Round 4 of the 2018 National Rugby Championship will get underway on Saturday the 22nd of September.
The NRC really is producing the goods this year when it comes to unpredictability with a lot of upset results occurring during the opening three weeks. Only one team remains unbeaten in the tournament with that being reigning champions, Queensland Country.
Melbourne Rising v Brisbane City
Saturday 22 September
AA Bailey Reserve
To Win (80 Mins)
Melbourne 7/20
Draw 20/1
Brisbane 9/4
Fifth-placed Melbourne Rising will be looking to claim their second win of the season when they take on sixth place Brisbane City in Saturday’s opener. The visitors head into this one off the back of their first win of the seasons as they beat the Sydney Rays 40-61 away from home.
The hosts also registered their first win of the season in Round 3 as they ran riot beating the New South Wales County Eagles 7-62.
Verdict Melbourne Rising 7/20
Both of these teams are hell-bent on running the ball from all quarters so this should be a high scorer. My money is on the hosts coming out on top.
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Queensland Country v Western Force
Saturday 22 September
Bond University
To Win (80 Mins)
Queensland 4/10
Draw 20/1
Force 2/1
Queensland Country will be looking to maintain their unbeaten record in the tournament when they take on new boys on the block, the Western Force. The hosts and reigning champions have enjoyed a magnificent start to their title defence and head into this one off the back of a 52-22 victory over an impressive Fijian Drua outfit.
Queensland’s opponents for this weekend have been slightly less impressive this term winning two of their opening three games. They head into this one off the back of their first defeat of the season which saw them go down 29-19 to the Canberra Vikings.
Verdict: Queensland 4/10
While the Force posses a solid squad they are surprisingly struggling to galvanize and can’t see them getting one over the champions this weekend.
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New South Wales Country Eagles v Canberra Vikings
Sunday 23 September
Bellevue Oval
To Win (80 Mins)
Country Eagles 7/1
Draw 40/1
Canberra Vikings 1/16
Sunday’s doubleheader gets underway with a clash between the seventh-placed New South Wales Country Eagles and the third-placed Canberra Vikings. The Eagles have only won one game this term which was last week where they beat the last-placed Sydney Rays 19-33.
Canberra have enjoyed a much more positive start to their campaign than their hosts, winning two of their opening three fixtures. They head into this weekend’s clash off a very positive Round 3 result which saw them beat 29-19 victory over a solid Western Force outfit.
Verdict: Canberra Vikings 1/16
They’re a good side who should be able to bag the points against a far less talented outfit.
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Sydney Rays v Fijian Drua
Sunday 23 September
Concord Oval
To Win (80 Mins)
Sydney 6/1
Draw 40/1Fijian Drua 1/12
The final game of the weekend will see the last-placed Sydney Rays take on the second-placed Fijian Drua at the Concord Stadium. The visitors suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend as they went down 52-22 to Queensland Country.
The Rays also come into this clash off the back of a defeat as they went down 40-61 to Brisbane City.
Verdict: Fijian Drua 1/12
The Drua are set for an absolute walk in the park this weekend as the Rays are really a side on the slide. My money is on the visitors taking this one by 20 points or more.
