The National Rugby League is now a huge competition, containing the best rugby league teams from both New Zealand and Australia. As such, NRL betting odds are a huge point of interest.
The NRL season runs from March to October with all eyes being on that end of season championship. NRL Premiership odds in fact are crucial, with the NRL Grand Final set for Sunday 2nd October.
We here at LordOfOdds take you through everything you need to know about NRL odds as we show you how to read them and understand what they mean. We also check out live NRL betting, and line betting and we answer your key questions about NRL odds.
Content Index
The Different NRL Odds
Various NRL odds are available for each team. As is standard within sports betting, different odds are given for pre-game betting, live betting and to win a competition overall, such as the championship or the NRL Grand Final.
In a typical game, betting sites may offer upwards of 20 different NRL betting odds. They may include:
Head-to-Head Betting
This is a straight-up bet. Odds are published for each team simply to win the game, e.g., Cronulla Sharks 1.23 v New Zealand Warriors 4.05.
Winning Team & Margin
Another popular sports betting punt, including within NRL betting odds. Here, you back your team and by what sort of points margin they will win. For example; Melbourne Storm 1 to 12 4.20, St George/Illa Dragons 13+ 51.00.
Points Start (2 Way)
This gives a head start or a point penalty to a team, depending on whether they are favourites or underdogs. If betting sites thought one team was 12.5 points better than their opposition, then the NRL odds may read: Penrith Panthers (-12.5) 1.90, Parramatta Eels (+12.5) 1.90.
Total Match Points
A popular rugby league bet, especially within Australian sports betting. You don’t need to back a specific team, you simply need to decide on the total points, e.g., Over 40.5 1.85, Under 40.5 1.85.
First Try Scorer and Anytime Try Scorer
Again, regardless of what team wins the game, there is always betting available in NRL matches for who will score the first try and a try at any time, respectively.
Half-Time Full-Time Double
You can bet on either team to be winning at half-time and/or full-time, with the draw thrown in. This means there are six combinations in each rugby league game; home-home, home-away, draw-home, draw-away, away-home, away-away.
Firsts
NRL betting has separate odds for first to 10 points, first to 20, first to 30 and first try conversion. These are some of the best NRL betting options.
Specials
Some slightly more specialist NRL betting is available. Punters can bet on the time of the first try, a team to score first and win, to score first and fail to win etc.
These NRL betting options all concern individual games. Some of them are available live, in-play. There are more options in the ‘outright’ NRL betting odds.
Outright Odds
Outright NRL odds concern backing a team to win an overall event. This could be a league, a national championship, a cup or in the case of this tournament the minor Minor Premiership or the NRL Grand Final itself.
The Minor Premiership concerns the league portion of the NRL. The Premiership round, or the NRL regular season, begins in the second week of March and finishes the first week in September before the Finals Series.
The eight highest-placed teams then play the NRL Finals Series. Each team plays the other until there are just two left. They then participate in the NRL Grand Final to decide who lifts the cup and wins the championship overall.
Outright NRL odds during the season include:
- Minor Premiership: These are the NRL betting odds on each team to win the league portion of the event in the regular season before the championship is cut to eight teams.
- To Make the NRL Grand Final: Without picking an overall cup winner, competitive NRL odds are available on teams to make the NRL Grand Final.
- Top 4 Finish: You can back teams to make the top four. For example; Melbourne Storm at 1.03 would seem like a certain bet, but not valuable.
- Top 8 Finish: This essentially means you’re backing a team to make the Finals Series.
Naturally, these are longer-term bets. Betting tips are always available on these types of NRL betting odds.
Reading NRL Odds
You may be able to get your NRL odds in fractional or decimal form. All the NRL betting odds we’ve listed above are decimal. That means your $1 stake is included in the odds. For example:
- Melbourne Storm (+1.5) 1.80 v Penrith Panthers (-1.5) 2.00
This means that if you back Melbourne Storm, they need to win by 2 points or more. A successful $10 bet would then yield a return of $18.00
Penrith Panthers would need either to win, tie or lose by fewer than 2 points. A successful $10 bet would return $20.00.
The decimal odds for the next NRL match are as follows, however, keep in mind that odds are subject to change and should be checked before placing any bets:
If you’re using fractional odds, remember that your stake is not included. Fractional NRL odds may look like this:
- New Zealand Warriors (+8.5) 9/10 v South Sydney Rabbitohs (-8.5) 9/10
Both teams have the same NRL betting odds, but with South Sydney heavily favoured on the handicap. So, if you placed a $10 bet on New Zealand Warriors and they beat the handicap, your return would be $19.00 (10 x 9/10 + 10 stake).
Betting Live on NRL Matches
Live NRL odds are available with many top betting sites. Rugby league is rife with live betting tips with in-play sports betting often accompanied by live streaming.
Australian sports betting sites, as well as those in New Zealand, will usually price up almost the same number of live NRL odds in each game as they do for the pre-game markets.
Live markets in fact offer some of the best NRL betting opportunities. Betting live means you can let the opening part of a game go by to check the feel of the match, the atmosphere and see who you think is up for it before you delve into the NRL odds.
This is in stark contrast to not only the pre-game odds, but especially the outrights. NRL Premiership odds for example, or those on who makes the NRL Grand Final, remain fairly stagnant for long periods.
With live betting, the odds change quickly as they are always responsive and react to whatever is happening. Some Kiwi and Australian sports betting sites even offer betting tips aimed specifically at live markets.
How the Live Odds Change
How harshly the live NRL odds move during a game depends on the market. For example; if a try is scored early, the market for who wins or by how much may not change dramatically. This is simply because there is still a long way to go.
On the other hand, bets such as ‘first to 10 points’ will all but disappear when the first try is scored.
One thing to keep in mind when it comes to live NRL odds is that they move both ways. If the home team scores, their win odds will of course dip quite a bit. This may make you think that they are now genuine heavy favourites. If the away team scores pretty quickly in response, those odds will return to something like what they were before.
The trick then is not to let the live NRL betting odds change your judgement.
NRL Line Betting
Some of the best NRL betting comes with taking the ‘line’. Line betting is when the market for a rugby league match is handicapped to make both outcomes appear equal in theory.
NZ and Australian sports betting sites do this by giving both teams a margin. This is known as a line. If the bookmaker thinks that one team is 8.5 points better than the opposition, then you can bet on them to win by 9 or more points.
On the other hand, if you think the underdog will not lose by as many as 9 points, you can back them instead. An example would be:
Penrith Panthers (-8.5) 1.90
Paramatta Eels (+8.5) 1.90
Let’s say the eventual score was Penrith Panthers 20-16 Paramatta Eels. This way, the favourite has won and they are no doubt very happy. However, they haven’t beaten the handicap. Those who backed Paramatta would hold winning bets.
As a two-way bet and with many teams heavily favoured in matches, handicapping them makes it fairer for punters. Betting tips are often given out for the line bets. NRL betting odds are at their most competitive this way.
Conclusion
Because of the popularity of this championship, there are lots of NRL odds offered. Even against other popular sports betting options such as football, cricket and horse racing, NRL betting odds are among the most competitive.
You can bet on the head-to-head, the line or outright. Many betting sites offer NRL Premiership odds as well as on who will lift the cup in the NRL Grand Final.
The best Kiwi and Australian sports betting sites also offer good live options. Rugby league, and this championship in particular, is one of the best things to bet on live as it moves so quickly.
Make sure you get to know the best teams from New Zealand and Australia before you bet. The best NRL betting is done live, or with plenty of knowledge.
NRL Odds FAQ
Your top questions about NRL odds answered.
Penrith Panthers from Australia are favourites for the Minor Premiership. They may even have shorter odds with Australian sports betting sites. They are also favourites for the NRL Grand Final in October. Melbourne Storm is next on the list. New Zealand Warriors are outsiders at this stage.
Line betting in NRL odds is about handicapping each team. One team will be favoured, so will begin with a points disadvantage in terms of the NRL betting odds, such as -8.5. This means the favoured team needs to win by 9 points. This is common within sports betting.
Head-to-head NRL betting means betting on a team straight up. No handicap is involved. Betting sites simply give each team odds to win the game. If one team is heavily favoured, there is usually no betting value in going for the head-to-head odds.
Yes. Live, in-play betting is some of the best NRL betting. NRL Premiership odds are pretty stagnant, but live odds move extremely quickly as games are in motion. The best betting sites also offer live streaming of events, so you can watch and bet all in one place.
Yes, though this is pointless with a head-to-head or line bet. You can bet on one team to score first and the other to win. You can also bet on one team to lead at half-time and the other to be winning at full-time.
