Warriors vs Dolphins Prediction: Huge score on the cards at Mount Smart

I’m normally one to back the New Zealand Warriors to the hilt in home games at Mount Smart, but when they host the Dolphins in the NRL Premiership on Friday (20:00 local, 09:00 BST) they will be coming up against one of the hottest sides in the competition.

The Wahs are currently well placed for a top-four finish, yet the visit of Kristian Woolf’s free-scoring side makes for one hell of a contest. My Warriors vs Dolphins predictions follow, along with latest team news and Betfred’s match odds.

Warriors vs Dolphins Odds

Rarely at this stage of a season would you see a top-four side being considered outsiders on home turf against a team sitting inside the top half on points differential alone.

But that’s what we have here, with Betfred listing the Warriors at 7/5 for the win on Friday as opposed to the Dolphins’ 8/13. The draw is available at 18/1, and that’s an outcome which might be in the running right into the final moments of the match.

Handicap-wise, Betfred have offered a 3.5-point start for the Wahs in return for a price of 20/21, with the Dolphins 5/6 to overcome the edge.

Team News

For the Warriors, Te Maire Martin comes in for Chanel Harris-Tavita at six, with the latter missing out with a calf problem. James Fisher-Harris is also absent with a similar issue, so in comes Demitric Vaimauga at prop.

Sam Healey steps in as the starting hooker due to Wayde Egan being under concussion protocols, and Freddy Lussick is on the bench.

Woolf has three major stars returning, with Kodi Nikorima (hamstring), Mark Nicholls (concussion) and Felise Kaufusi (knee) all back in the 17. Nikorima and Kaufusi are handed starting shirts in the halves and front row respectively.

Jake Averillo moves back to the wing after filling in at stand-off in Nikorima’s absence, while Aublix Tawha moves to the bench and Peter Hola is among those to miss out.

Rugby League Odds

Dolphins by 1-12 points @ 2/1

The Dolphins are the star attraction in the NRL right now. Their rise up the table over the past few months has been noisy, to say the least.

They have scored a total of 379 points in their nine wins to date at an average of 43 per game, and that goes up to 251 in their last five successes at 50 in each.

Last time out they were 43-24 victors over the North Queensland Cowboys, with 50, 58 and 56 racked up in the three before then.

And while I see them scoring plenty of points again here given their attacking brilliance, this match should be a little tighter than some of their recent efforts.

As a side which has also conceded at least 24 in each of their last four, you should also expect to see them ship a few. This should be one of those games where they just get over the top of the Warriors, but only after a few heart-attack moments have been experienced.

Over 52.5 Total Points @ 7/4

I’ve already mentioned how I expect this one to be a high-scoring contest, and this seems like an obvious extension to that theory.

The Warriors have lost three successive home games, but they are rarely short of a try or two.

Between them, this pair have been involved in 10 matches of more than 52 points this season, and that trend is only going upwards, particularly in the Dolphins’ case.

This could be an absolute humdinger, one not to miss. As is the 7/4 price at an implied probability of 36.4%.

You can read all our latest Rugby League Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights Rugby League content hub.