NRL round 4, 2022: Panthers v Rabbitohs v free tips & odds

Last year’s grand finalists Penrith and South Sydney clash on Friday night, April 1, at BlueBet Stadium. Read on for our match preview, prediction and odds update.

This is a clear match of the round and we expect another epic clash following the Panthers’ famous 14-12 win in the grand final of 2021.

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READ: NRL match betting previews and tips
NRL round 4 schedule, 2022 title odds update

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Bookies have made the Panthers short-priced favourites to win this match, which is understandable given the Panthers have won six of their past seven matches against Souths. The Panthers of course won the grand final but in the meeting before that Souths won 16-10 in the first week of the finals, after the scores were locked at 10-10 at half-time.

The Panthers are only undefeated team left in the league, though they have not been in the sort of overwhelming form they showed for large stretches of the 2021 season. The return of superstar playmaker Nathan Cleary should help immensely.

Meanwhile, the Rabbitohs roared back to form last weekend to smash arch rivals Roosters, and they will certainly no lack motivation for this one.

Much has been made of the depratures of the likes of halfback Adam Reynolds and centre Dane Gagai, but they still have a mighty pack, and the back line is starting to find its range again.

We expect this clash to be closer than the bookies expect, with the rainy weather also likely to even up the contest.

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Panthers v Rabbitohs team news for round 4

The big news of course is that Panthers and NSW halfback Nathan Cleary makes his first appearance of the season after surgery on his shoulder in the off-season.

Cleary played through the pain to get the Panthers home in the premiership decider and while he might be a little rusty, he is arguably the best player in the game and he adds his wonderful kicking game to a team that is already unbeaten. Sean O’Sullivan has proved a capable stand-in for Cleary and could be a key player later in the season when Origin rolls around.

Second-rower Scott Sorensen moves into the starting side with Chris Smith (head knock) ruled out for this week.

Souths coach Jason Demetriou sticks with the 17 who thumped the Roosters last week, with rising youngster Blake Taaffe some chance to be a late inclusion after recovering from an ankle injury.

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Panthers v Rabbitohs

Kick-off: 8.05pm local time
Venue: BlueBet Stadium
Head to head odds: Penrith $1.44, South Sydney $2.85
Line: Penrith (-6.5 points) $1.90, South Sydney (+6.5 points) $1.90
Match total: 38 points: over $1.90, under $1.90

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Panthers v Rabbitohs free betting tips

Our NRL betting expert has highlighted his free tips for Friday night’s game.

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Penrith Panthers v South Sydney Rabbitohs prediction 1-4-2022

The grand final was a brilliant contest and the Rabbitohs came so close to pulling an upset win out of the fire in the dying stages. This one obviously won’t mean as much but these are two high-class teams and both boast exception defence. We think that will be the order of the night. This should be one of the games of the season so far and hopefully it’s alive right to the end. Our Panthers v Rabbitohs prediction: Panthers by 2 points.

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