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Wests Tigers vs St George Illawarra Dragons NRL Tips - Dragons to go 0-5 in Magic Round matches

Andrew Hendrie

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Last updated: Thu 01 May 2025 09:14

Andrew Hendrie 01 May 2025

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Wests Tigers vs St George Illawarra Dragons expert predictions for Saturday's NRL Round 9 game
Kick off is at 7.45pm AEST at Suncorp Stadium
Tigers to pile more Magic Round misery on the Dragons
Sunia Turuva tipped to score ninth try of 2025
Preview, expert analysis, stats, team news & best bets

Wests Tigers vs St George Illawarra Dragons NRL Tips

Wests Tigers vs St George Illawarra Dragons, NRL Round 9 - Expert Prediction

The Tigers are back presenting a united front and can make it back-to-back victories and condemn the Dragons to 0-5 in Magic Round matches on Saturday night.

Wests Tigers vs St George Illawarra Dragons, NRL Round 9 - Expert Prediction
Head To Head
Wests Tigers Form Analysis & Betting Trends
Recent Form
2025 Betting Trends
Wests Tigers Team News
Wests Tigers Team List
St George Illawarra Dragons Form Analysis & Betting Trends
Recent Form
2025 Betting Trends
St George Illawarra Dragons Team News
St George Illawarra Dragons Team List

What a difference a week makes in the NRL. After Round 7, the Tigers were a club in shambles, with the Lachlan Galvin saga threatening to derail a promising start to the season. However, after a week in reserve grade, Galvin returned last week and played well as the Tigers upset the Sharks in a thrilling golden point triumph, getting their season immediately back on track.

The Dragons meanwhile were pummelled in their annual ANZAC Day clash with the Roosters, leaking 46 points and reverting to some bad old habits. Shane Flanagan has swung the axe on Lachlan Ilias and selected youngster Lyhkan King-Togia to partner son Kyle in the halves. It remains to be seen how that combination works out.

I'm liking the Tigers to register their fifth win of the season here - the Dragons are hot and cold at the moment, but losing to a Parra side without Mitch Moses and last week's beatdown at the hands of the lowly Roosters means I can't back them with any confidence. Sunia Turuva has been on fire since joining the Tigers and will once again be the primary target out wide.

Dragons have scored Under 21.5 points in their last two games
Tigers have kept their opponents to 18 points or less in all four of their wins in 2025
Dragons are 0-4 in Magic Round games
Sunia Turuva has scored eight tries in his last seven games

Head To Head

The Dragons have enjoyed success against the Tigers in recent times, winning the last three meetings - including 24-12 and 56-14 triumphs in 2024.

Wests Tigers Form Analysis & Betting Trends

Recent Form

Last 5 W/L	Last 5 ATS	Last 5 O/U
2-3	2-3	4-1

It's obviously been a turbulent start to the season for the Tigers, but they have an opportunity to improve their record to 5-4 here and that's probably something they would have settled for.

Galvin is back in the team and if last week is anything to go by, the teenager and his teammates should be able to put off-field business to the side and focus on footy.

After a disappointing loss to the Eels during the Easter weekend, the Tigers bounced back with a brilliant golden point victory over the Sharks at Leichhardt last week, with Adam Doueihi's penalty goal in the 89th minute securing a 20-18 win.

2025 Betting Trends

ATS	Over/Under	1-12	13+
5-3	4-4	2-2	2-2

Wests Tigers Team News

Benji Marshall has named the same 17 players that edged out Cronulla last week.

Wests Tigers Team List

1. Jahream Bula

2. Sunia Turuva

3. Adam Doueihi

4. Starford To’a

5. Brent Naden

6. Lachlan Galvin

7. Jarome Luai

8. Terrell May

9. Apisai Koroisau

10. Fonua Pole

11. Samuela Fainu

12. Alex Seyfarth

13. Alex Twal

Interchange

14. Tallyn Da Silva

15. Royce Hunt

16. Jack Bird

17. Sione Fainu

Reserves

18. Tony Sukkar

19. Heath Mason

20. Kit Laulilii

21. Solomona Faataape

22. Tristan Hope

St George Illawarra Dragons Form Analysis & Betting Trends

Recent Form

Last 5 W/L	Last 5 ATS	Last 5 O/U
3-2	3-2	3-2

The Dragons come into this contest with a 3-4 record on the season and right now, they will likely need considerable improvement to finish inside the top eight.

There's been glimpses of the Dragons' potential in 2025 - most notably their superb defensive effort to beat the Storm back in Round 4.

However, they followed that victory up with a loss against the Eels without Moses and their most-recent 46-18 loss to the Roosters is concerning. Consistency is clearly an issue for the Dragons, so we'll see how they perform over the coming weeks to get a clearer picture on how their season might play out.

2025 Betting Trends

ATS	Over/Under	1-12	13+
3-4	4-3	2-3	1-1

St George Illawarra Dragons Team News

Lyhkan King-Togia has been named to replace Lachlan Ilias in the halves, while winger Sione Finau has also been dropped, with Corey Allan making his return from an ACL injury.

Hamish Stewart is also back, with Blake Lawrie going back to reserves.

St George Illawarra Dragons Team List

1. Clinton Gutherson

2. Tyrell Sloan

3. Moses Suli

4. Valentine Holmes

5. Corey Allan

6. Kyle Flanagan

7. Lyhkan King-Togia

8. Toby Couchman

9. Damien Cook

10. David Klemmer

11. Dylan Egan

12. Jaydn Su’A

13. Hamish Stewart

Interchange

14. Jacob Liddle

15. Jack de Belin

16. Emre Guler

17. Luciano Leilua

Reserves

18. Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga

19. Nathan Lawson

20. Blake Lawrie

21. Lachlan Ilias

22. Raymond Faitala-Mariner

Verdict

Wests Tigers v St George Illawarra Dragons

The Tigers are primed to make it back-to-back wins and defeat an inconsistent Dragons side, keeping them Under 21.5 total team points in the process.

Sunia Turuva can keep the good times rolling by crossing for his ninth try of the season.

Tigers Win

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Dragons Under 21.5

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Sunia Turuva

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$1.90 - 1 Unit

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Sunia Turuva

First Tryscorer

$9.50 - 1 Unit

The GOAT.

Ahead of the Game.

Join Australia's newest online bookmaker with code BETSAU and enjoy exciting new ways to bet. The app is among the fastest in the market. What are you prepared to lose today? Set a deposit limit.

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