August 26, 2025

Bunnings NPC Predictions for Week 5

Team Ratings for Week 5

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Taranaki 8.66 5.30 3.40
Canterbury 7.66 4.02 3.60
Bay of Plenty 5.92 6.48 -0.60
Tasman 5.25 3.49 1.80
Waikato 4.31 5.46 -1.20
Wellington 3.48 6.60 -3.10
Hawke’s Bay 2.93 0.68 2.30
Otago 1.09 -1.15 2.20
Auckland -3.30 -0.04 -3.30
Counties Manukau -3.42 -0.26 -3.20
North Harbour -3.45 1.50 -4.90
Southland -5.83 -5.90 0.10
Northland -5.99 -6.54 0.50
Manawatu -11.14 -13.45 2.30

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 28 matches played, 18 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 64.3%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Bay of Plenty vs. Southland Aug 21 25 – 30 17.70 FALSE
2 Hawke’s Bay vs. Canterbury Aug 22 7 – 26 0.90 FALSE
3 Taranaki vs. Waikato Aug 23 22 – 23 8.80 FALSE
4 North Harbour vs. Tasman Aug 23 19 – 43 -3.00 TRUE
5 Auckland vs. Northland Aug 23 24 – 43 9.20 FALSE
6 Otago vs. Counties Manukau Aug 24 33 – 19 5.50 TRUE
7 Manawatu vs. Wellington Aug 24 38 – 28 -14.70 FALSE

 

Predictions for Week 5

Here are the predictions for Week 5. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 North Harbour vs. Bay of Plenty Aug 29 Bay of Plenty -6.40
2 Canterbury vs. Manawatu Aug 30 Canterbury 21.80
3 Counties Manukau vs. Taranaki Aug 30 Taranaki -9.10
4 Northland vs. Hawke’s Bay Aug 30 Hawke’s Bay -5.90
5 Tasman vs. Otago Aug 30 Tasman 7.20
6 Wellington vs. Auckland Aug 31 Wellington 9.80
7 Waikato vs. Southland Aug 31 Waikato 13.10

 

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David Scott obtained a BA and PhD from the Australian National University and then commenced his university teaching career at La Trobe University in 1972. He has taught at La Trobe University, the University of Sheffield, Bond University and Colorado State University, joining the University of Auckland, based at Tamaki Campus, in mid-1995. He has been Head of Department at La Trobe University, Acting Dean and Associate Dean (Academic) at Bond University, and Associate Director of the Centre for Quality Management and Data Analysis at Bond University with responsibility for Short Courses. He was Head of the Department of Statistics in 2000, and is a past President of the New Zealand Statistical Assocation. See all posts by David Scott »