The NRL is a league which comprises of professional men’s rugby teams and is extremely popular with sports fans. It is contested between March and October with the season running parallel to the Aussie Rules campaign. It has been running in its current form since the late 1990s.

It is also known as Telstra Premiership and is regularly televised across the country. It is the most watched and most attended rugby league competition in the world.

There are sixteen teams taking part each year with just one of those sides playing their rugby in New Zealand.

The season culminated in the NRL Grand Final which is a one-off showpiece event that helps determine the winner each year. This is one of the most watched sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere. The winners will also be invited to take part in a pre-season contest against the Super League champions. It is called the World Club Challenge.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs are the most successful side in the NRL with 21-titles to their name. Other sides such as the Sydney Roosters have enjoyed recent success and they have been victorious on 14 occasions.

There have been a number of surprises over the years with the Penrith Panthers rising from the bottom of the table to clinch the title for the second time in their history back in 2003. It regularly throws up plenty of drama and excitement and it evokes plenty of passion and emotion amongst fans of the sport.

There are 201 matches player per season and the tournament continues to go from strength-to-strength.

2019 Prediction Report

Ahead of the 2019 season, which gets underway in mid-March, the reigning champions have unsurprisingly been priced up as the favourites.

The Roosters were very convincing throughout last season and won the Grand Final 21-6. Their foot-perfect first half performance flummoxed their opponents and they’ve understandably been given a 20.00% implied probability of securing a second successive title. That made it 14 titles for the decorated club and they appear to have strengthened yet again during the off-season.

They’ve added Ryan Hall, an England International to their squad alongside Brett Morris and the hugely talented Angus Crichton. They’ve also kept hold of their key players and they look like they will be difficult to stop in 2019.

Melbourne Storm, who were outclassed in the Grand Final have been assigned third place in the betting odds and have been granted a 16.67% implied probability of success according to the market. There have been plenty of changes over the last few months at the club with a number of ins and outs occurring and that could result in a slow start. Billy Slater announced his retirement last season and fans are hoping that Jahrome Hughes can step up this season.

The North Queensland Cowboys are also quite prominent in the betting markets and have been given an 18.18% implied probability this season.

Despite being given just an 8% implied probability this season, the Brisbane Broncos could be stronger this time around. They haven’t won a title since 2006 and despite being regarded as one of Australia’s most successful sporting clubs, they are enduring a barren spell at the moment. They appear to be stable off-the-pitch and 2019 could be the year that they challenge once again.

The most successful side in the competition, the South Sydney Rabbitohs have been given just 5.88% implied probability but they’re certainly not without a chance in 2019. The arrival of the highly-regarded Wayne Bennett has been one of the stories of the off-season and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see their odds shorten further before the campaign gets underway in March. Prop George Burgess has also turned down the chance to join the Eels and that’s a huge boost for the club.

Finally, the Cronulla Sharks have been assigned just a 6.67% chance of success this season whilst the implied probability for the Penrith Panthers is just 7.14%.

2018 NRL Championship

The Sydney Roosters were victorious once again in the NRL. They were the best side throughout the regular season and they blew away Melbourne Storm in the final. A 21-6 victory was convincing enough but they could have inflicted further damage on their opponents.

The Roosters finished top but were tied on the same points as the Storm and the Rabbitohs. The Cronulla Sharks also found themselves on 34 points, narrowly ahead of the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos.

The Parramatta Eels finish bottom of the standings.

The Roosters easily swept aside the Sharks and Rabbitohs en-route to the Grand Final.