Wests Tigers vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Prediction: Poor sides hoping for a magic moment

At Scully Park, the 22nd round of the National Rugby League will feature a matchup between the Wests Tigers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Tigers and the Rabbitohs are both in serious need of a victory, which should make for a very challenging contest to start off the Friday Night Football schedule.

The Wests Tigers have now dropped seven consecutive games, which is the same number of games they have now lost in a row since the beginning of the season. On the previous Saturday, they played against the St. George Illawarra Dragons, and unfortunately, they lost 18-14 on the road. The Wests Tigers are in danger of receiving the wooden spoon for the next two seasons in a row if they are unable to pull off at least one miraculous comeback victory in the remaining six weeks of the season. Luke Brooks, who had been out with a hamstring injury, has made his way back to the Tigers and will play halfback for the first time since Round 15. He will replace Brandon Wakeham, who is unable to play due to an injury. Shawn Blore makes a comeback after being ruled out last week with a quad injury. Charlie Staines is also back from injury and named on the wing after an extended absence. He was absent for a considerable amount of time.

Since the departure of Latrell Mitchell, the South Sydney Rabbitohs have had a precipitous decline, and they are now ranked outside of the top 8. Their defense has been a problem for quite some time, and it reared its ugly head once again for them last weekend when they played the Broncos. Even though they only had 12 players on the field for the first 20 minutes of the game, the South Sydney Rabbitohs let Brisbane rack up 36 points. It is anticipated that Latrell Mitchell will make his long-awaited return from a calf injury and take the place of Blake Taaffe. On the bench, Jed Cartwright is now sitting where Tallis Duncan formerly was. Because Tevita Tatola is still sidelined, Jai Arrow has been moved to the prop position, and Jacob Host has been given the opportunity to start on the edge. Tevita Tatola did not participate in Round 21.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have won eight of the previous ten matches between these two teams, including a 20-0 victory in round 11 of 2023. Only twice in their last 10 matches have the South Sydney Rabbitohs beaten the Wests Tigers by a margin of victory greater than 21.5 points. In each of their previous five meetings played at home against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the Wests Tigers have beaten the spread. In their previous 12 games, the South Sydney Rabbitohs have only once managed to score more than 35 points. The Wests Tigers' left side is responsible for the loss of 45% of their team's tries. The past four of Campbell Graham's last five games have all ended with him scoring a try.

It is anticipated that Latrell Mitchell's comeback will be the catalyst for a significant turnaround in the South Sydney Rabbitohs form. My prediction is that the Wests Tigers will benefit from the return of Luke Brooks to the team once some time has passed, but that it will take some time. I think the Wests Tigers will win the game and cover the spread despite being a 21.5-point underdog, and I don't think the South Sydney Rabbitohs will score more than 36 points.