September 15, 2026

NRL Predictions for Finals Week 2

Team Ratings for Finals Week 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 10.62 8.77 1.80
Warriors 9.01 -1.18 10.20
Dolphins 7.60 1.85 5.70
Sharks 4.76 7.25 -2.50
Roosters 4.33 9.50 -5.20
Storm 3.08 6.96 -3.90
Sea Eagles 2.09 0.21 1.90
Rabbitohs 2.06 -5.05 7.10
Raiders 0.57 1.62 -1.00
Knights 0.38 -14.06 14.40
Bulldogs -1.37 2.13 -3.50
Cowboys -3.94 -2.69 -1.30
Eels -4.11 -0.37 -3.70
Broncos -5.52 7.06 -12.60
Titans -7.06 -8.02 1.00
Dragons -10.59 -6.72 -3.90
Wests Tigers -11.91 -7.26 -4.70

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 208 matches played, 133 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 63.9%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Rabbitohs vs. Knights Sept 11 10 – 20 8.30 FALSE
2 Warriors vs. Dolphins Sept 12 16 – 26 8.00 FALSE
3 Sharks vs. Cowboys Sept 12 26 – 16 13.50 TRUE
4 Panthers vs. Roosters Sept 13 19 – 12 11.20 TRUE

 

Predictions for Finals Week 2

Here are the predictions for Finals Week 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 Warriors vs. Knights Sept 18 Warriors 12.60
2 Roosters vs. Sharks Sept 19 Roosters 3.60

 

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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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