 23^rd @ 2pm

Gold Coast Titans vs. Cronulla Sharks

Domination. Quite simply, Cronulla barely has a chance to win this one. The Gold Coast Titans are a quality outfit and will easily take the win here. If you like games with a lot of one sided scoring than this will be the game to watch this week.

My Tip – Gold Coast Titans ($1.12 @ BetFair) by 15+ points.

Sunday August 23^rd @ 2pm

New Zealand Warriors vs. Canberra Raiders

My prediction here is yet another close game. If the difference in the end is greater than 8 points I would be very surprised. New Zealand should get up in the end, but it will be close.

My Tip – New Zealand Warriors ($1.57 @ BetFair) by 4-8 points.

Sunday August 23^rd @ 3pm

Melbourne Storm vs. Manly Sea Eagles

Melbourne is my pick in this one. With only 3 points separating these two teams on the league table, both will be playing hard trying to make the finals, however; Manly just do not have what it takes to win this one.

My Tip – Melbourne Storm ($1.56 @ BetFair) by 6-12 points.

Monday August 24^th @ 7pm

Bulldogs vs. Sydney Roosters

Yet Another blow-out. I would be incredibly surprised if the final score is closer than 12 points. The Bulldogs will easily take the win home in this one.

My Tip – Bulldogs ($1.12 @ BetFair) by 12+ points.

Round 7 of the NRL kicks off tonight with a couple of fairly unexciting games -  Brisbane take on the Eels and and The Sharks are looking for a win against the Rabbitohs. The game of the round should be the annual ANZAC Day clash between the Sydney Roosters and the St George-Illawarra Dragons.

Brisbane vs Parramatta at Suncorp Stadium

Parramatta could not have looked any worse last week against the Bulldogs, especially in the second half where they were expected by many to take advantage of the relatively short rest period the Dogs had after their previous Monday night game.

The exact opposite was the case with the Dogs storming home for a huge win over the Eels, further shortening their odds to take out the wooden spoon this year.

The Bronco’s on the other hand continue to impress and should win by double digits at home.

Broncos – $1.27

Eels – $3.85

Broncos by 14

Cronulla vs South Sydney at ANZ Stadium

At the start of the season there were high hopes for Cronulla fans with the signing of Trent Barrett and their strong showing in 2008. So far however, there has been little to cheer for supporters in the Shire with The Sharks sitting at the very bottom of the ladder.

Their opponents tonight, The Rabbitohs have surprised many with some strong showings early on and go into this game as the hot favourites to come away with the two points which would cement their place inside the top 8.

Rabbitohs – $1.60

Sharks – $2.35

Rabbitohs by 6

Sydney Roosters vs St George Illawarra Dragons at the SFS

The Dragons have been one of the strongest teams of the comp so far this season and are really coming together well under new coach Wayne Bennett. The thing to like about the Dragons is their lack of ego – there are no big name superstars just a well drilled group of skilled players coming together as team.

This couldn’t be further from the truth with their opponents the Roosters, many of whose players seem to suffer under the burden of expectations. Their squad consists of many more rep players than the Dragons, but going on their form so far this year they are very hard to back.

One positive for the Roosters is that their last two losses have been very close and to strong opposition so they may closer to hitting some winning form than many people think. The only thing wrong with that idea is that they were 16-0 up last week against the warriors and were run down in the second half.

I think the match will be closer than the odds would suggest.

Dragons – $1.55

Roosters – $2.47

Dragons by 4

Melbourne Storm vs Warriors at Olympic Park Stadium

The Warriors were lucky to get the win last week against the Roosters and face a much tougher task this week on the road against the Storm.

Storm – $1.48

Warriors $2.35

Storm by 8

North Qld Cowboys vs Manly Sea Eagles at Dairy Farmers Stadium

Both of these teams have had extremely disappointing starts to their season, falling far behind what the expectations were. The return of Brett Stewart seemed to fire Manly inot action so it will be interesting to see how they perform with him now out of action due to injury.

Cowboys – $1.65

Sea Eagles – 42.25

Cowboys by 6

Raiders vs Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium

The Bulldogs have had just the one loss so far this season and while the Raiders are a fast improving side and are playing at home, I think the Dogs have enough to get them across the line.

Raiders – $1.74

Bulldogs – $2.11

Bulldogs by 4

Wests Tigers vs Newcastle Knights at Campbelltown Stadium

While the Knights are the team sitting higher on the ladder, the Tigers are undefeated at home this season and will start this game as slight favourites in what should be a great match up in the west of Sydney

Tigers – $1.85

Knights – $1.95

Knights by 4

Penrith Panthers vs Gold Coast Titans at CUA Stadium

The Titans are the surprise competition leaders after round 6 and are playing a team who have managed to scrape together just the two wins so far this season. There form has suggested they are playing better than that and this should be a close match.

Panthers – $1.74

Titans – $2.11

Titans by 2

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