Rabbitohs v Sea Eagles NRL preliminary final tips, prediction and betting preview

Welcome to our preview of the South Sydney v Manly Warringah Sea Eagles preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, on Friday, September 24.

The winner of this match will play the winner of the Melbourne Storm-Penrith clash in the grand final at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, October 3.

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This is potentially the last game at South Sydney for star halfback Adam Reynolds, who joins the Brisbane Broncos for the 2022 season. Also, master coach Wayne Bennett will be handing over the reins to assistant Jason Demetriou after the Rabbitohs’ season concludes.

Since they were thrashed 56-12 by the Panthers in round 11, the Rabbitohs have been on a tear, winning 13 of 14 matches. Their only defeat in that time was the 25-12 loss to the Panthers in round 23.

In any other season they would be considered hot premiership favourites, but the Storm and Panthers have put together even more incredible seasons, with that trio of teams well clear of the rest of the contenders.

Manly charged into fourth position though, shrugging aside a dismal start to the season, and in fact loom as a real wildcard with their attacking prowess from their trio of scoring freaks; Reuben Garrick, Tom Trbojevic and Jason Saab have all scored more than 20 tries this season.

Given Garrick and Saab play on opposite wings, that tells you the Sea Eagles are equally deadly on both sides of the field, with fullback Trbojevic the swingman who enables them the form an outnumber on either side.

Meanwhile, they have a tough pack and a pair of veteran halves in Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran who are pulling the strings superbly.

The one concern about Manly is how they fumbled their lines when came up against the high-class Melbourne Storm in their opening final and were blow off the park.

The Sea Eagles rebounded to torch the tired Roosters last weekend, but they will again face a stern examination early against a fresh Bunnies side with a high-quality forward pack and a brilliantly nimble hooker in Damien Cook.

This is expected to be the closer of the two preliminary finals and it certainly looms as a thrilling contest between two teams with outstanding attacking capabilities.

Team news for Rabbitohs-Sea Eagles preliminary final

The Rabbitohs will likely send out the same 17 who beat Penrith a fortnight ago. Of course, they won’t be regaining star fullback Latrell Mitchell from suspension but stand-in Blake Taaffe has done a great job so far.

Manly came through their comprehensive win against the Roosters without any new injury concerns and are at close to full strength to tackle the Rabbitohs.

Continue reading for our free Souths-Manly betting tips and winner prediction for their NRL preliminary final on Friday, September 24, 2021.

Start:	7:50pm AEST, September 24
Venue:	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Head-to-head odds:	South Sydney ($1.70) v Manly ($2.20)
Line betting:	South Sydney -2 ($1.90) v Manly +2 ($1.90)
Premiership odds:	South Sydney $5; Manly $6

South Sydney Rabbitohs v Manly Warringah tips – NRL PF 2021

Our NRL betting expert has examined the markets and found value Souths-Manly tips:

South Sydney v Manly prediction 24/9/2021

South Sydney are slight favourites with Australian betting sites and if they can reproduce the suffocating defensive effort that helped them past Penrith a fortnight ago, they are a huge chance of reaching another grand final. A key will, of course, be curtailing the influence of Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic, arguably the most influential player in the NRL this season. There are stars galore on both sides, and two of the finest coaches of all in presiding over the action in Souths’ Wayne Bennett and Manly’s Des Hasler. Whichever way it falls this looms as a great match-up. Whoever wins through will go into the grand final as underdogs but that is never a bad position in a high-stake match. Bring it on. Our final Souths-Manly prediction? Rabbitohs by 4 points. 

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