March 31, 2026

NRL Predictions for Round 5

Team Ratings for Round 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
Panthers 14.91 8.77 6.10
Storm 8.25 6.96 1.30
Sharks 5.91 7.25 -1.30
Broncos 5.65 7.06 -1.40
Roosters 5.49 9.50 -4.00
Warriors 2.05 -1.18 3.20
Dolphins 1.35 1.85 -0.50
Bulldogs 0.28 2.13 -1.80
Raiders -1.56 1.62 -3.20
Eels -2.24 -0.37 -1.90
Wests Tigers -3.10 -7.26 4.20
Rabbitohs -3.11 -5.05 1.90
Sea Eagles -3.56 0.21 -3.80
Cowboys -4.12 -2.69 -1.40
Dragons -7.70 -6.72 -1.00
Titans -8.78 -8.02 -0.80
Knights -9.73 -14.06 4.30

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 32 matches played, 19 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 59.4%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Sea Eagles vs. Roosters Mar 26 16 – 33 -3.00 TRUE
2 Warriors vs. Wests Tigers Mar 27 14 – 32 13.30 FALSE
3 Broncos vs. Dolphins Mar 27 26 – 12 6.70 TRUE
4 Bulldogs vs. Knights Mar 28 16 – 24 17.50 FALSE
5 Panthers vs. Eels Mar 28 48 – 20 15.20 TRUE
6 Cowboys vs. Storm Mar 28 28 – 24 -10.50 FALSE
7 Raiders vs. Sharks Mar 29 22 – 34 -1.90 TRUE
8 Titans vs. Dragons Mar 29 22 – 14 1.50 TRUE

 

Predictions for Round 5

Here are the predictions for Round 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 Dolphins vs. Sea Eagles Apr 02 Dolphins 8.90
2 Rabbitohs vs. Bulldogs Apr 03 Rabbitohs 0.60
3 Panthers vs. Storm Apr 03 Panthers 10.70
4 Dragons vs. Cowboys Apr 04 Dragons 0.40
5 Titans vs. Broncos Apr 04 Broncos -10.40
6 Sharks vs. Warriors Apr 05 Sharks 7.90
7 Knights vs. Raiders Apr 05 Raiders -4.20
8 Eels vs. Wests Tigers Apr 06 Eels 4.90

 

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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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