September 9, 2025

NRL Predictions for Finals Week 1

Team Ratings for Finals Week 1

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
Roosters 8.56 7.44 1.10
Storm 8.07 9.29 -1.20
Panthers 6.62 8.50 -1.90
Sharks 5.34 5.10 0.20
Broncos 4.19 -1.82 6.00
Bulldogs 3.05 0.07 3.00
Raiders 1.90 -3.61 5.50
Dolphins 1.52 -1.96 3.50
Sea Eagles 1.02 2.97 -2.00
Warriors -0.74 -1.68 0.90
Cowboys -1.69 4.11 -5.80
Eels -1.79 -3.02 1.20
Rabbitohs -5.19 -4.35 -0.80
Dragons -5.45 -4.55 -0.90
Titans -7.67 -5.50 -2.20
Wests Tigers -7.73 -10.97 3.20
Knights -10.01 -0.05 -10.00

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 204 matches played, 129 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 63.2%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Broncos vs. Storm Sept 04 30 – 14 -2.50 FALSE
2 Sea Eagles vs. Warriors Sept 05 27 – 26 5.80 TRUE
3 Roosters vs. Rabbitohs Sept 05 36 – 6 15.40 TRUE
4 Dragons vs. Panthers Sept 06 20 – 40 -7.90 TRUE
5 Titans vs. Wests Tigers Sept 06 36 – 28 2.40 TRUE
6 Bulldogs vs. Sharks Sept 06 6 – 24 2.50 FALSE
7 Dolphins vs. Raiders Sept 07 62 – 24 -0.30 FALSE
8 Eels vs. Knights Sept 07 66 – 10 7.70 TRUE

 

Predictions for Finals Week 1

Here are the predictions for Finals Week 1. 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 Storm vs. Bulldogs Sept 12 Storm 8.00
2 Warriors vs. Panthers Sept 13 Panthers -3.90
3 Sharks vs. Roosters Sept 13 Roosters -0.20
4 Raiders vs. Broncos Sept 14 Raiders 0.70

 

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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 »