Round 3 has already arrived and what a ride the first two rounds have been! In round 2 we saw some incredibly unfortunate injury's, we saw J'maine Hopgood playing his lights out once again! And we saw some big guns let a few coaches down with some disappointing scores. So what will round 3 bring? In this blog we'll be previewing every game of the round and providing some insight into what we might expect in the week ahead. What do you think round 3 hold for us? let us know who you agree with and who else you might have selected down below on all of our social channels twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
Manly Sea Eagles V Parramatta Eels
Thursday 16th of March - 7:00pm AEST
Manly who currently sit first on the ladder meet 2022's runners up in the Parramatta Eels in what promises too big a mighty clash. The Sea Eagles come off a bye round well rested, and will the Eels continue their struggles in round 3?
I'm keen to see if Daly Cherry-Evans can back him is round 1 GDS fantasy score of 97 points! Cherry-Evans had a huge day, scoring a hat-rick and assisting another try on a day where manly decimated the Canterbury Bulldogs. Cherry-Evans' opposing seven Mitch Moses was gallant in defeat to the Cronulla Sharks last week. Scoring two tries of his own and amassing 79 GDS fantasy points on the day. Moses will be hungry for the win this week after narrowly falling to the Sharks in round 2.
Predictions!
Manly 16 - 20 Parramatta Dylan Brown - 50 GDS fantasy points
Newcastle Knights V Dolphins
Friday 17th of March - 5:00pm AEST
Everyones second favourite team right now the Dolphins take on the Newcastle Knights in Newcastle on Friday evening! Wayne "The Goat" Bennett has the Dolphins singing! They come into the game red hot off the back of 2 wins out of 2 games to start the season. The Knights fall on the other end of the spectrum, sitting 11th on the ladder and licking their wounds as they wait for the call on Kalyn ponga after he suffered another HIA early in round 2. The Knights could also be without Tyson Frizell, Adam Elliott, Kurt Man and young gun Jack Johns. Worrying signs. I'd love to see "The Hammer" Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow come out and string together three really good games in a row! The jury was out on him when he got traded from the North Queensland Cowboys to the Dolphins but so far this season, the Cairns product has stood up in a big way. Scores of 58 and 59 GDS fantasy points should keep the doubters at bay for a while, but stringing a third good game in a row together will take him a long way! Predictions! Newcastle 8 - 16 Dolphins Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow - 45 GDS fantasy points
Sydney Roosters V South Sydney Rabbitohs
Friday 17th of March - 7:00pm AEST
Two old fierce rivals meet in round three as the Roosters clash with the Rabbitohs at what will be a packed out Allianz stadium on Friday night! Both teams have had somewhat a shaky start to the 2023 season. The Roosters with 9th currently on the ladder and Rabbitohs a slightly better start sitting 6th. Both teams will want to show their best on a Friday night prime-time slot! Third times a charm for James Tedesco? Back to back scores in the mid-30's (34 points round 1, 35 points round 2) is extremely uncharacteristic for someone of Teddy's calibre. It feels like a big score is brewing, will it be in round 3? Do not drop Caleb Graham after his sub-par performance in round 2 against Penrith. Graham only managed 25 GDS points in an outing that was a matchup nightmare for him. Graham finished the night with 22 demerits, look for him to clean up his act in this round 3 matchup against the Roosters. Predictions! Roosters 22 - 20 Rabbitohs James Tedesco - 60 GDS fantasy points
Gold Coast Titans V Melbourne Storm
Saturday 18th of March - 2:00pm AEST Two teams with a win each meet on Saturday when the Titans take on the Storm at Cbus Super Stadium. However, both teams are coming off a loss in round 2 and will be keen to bounce back in round 3! Both teams also have some injury troubles. The storm will be without their man Cameron Munster yet again, big names such as Justin Olam, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Ryan Papenhuyzen will all miss the clash as well. The Titans will be without Sam Verrills and Jojo Fifita in round 3.
David Fifita looks to be getting back to his best early in 2023. Can he post up another big score against a injured Melbourne team? Can Jahrome Hughes step up again without Cameron Munster? Hughes was incredible last week and finished with 70 GDS fantasy points in round 2. Melbourne will look to lean on him once again, is he in for another high scoring game? Predictions! Titans 18 - 14 Storm David Fifita - 50 GDS fantasy points
North Queensland Cowboys V New Zealand Warriors
Saturday 18th of March - 4:30pm AEST
An interesting matchup as the North Queensland Cowboys and the New Zealand Warriors go to battle up north at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium Saturday afternoon. Both teams have looked okay without setting the world alight, recording a win each and both competing in some pretty tight contests. The Warriors will be without Josh Curran with a hip injury and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad with a head knock as they travel to North Queensland. The Cowboys lose Scott Drinkwater to suspension in a gut wrenching loss to the spine, as well as Peta Hiku to suspension as well until round 5. Tohu Harris is currently top 5 in GameDay Squad Rugby League scoring average league wide! Can he keep up this pace? Predictions! Cowboys 26 - 14 Warriors Reece Robson - 60 GDS fantasy points
Brisbane Broncos V St George Illawarra
Saturday 18th of March - 6:35pm AEST Both teams here have looked really good so far in 2023. We obviously have the smaller sample size on St George who have only played one game, but they decimated the titans 32-18 last week. The Broncos look borderline unstoppable, winning against the Cowboys last week 28-16 and beating the reigning premiers Penrith 12-13 in a thriller in round 1. The Dragons came out relatively unscathed last week and go relatively unchanged for round 3. The Broncos will lose the versatile Corey Oates after suffering a jaw injury in round 2. All eyes will be on Reece Walsh after his super star performance last week. After missing round 1, Walsh put the league on notice, dominating on both sides of the ball and posting a GDS score of 66 points! Can he light up Suncorp again in round 3?
Predictions! Broncos 30 - 16 Dragons
Payne Haas - 55 GDS fantasy points
Canterbury Bulldogs V Wests Tigers
Sunday 19th of March - 3:05pm AEST
Two teams that have had very busy off-seasons meet in round 3 with tons of questions that need answering. The Bulldogs caused an upset over the Storm last week, can they back it up? Can the Tigers get in a tally in the winner column? The Tigers will be missing a super talented quartet headlined by Isaiah Papali'i as well as Daine Laurie, Jake Simpkin and Tommy Talau. A name to look for on the team sheet is John Bateman who is nearing a return. The Bulldogs should remain mostly unchanged.
Jacob Kiraz is a name the entire fantasy community will be watching this weekend with keen eyes. He went ballistic last weekend, scoring 99 GDS fantasy points. If he keeps up this pace, he could very well be in discussions for a starting WFB position in many teams. Predictions! Bulldogs 18 - 12 Tigers
Reed Mahoney - 50 GDS fantasy points
Canberra Raiders V Cronulla Sharks
Sunday 19th of March - 5:15pm AEST
A fun matchup to conclude round 3 with the Canberra Raiders meeting the Cronulla Sharks at GIO stadium on Sunday. The Sharks will be coming off a nine day break will be missing their star play maker in Nicho Hynes again this week. The Canberra Raiders come into the matchup in poor form, starting the season 0-2. However, they do own a great record against Cronulla, winning 8 straight out of their last 10 matchups.
Can Hudson Young bounce back? Young is coming off a disastrous round 2 performance, only scoring 9 points as the Raiders succumbed to the Dolphins. Look for Hudson Young to have a big game.
Predictions! Raiders 12 - 24 Sharks Blayke Brailey - 50 GDS fantasy points