Round 10 NRL tips: Two factors that have flipped script for Eels ahead of crunch clash with Dolphins
Brought to you by TAB. Nine
Nine's tipsters have turned on the Dolphins, with the majority tipping the Eels to continue their recent resurgence by banking another two points at home on Thursday night.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports' Freddy and the Eighth's Tips, Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns split their predictions, with Fittler expecting Parramatta's better recent form to give them the edge due to a good record at CommBank Stadium and the transformation that has been evident since Mitchell Moses returned from injury.
READ MORE: Gus urges Blues to avoid Leniu 'gamble' in shock axing
READ MORE: The moment that all-but ended star's Roosters tenure
READ MORE: Konstas facing the axe in surprise Aussie shake-up
"The Eels have won their last two games at CommBank," Johns observed, pointing to their victory over the Wests Tigers on Easter Monday and their thrilling comeback win over the Dragons a fortnight earlier.
"They've always had a great record at CommBank," Fittler replied.
"They've won both of them [against the Tigers and Dragons] with Mitchell Moses, so if you took away all the other games [when he was injured to start the season]..."
Parramatta players celebrate a try during their round seven win over the Wests Tigers. Getty
Fittler was also disappointed with the Dolphins' performance during Magic Round, after they were thumped by the Roosters before it tightened in the closing stages to present a more flattering scoreline.
He said the absence of hooker Jeremy Marshall-King would make it difficult for them to bounce back at Parramatta's home fortress.
Despite agreeing that the Dolphins were "awful" in Magic Round, Johns tipped them to rebound.
The two clubs are on six points, and whoever loses the game could finish round 10 on the bottom of the ladder and possibly out of contention for a finals berth, even with 17 rounds still to play.
The Eels' fate likely lies with Moses, who has been superb since returning from a foot injury in round seven. Despite the late start to his season, Johns still sees him as a frontrunner to partner Nathan Cleary in the halves for NSW, writing in his column for The Sydney Morning Herald that it was a two-way battle to wear the No.6 jersey between Moses and Jarome Luai.
"So the question is, what style does Laurie want to play? Because a Cleary-Moses combination in the halves is going to play with a lot more width based on their natural games," Johns wrote.
"If he gets the band back together with Cleary and Luai, they've got the combination they've honed since they were teenagers and that Penrith style. That's where to the left, it's Yeo playing link man to Cleary and Luai, which potentially cramps up the outside backs. And on the right again, you've got Yeo going to Cleary and Edwards."
Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.
Thursday night's game has the potential to sway Daley's thinking one way or another, with superb Dolphins young gun Isaiya Katoa considered by some pundits to be an outside chance.
"They're both great halves, and if I'm to compare them, Moses probably has five-to-six years of NRL left in him, while Katoa could still be playing for another 15 years," Johns wrote for the SMH.
"Moses has got a longer kicking game, and he loves those long, scything passes to his outside backs. Katoa is a bigger body, he's a better defender, and no one plays straighter into the line than him as a playmaker.
"When Cleary and Moses are coming to an end as the Blues' halfback option in five years, it will be Katoa who takes over from them."
Scroll below for the current leaderboard and Round 10 tips by all Nine's expert tipsters!
Nine's NRL tipping leaderboard. Nine
Andrew Johns: Dolphins, Knights, Broncos, Raiders, Warriors, Cowboys, Storm, Sea Eagles
Brad Fittler: Eels, Knights, Broncos, Raiders, Dragons, Panthers, Storm, Sea Eagles
Paul Gallen: Eels, Titans, Broncos, Raiders, Warriors, Panthers, Storm, Sharks
Darren Lockyer: Dolphins, Titans, Broncos, Bulldogs, Warriors, Cowboys, Storm, Sea Eagles
Ruan Sims: Eels, Titans, Broncos, Raiders, Warriors, Storm, Sharks
Mat Thompson: Eels, Knights, Broncos, Raiders, Dragons, Panthers, Storm, Sea Eagles
Peter Psaltis: Dolphins, Knights, Broncos, Bulldogs, Warriors, Panthers, Storm, Sea Eagles
Danika Mason: Eels, Knights, Broncos, Raiders, Warriors, Panthers, Storm, Sharks
David Middleton: Eels, Knights, Broncos, Bulldogs, Dragons, Panthers, Storm, Sea Eagles
Michael Chammas: Eels, Knights, Broncos, Bulldogs, Dragons, Panthers, Storm, Sea Eagles
The Mole: Dolphins, Knights, Broncos, Raiders, Warriors, Panthers, Storm, Sea Eagles
Ben Glover: Eels, Knights, Broncos, Raiders, Dragons, Panthers, Storm, Sea Eagles
