March 10, 2026

NRL Predictions for Round 2

Team Ratings for Round 2

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
Panthers 10.66 8.77 1.90
Storm 9.31 6.96 2.40
Sharks 8.69 7.25 1.40
Roosters 7.49 9.50 -2.00
Broncos 5.17 7.06 -1.90
Raiders 2.01 1.62 0.40
Bulldogs 1.26 2.13 -0.90
Warriors 0.84 -1.18 2.00
Dolphins 0.39 1.85 -1.50
Sea Eagles -0.18 0.21 -0.40
Eels -2.72 -0.37 -2.30
Rabbitohs -3.60 -5.05 1.50
Cowboys -4.17 -2.69 -1.50
Dragons -5.85 -6.72 0.90
Wests Tigers -7.26 -7.26 -0.00
Titans -9.47 -8.02 -1.50
Knights -12.57 -14.06 1.50

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 8 matches played, 3 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 37.5%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Knights vs. Cowboys Mar 01 28 – 18 -11.40 FALSE
2 Bulldogs vs. Dragons Mar 01 15 – 14 8.80 TRUE
3 Storm vs. Eels Mar 05 52 – 4 11.30 TRUE
4 Warriors vs. Roosters Mar 06 42 – 18 -6.70 FALSE
5 Broncos vs. Panthers Mar 06 0 – 26 2.30 FALSE
6 Sharks vs. Titans Mar 07 50 – 10 19.30 TRUE
7 Sea Eagles vs. Raiders Mar 07 28 – 29 2.60 FALSE
8 Dolphins vs. Rabbitohs Mar 08 30 – 40 10.90 FALSE

 

Predictions for Round 2

Here are the predictions for Round 2. 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 Broncos vs. Eels Mar 12 Broncos 11.90
2 Warriors vs. Raiders Mar 13 Warriors 2.80
3 Roosters vs. Rabbitohs Mar 13 Roosters 15.10
4 Wests Tigers vs. Cowboys Mar 14 Wests Tigers 0.90
5 Dragons vs. Storm Mar 14 Storm -11.20
6 Panthers vs. Sharks Mar 14 Panthers 6.00
7 Sea Eagles vs. Knights Mar 15 Sea Eagles 16.40
8 Dolphins vs. Titans Mar 15 Dolphins 13.90

 

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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 »

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