Warriors v Raiders NRL betting picks & odds | Round 3, 2024

Warriors v Raiders best bets

Warriors v Raiders match preview

Friday night football kicks off in New Zealand for round three of the NRL Premiership with the Warriors hosting the Canberra Raiders at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch.

The Raiders have started the season in red-hot form with wins over the Knights and Tigers, while the Warriors have suffered losses to the Sharks and Storm. Will the home side be able to secure their first win of the season this weekend?

Warriors coach Andrew Webster has named Wayde Egan to return from a concussion in the starting side. That puts Freddy Lussick back to the interchange bench and Jazz Tevaga out of the playing side in an otherwise unchanged line-up.

Ricky Stuart’s Raiders welcome back captain Elliott Whitehead in the second row, with Zac Hosking shifting back to the interchange bench at the expense of Ata Mariota. The Raiders side is also without other changes after last week.

Warriors v Raiders betting strategy

The Warriors enter this match having won three of their last five matches against the Raiders, with two of those wins coming by just one point. The Raiders have started the season in incredible form, but the Warriors will be playing in front of a home crowd and with plenty of determination to get a win on the board. Expect the Warriors to win by 12 points or less at +180 with Bovada.

Xavier Savage has been a shining light in the outside backs for the Raiders, recording multiple line breaks and tackle breaks while scoring two tries. Savage has scored a try in each of his last four matches. The Raiders are a quality side that wins the middle third of the field and creates chances on the day for the edges to score. There is great value in Savage as an anytime tryscorer at +165 with top NRL bookmakers.

Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak crossed the line on two occasions last week against the Storm, while he has scored in each of his last four home matches against the Raiders. Not many sides in the NRL are better than the Warriors at stripping a left-edge defence short of numbers to put their wingers in the corner to score. Although it is a short price at -163.93, an anytime try for Watene-Zelezniak should be a certainty.

Best bookmakers for NRL odds

1

Live Betting Odds

Bovada

Visit Bovada Review

Sports betting picks