How to bet on the NRL

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Are you a big NRL fan and have been wondering how to start betting on the NRL? Check out our NRL betting guide. We’ll provide our best betting tips, how to pick a winner, a preview of the 2017 NRL finals and the best Australian bookmakers for betting on the NRL. 

Continue reading our How to bet on the NRL guide below:

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 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.

Multi betting – Place a multi-bet on NRL matches is available for punters. Some of our recommended NRL bookmakers offer money back specials for head to head multi-bets during the season.

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 loss in a close result.

Total points – Betting on the total points for an NRL match is also available for NRL betting. The total points is 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, a 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 first try, exact margin/score and most tackles.

Best NRL bookmakers

If you’re looking for the best NRL bookmaker, we’ll provide our best options in this section.

William Hill – They also provide weekly NRL promotions and the BuildABet feature is available for every NRL match. Their blog has a preview of each match and quality tips for their customers. Their odds are slightly better than Ladbrokes.

Ladbrokes – Our third recommended option for NRL betting. Ladbrokes provide two promotional markets per match, full odds for future NRL matches during the season and they can provide higher odds for the favourite.

Sportsbet – Sportsbet provide a number of reasons for choosing them as the number one option for NRL betting. This includes: NRL weekly promotions, NRL tipping, Same Game Multi, NRL predictor and better odds. The Sportsbet NRL promotions can range from money back specials on head to head multis to first try scorer specials. They also have a full form guide for each NRL match. In terms of better odds, they provide higher odds for the underdog compared to Ladbrokes and William Hill.

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 6:15pm and Australian residents are given a public holiday on the 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 are 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.

Thanks for reading our How to bet on the NRL – Betting Guide!