September 16, 2025

Bunnings NPC Predictions for Week 8

Team Ratings for Week 8

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
Canterbury 9.65 4.02 5.60
Taranaki 8.13 5.30 2.80
Bay of Plenty 7.41 6.48 0.90
Hawke’s Bay 4.64 0.68 4.00
Tasman 2.32 3.49 -1.20
Wellington 1.39 6.60 -5.20
Auckland 1.37 -0.04 1.40
Otago 1.08 -1.15 2.20
Counties Manukau 0.90 -0.26 1.20
Waikato -0.67 5.46 -6.10
North Harbour -1.76 1.50 -3.30
Northland -7.85 -6.54 -1.30
Southland -8.21 -5.90 -2.30
Manawatu -12.23 -13.45 1.20

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 49 matches played, 31 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 63.3%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Northland vs. Wellington Sept 11 43 – 26 -9.60 FALSE
2 Waikato vs. North Harbour Sept 12 29 – 28 5.10 TRUE
3 Bay of Plenty vs. Hawke’s Bay Sept 13 21 – 24 7.30 FALSE
4 Otago vs. Taranaki Sept 13 28 – 26 -6.00 FALSE
5 Auckland vs. Manawatu Sept 14 52 – 29 14.60 TRUE
6 Canterbury vs. Tasman Sept 14 31 – 25 11.70 TRUE
7 Southland vs. Counties Manukau Sept 14 10 – 64 -0.30 TRUE

 

Predictions for Week 8

Here are the predictions for Week 8. 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 Taranaki vs. Hawke’s Bay Sept 19 Taranaki 6.50
2 Counties Manukau vs. Auckland Sept 20 Counties Manukau 2.50
3 Wellington vs. Southland Sept 20 Wellington 12.60
4 Canterbury vs. Otago Sept 20 Canterbury 11.60
5 Tasman vs. Waikato Sept 20 Tasman 6.00
6 North Harbour vs. Northland Sept 21 North Harbour 9.10
7 Manawatu vs. Bay of Plenty Sept 21 Bay of Plenty -16.60

 

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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 »