September 30, 2025

Bunnings NPC Predictions for the Quarter-Finals

Team Ratings for the Quarter-Finals

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
Bay of Plenty 10.25 6.48 3.80
Taranaki 9.84 5.30 4.50
Canterbury 7.76 4.02 3.70
Hawke’s Bay 4.52 0.68 3.80
Wellington 3.04 6.60 -3.60
Otago 2.94 -1.15 4.10
Counties Manukau 2.78 -0.26 3.00
Tasman 2.44 3.49 -1.00
Auckland -0.65 -0.04 -0.60
Waikato -1.40 5.46 -6.90
North Harbour -3.41 1.50 -4.90
Northland -6.17 -6.54 0.40
Southland -11.60 -5.90 -5.70
Manawatu -14.16 -13.45 -0.70

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 63 matches played, 41 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 65.1%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Hawke’s Bay vs. Auckland Sept 25 45 – 28 6.60 TRUE
2 Southland vs. Tasman Sept 26 38 – 55 -9.20 TRUE
3 Otago vs. North Harbour Sept 27 41 – 26 7.60 TRUE
4 Taranaki vs. Wellington Sept 27 39 – 20 8.20 TRUE
5 Bay of Plenty vs. Waikato Sept 28 41 – 5 11.60 TRUE
6 Counties Manukau vs. Manawatu Sept 28 48 – 24 18.70 TRUE
7 Northland vs. Canterbury Sept 28 19 – 19 -12.80 FALSE

 

Predictions for the Quarter-Finals

Here are the predictions for the Quarter-Finals. 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. Southland Oct 03 North Harbour 11.20
2 Auckland vs. Otago Oct 04 Otago -0.60
3 Wellington vs. Bay of Plenty Oct 04 Bay of Plenty -4.20
4 Waikato vs. Northland Oct 04 Waikato 7.80
5 Manawatu vs. Hawke’s Bay Oct 04 Hawke’s Bay -15.70
6 Tasman vs. Counties Manukau Oct 05 Tasman 2.70
7 Canterbury vs. Taranaki Oct 05 Canterbury 0.90

 

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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 »