2021 NRL betting preview, latest odds and expert tips
We finally saw the 2020 NRL season get completed in Australia, with the COVID-19 pandemic playing havoc with the schedule before the authorities managed to get the season back on track and it was Melbourne Storm who are able to win the Grand Final.
It was a brilliant match which saw Melbourne narrowly edge out Penrith Panthers by a 26-20 scoreline in the Grand Final, with the Storm 22-0 up at the interval before a stirring comeback from the Panthers.
Penrith Among the Favourites to Win Grand Final
Penrith Panthers might have narrowly missed out on the NRL prize in 2020, although Ivan Cleary’s team were seriously impressive when winning eighteen of their twenty matches during the regular season and it’s fair to say that the pandemic halted the team when they were in full flow.
The Panthers are the market leaders when it comes to the 2021 season, having come from nowhere last year considering they were simply a mid-table team the campaign before although their rapid improvement has to be respected and perhaps they will draw plenty of experience from last season’s near miss.
Can Melbourne Storm to Victory Again?
The Storm claimed their fourth NRL title last season when win that epic final and they were deserving winners considering that they won sixteen of their twenty matches during the regular campaign, with Melbourne enjoying a crushing win over Canberra in the semis before becoming champions.
Many might think that the 11/2 about Melbourne looks really attractive and Craig Bellamy will be plotting another success, with Cameron Smith looking to captain this side to greater heights.
Who Are the Other NRL Favourites for 2021?
South Sydney Rabbitohs are 11/2 to win the 2021 NRL season and they made it to the preliminary finals last season after beating Newcastle and Paramatta en route to that clash against Penrith where they were narrowly edged out by four points and they’ll want to make sure they reach the final this time around.
The Sydney Roosters have to be respected and they were fourth in the regular standings last season before competing in a brilliant match against Penrith at the Panthers Stadium where they were beaten by a solitary point. They then clashed with Canberra and didn’t do themselves justice.
Canberra Raiders are the other team trading at single figure odds although they fell well short against the Storm in the preliminary finals last season and that twenty point deficit suggests that they have got plenty to find.
The 2016 NRL season gets underway on the 3rd March as the North Queensland Cowboys look to build on their first ever title, won back in October in the most dramatic fashion possible. They pipped the Broncos with a Golden Point drop goal in the Grand Final and it is those two teams that head the outright winner betting once again. Read on as we take a look at the season ahead, bringing you everything you need to profit from betting on the NRL, including live odds comparison, betting tips, analysis and predictions.
As said, North Queensland and Brisbane head the betting when it comes to the 2016 NRL, with the defending champions priced as the second favourites at 7/1 with Coral. The Queensland side, who were only founded in 1992, have spent much of their history battling in the lower reaches of the NRL but ambitious coach Paul Green will be looking to try and build a dynasty. The Cowboys will come into the new campaign confident after they thrashed Leeds Rhinos 38-4 in Leeds to become World Club Challenge champions for the first time and have to be respected.
However, despite their success they are not favourites, with their Queensland rivals Brisbane leading the outright winner betting for the 2016 NRL Grand Final, priced at best betting odds of 15/4 with Ladbrokes. The Broncos enjoyed huge success in the 1990s and 2000s but last season was their first Grand Final since 2006. They have no shortage of quality players and a good blend of youth and experience and are certainly worthy favourites.
They will be desperate to gain revenge for their narrow defeat last season but it remains to be seen whether there will be any hangover from the agonising manner in which their state rivals pipped them in October. Another interesting factor will be how they respond to the news that coach Wayne Bennett will be leaving to coach the English national side at the end of the season. Bennett is a Brisbane legend who led them to glory six times in his first spell at the club before winning another NRL Grand Final with St George in 2010.
Both he and the club will be desperate to deliver a fitting farewell by lifting the title in October but it’s never easy for a departing coach to command quite the same respect and commitment and Brisbane won’t win the Grand Final unless they are at 100%.
Despite the outright betting be headed by the aforementioned due, it was actually Sydney Roosters who topped the ladder after the 24-game regular season. The Roosters were two points clear of both the current favourites in 2015 but when it comes to the 2016 betting they are joint third favourites. Priced at odds of 10/1 with Unibet, the Roosters had a points difference almost 100 points superior to Brisbane last year and exactly 158 better than the Cowboys. In the play-offs they were surprisingly beaten by Melbourne before being comfortably defeated by Brisbane. They boast a squad with great depth though and we predict they could well bounce back this season.
The other side at odds of 10/1 (with Ladbrokes) are the New Zealand Warriors, who finished way down in 13th last season. Some big signings have renewed optimism in Auckland but we think asking them to make such a huge leap in one season is too much.
Overall, therefore, our main betting tip for the outright winner of the 2016 NRL Grand Final are the Sydney Roosters. Brisbane look a shade short given the question marks about them, whilst North Queensland will have to deal with a new pressure this term, that of being champions. The Roosters were the best side during the regular campaign in 2015, as they were in 2014 and 2013, and at very good odds we predict they will deliver another Grand Final success in 2016.