July 21, 2026

NRL Predictions for Round 21

Team Ratings for Round 21

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 11.57 8.77 2.80
Sharks 9.14 7.25 1.90
Warriors 7.11 -1.18 8.30
Roosters 6.04 9.50 -3.50
Dolphins 4.45 1.85 2.60
Sea Eagles 3.20 0.21 3.00
Storm 0.57 6.96 -6.40
Rabbitohs 0.16 -5.05 5.20
Cowboys -0.96 -2.69 1.70
Raiders -1.85 1.62 -3.50
Knights -2.09 -14.06 12.00
Bulldogs -3.00 2.13 -5.10
Broncos -3.23 7.06 -10.30
Titans -4.74 -8.02 3.30
Eels -5.94 -0.37 -5.60
Dragons -9.39 -6.72 -2.70
Wests Tigers -11.05 -7.26 -3.80

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 148 matches played, 95 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 64.2%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Panthers vs. Broncos Jul 16 12 – 14 22.10 FALSE
2 Sharks vs. Knights Jul 17 20 – 18 17.50 TRUE
3 Roosters vs. Storm Jul 17 14 – 6 9.90 TRUE
4 Raiders vs. Rabbitohs Jul 18 34 – 24 0.50 TRUE
5 Warriors vs. Dragons Jul 18 20 – 12 22.70 TRUE
6 Bulldogs vs. Wests Tigers Jul 18 32 – 0 8.90 TRUE
7 Titans vs. Sea Eagles Jul 19 38 – 32 -5.70 FALSE
8 Dolphins vs. Cowboys Jul 19 36 – 16 7.50 TRUE

 

Predictions for Round 21

Here are the predictions for Round 21. 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 Eels vs. Panthers Jul 23 Panthers -17.50
2 Knights vs. Roosters Jul 24 Roosters -4.10
3 Rabbitohs vs. Storm Jul 24 Rabbitohs 3.60
4 Raiders vs. Wests Tigers Jul 25 Raiders 13.20
5 Bulldogs vs. Warriors Jul 25 Warriors -6.10
6 Cowboys vs. Broncos Jul 25 Cowboys 6.30
7 Dragons vs. Titans Jul 26 Titans -0.60
8 Sea Eagles vs. Sharks Jul 26 Sharks -1.90

 

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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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