July 14, 2026

NRL Predictions for Round 20

Team Ratings for Round 20

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 13.21 8.77 4.40
Sharks 10.27 7.25 3.00
Warriors 8.19 -1.18 9.40
Roosters 6.25 9.50 -3.30
Sea Eagles 4.09 0.21 3.90
Dolphins 3.51 1.85 1.70
Rabbitohs 0.90 -5.05 6.00
Storm 0.37 6.96 -6.60
Cowboys -0.02 -2.69 2.70
Raiders -2.59 1.62 -4.20
Knights -3.22 -14.06 10.80
Bulldogs -4.59 2.13 -6.70
Broncos -4.88 7.06 -11.90
Titans -5.63 -8.02 2.40
Eels -5.94 -0.37 -5.60
Wests Tigers -9.46 -7.26 -2.20
Dragons -10.46 -6.72 -3.70

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 140 matches played, 89 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 63.6%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Wests Tigers vs. Warriors Jul 10 6 – 32 -11.50 TRUE
2 Dolphins vs. Sharks Jul 11 0 – 66 5.50 FALSE
3 Bulldogs vs. Raiders Jul 11 16 – 40 6.00 FALSE
4 Roosters vs. Eels Jul 11 28 – 12 16.20 TRUE
5 Rabbitohs vs. Knights Jul 12 26 – 24 9.90 TRUE
6 Sea Eagles vs. Cowboys Jul 12 18 – 19 9.80 FALSE
7 Storm vs. Titans Jul 12 22 – 18 11.70 TRUE

 

Predictions for Round 20

Here are the predictions for Round 20. 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 Panthers vs. Broncos Jul 16 Panthers 22.10
2 Sharks vs. Knights Jul 17 Sharks 17.50
3 Roosters vs. Storm Jul 17 Roosters 9.90
4 Raiders vs. Rabbitohs Jul 18 Raiders 0.50
5 Warriors vs. Dragons Jul 18 Warriors 22.70
6 Bulldogs vs. Wests Tigers Jul 18 Bulldogs 8.90
7 Titans vs. Sea Eagles Jul 19 Sea Eagles -5.70
8 Dolphins vs. Cowboys Jul 19 Dolphins 7.50

 

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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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