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Are you a big NRL fan and have been wondering how to bet on the NRL? Check out our NRL betting guide. We’ll provide our best betting tips on how to pick a winner, NRL finals and the best Australian bookmakers for betting on the NRL.
Best NRL bookmakers
If you’re looking for the best NRL bookmaker, we’ll provide our best options in this section.
| Bookmaker name | Details | Our rating | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
Ladbrokes | Check Ladbrokes website | 5/5 | |
Bet365 | Visit website | 5/5 | |
Unibet | Check the bookmaker’s site | 4.5/5 | |
Betfair | Visit website | 5/5 | |
PlayUp | Check PlayUp website | 4/5 | |
Betstar | Check the bookmaker’s site | 4/5 | |
PointsBet | Visit the site | 4.5/5 | Coming soon >> |
NRL History
The NRL stands for “National Rugby League” and is arguably the best Rugby League competition in the world. The NRL is a 16 team competition and the season spans from March to October. A team earns two competition points for a victory, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.
The season runs for 26 rounds before the NRL finals. The finals are determined by the top eight teams on the ladder. The NRL finals span over 4 weeks and the winning teams in Week 3 meet in the NRL Grand Final.
There are 15 teams in the NRL from Australia and one from New Zealand. The South Sydney Rabbitohs hold the record for most NRL premiership victories at 21. The next best is the Sydney Roosters on 13. In 2016, the Cronulla Sharks ended a 49-year drought with a victory over the Melbourne Storm.
Which meant the Parramatta Eels now hold the record at 31 years since winning the NRL premiership. The Gold Coast Titans and New Zealand Warriors are the only two teams without an NRL Grand Final win.
Betting opportunities
In the following section, we’ll review the NRL betting opportunities available.
Win betting
Bet on the head to head markets in the NRL from Round 1 to the Grand Final.
Line / Spread betting
The line or spread market is a popular bet type in the NRL. The minus number is awarded to the favourite in an NRL match. While the plus sign is for the underdog. In general, the best lines to bet on are around the 2-6 points mark as a try is worth 4 points. Whereas, the underdog line is ideal for backing a team that is a chance of an upset but may lose in a close result.
Total points
Betting on the total points for an NRL match is also available for NRL betting. The total points are chosen by the bookmaker and the total can either reach over the points or under. We would recommend the under total points when two teams are better in defence. While an NRL match between two attacking sides will result in a high scoring contest and the over total points is the best bet.
Margin betting
NRL betting also includes margin betting in the range of 1-12 or 13+. The 1-12 margin usually provides odds of over $2 and over 50% of NRL matches will finish in this margin. It’s rare for a 13+ win unless there is a major difference between both sides on the ladder. For example, first on the ladder playing against last on the ladder.
Propositions
With a total of 34 players in each NRL match (17 per side), the propositions bet types are well represented in betting markets. The popular bet types are: First try scorer, time of the first try, exact margin/score and most tackles.
NRL 2017 finals preview
The 2017 NRL Grand Final will be played on Sunday, 1st October 2017 at Stadium Australia in New South Wales. The match starts at around 6:15 pm and Australian residents are given a public holiday on Monday.
Both Grand Final teams from 2016 are leading the NRL in 2017 through 19 rounds. The Melbourne Storm are on top of the ladder and the Cronulla Sharks are following. They’ve already met twice this season and both teams have a victory against each other. Also in the top four are the Sydney Roosters and Manly Sea Eagles. Both sides missed the finals last year and have been in-form this season. Next on the ladder are the two Queensland teams.
The Brisbane Broncos are fifth and have survived the Origin period. They’ll be looking for a strong finish and a potential top-four finish. The North Queensland Cowboys lost their best player – Johnathan Thurston and will struggle without him if they make the finals.
In the bottom part of the top eight, the St George Dragons and Parramatta Eels are a few wins clear of the pack and should qualify for the finals. The Penrith Panthers, New Zealand Warriors and Canberra Raiders are the only other teams that can potentially finish in the top eight.
With the departure of Cooper Cronk at the end of the season and possibly Billy Slater, the Storm is the best bet to win the 2017 NRL Grand Final. They have experience in the Grand Final and they’ll be using last year’s loss as motivation. In terms of betting markets for the Grand Final, most bookmakers will offer future markets for the winner in advance of the final.
