NRL Round 3 Betting Preview: Melbourne Storm Odds Favorite in Highlight Game

The Melbourne Storm will host their first home game of the year against one of their biggest rivals, the Brisbane Broncos, in the highlight match of Round 3 of the NRL this week.

The Storm, who were beaten by the Broncos at AAMI Park late last season, start as $1.57 AUD betting favorites in Thursday night's match, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, with Brisbane the clear outsiders at $2.42.

While Melbourne are unbeaten through the first two rounds, justifying their status as premiership favourites, the Broncos are 1-1 after a golden-point defeat last week and face finalist Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Canberra Raiders in the next fortnight.

The match will see the return of superstar Storm fullback Billy Slater, who has played just eight games in the past two seasons, and that should guarantee a bumper home crowd in Melbourne.

Friday night's matches see both the away teams start as favorites. The Gold Coast Titans, minus their star Jarryd Hayne, are $2.57 outsiders against the Parramatta Eels, who are $1.52 having won both of their games comfortably to sit top of the table.

The Bulldogs play a home game in Dunedin against the New Zealand Warriors, some 2,200 kilometers from their usual locale in the western suburbs of Sydney. It's still a 1,063 km trip for the Warriors, but the bookies think the Dogs' winless start to the season will roll on. They are $2.10 outsiders with the Warriors at $1.75.

Saturday's clash between the Penrith Panthers and the Sydney Roosters at Penrith has the oddsmakers scratching their heads. They can't pick a favorite, with both teams at $1.91.

The other Saturday matches are expected to be more clear cut. The South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Newcastle Knights might be both at 1-1, but Souths are heavily favored to take away the two points from the trip to the Steel City at $1.67, with the Knights at $2.37.

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The shortest-priced favorites for the round are the North Queensland Cowboys, who are $1.28 to go 3-0 on the season as they host the Manly Sea Eagles, who are $3.75 having lost their first two games at home.

Sunday sees another two possibly lopsided encounters with Canberra at $1.40 to win their first game of the season as they host the Wests Tigers, who are $3.

The reigning premiers, the Cronulla Sharks, got their title defense moving last week with a big win over the Raiders, and they are $1.38 to beat the St. George Illawarra Dragon ($3.10) on Sunday night.