NRL 2025 Premiership Winner Betting Preview – Odds, Tips & Predictions

Only four teams remain in the hunt for the NRL Premiership, with the Storm and Broncos having charged into the prelims with Qualifying Final wins a fortnight ago, and the Sharks and Panthers joining them after taking the long way around with semi-final victories last weekend. Each of them has reason for optimism; the Storm have been favourites all year, the Panthers have won a lazy four consecutive Premierships and are peaking at the right time, while both the Broncos and the Sharks have barely lost a game in three months. The impressive respective form lines of this quartet sets up an enthralling last couple of weeks of the season; below, we take a look at how each of them is shaping up, and how the NRL Premiership betting market is looking.

The Storm and the Panthers entered the year sharing comfortable favouritism in this year’s NRL Premiership betting, so it’s only fitting that they head into Preliminary Final weekend expected by most to advance through to what would be a second consecutive Grand Final – and third this decade – against one another.

The Storm have been absolutely rock solid in the NRL Premiership betting this year. Coming in as one of the favourites alongside the Panthers, they set up shop in the top four early in the year and haven’t budged since, and as expected, made their way straight through to the Preliminary Final with a win at AAMI Park against the Bulldogs in the Qualifying Final.

Now, they have an opportunity to make their way through to the Grand Final with another home game that they will enter as favourites. Not that it’s a game they can afford to take lightly – the Sharks are in scintillating form – but the home side will be backing themselves to get the job done if they play near their best. Should they advance, however, it’s the next week that will pose an even bigger test, with one of the Panthers or Broncos awaiting them in Sydney.

The Storm have beat all the teams left in the race for this year’s Premiership this season, having knocked off the Panthers twice, splitting their two games with the Broncos at one apiece (though the Broncos win was a dead rubber), and also splitting their two games with the Sharks (though in the more recent affair, the Storm won by 24 points). With Ryan Papenhuyzen returning for the prelim and potentially Jahrome Hughes too, they are fit and firing, and are going to be incredibly difficult for any team to beat.

Bet on the Storm to win the NRL Premiership @ $2.90 with Bet365

After entering the season at under $3 with some betting apps to win what would be an incredible fifth straight Premiership, the Panthers quickly ballooned out to double figures following a 1-5 start. Since then, however, they have gradually shortened in the NRL Premiership betting market as they have climbed the ladder, and after two dominant victories to take them through to a Preliminary Final, are pretty much back where they started at about $3.

The Panthers have lost numerous Premiership stars over the past couple of years, but they have retained more than enough to remain among the best teams in the league, and carry with them an unparallelled confidence and ability to execute on the big stage. It’s for that reason that it came as no surprise to anyone to see them beat first the Warriors and then the Bulldogs by a combined 36, and subsequently enter an away Preliminary Final against arguably the hottest team in the league as favourites.

Still led by the Ivan/Nathan Cleary combo, the Panthers are playing at their best at the right time of year. They are not going to have an easy time of things over the coming weeks, likely having to beat the Broncos in Brisbane and then quite possibly the Storm to win the Premiership, but this team is no stranger to hard tasks. They were disadvantaged by finishing outside the four, but all things are now equal, and they might be the best bet to continue what is an historic streak of Premiership victories.

Bet on the Panthers to win the NRL Premiership @ $3.10 with Bet365

The Broncos didn’t look likely to be in Premiership contention halfway through the season, boasting a paltry 5-7 record and sitting well outside the top eight. But ten wins from their last 12 regular season games saw them catapult into the top four, before a inspired one-point win – secured in the 93rd minute – over the Raiders in Canberra helped them into the Preliminary Final.

It was just two years ago that they appeared all but certain to win their first Premiership since 2006 before Nathan Cleary almost single-handedly stole it from them, and they will be eager to exact revenge on Preliminary Final weekend. With a number of big name players set to return, combined with 11 wins from their last 13 games and a raucous Suncorp Stadium crowd at their back, they are every chance of doing just that, no matter how well the Panthers are playing.

Of course, that’s not to say it will be easy. The Broncos have been brilliant of late but they will likely need to be even better against the Panthers, and then do the same again the following week most likely against the Storm. They absolutely deserve to be considered a chance and would be a deserving Premier if they do manage to go all the way, but I do prefer the chances of the Storm and Panthers and even the slightly superior odds of the Broncos aren’t enough to sway me.

Bet on the Broncos to win the NRL Premiership @ $4.00 with Bet365

The Sharks are the clear fourth seed heading into the Preliminary Finals. They’ve spent years regularly making the finals but not often being good enough to even advance through to this stage, let alone beyond, and that appeared likely to be the case once again this season. But 2025 is a different year, and there is no denying how impressive they have been over the past couple of weeks.

They were faced with a difficult Elimination Final test against an in-form Roosters team and knocked them off 20-10, while last week they were even better, pumping the 1st placed Raiders – in Canberra no less – by 20 points. Those results make it nine wins from their last ten games, and with their proverbial tail wagging high in the air they are not going to make it easy for the Storm in their prelim, and potentially the Panthers or Broncos the following week.

But as impressive as they have been, the task they face to win the Premiership is a monumental one. The Storm rarely lose at home and in finals that is only further exacerbated, and last time the Sharks made the trek down south they lost 30-6. It’s hard enough to see them making their way through to the Grand Final and if they do, they will enter as underdogs against whoever they play. Their odds are clearly the juiciest of the final four, but that’s for good reason – and more to do with the quality of opposition than a lack of talent on the Sharks.

Bet on the Sharks to win the NRL Premiership @ $8.00 with EliteBet

All four teams remaining in the Premiership hunt have good reason to feel confident in their ability. The Storm and the Panthers are simply ineffable and are well-placed to face off in a second consecutive Grand Final and third in six years against one another, but both the Broncos and Sharks come into these deciding weeks in brilliant form, having lost collectively just three of their last 23 games.

But as good as those latter two have been, another Panthers vs Storm Grand Final almost feels inevitable, and if that’s the case, so too does the result. The Storm have been a better team all year and if the two do face off on the first Saturday in October, we can expect an intense, tight and low-scoring game, but the Panthers have the psychological wood over them – as they do over virtually every team. Hopefully you jumped on a few months ago when they were paying double-figure odds to win the Premiership, but even at a little over $3 with betting sites like Bet365 right now, the Panthers are my pick.

As far as futures go, this one is a pretty straightforward market, but below are a couple of NRL Premiership betting tips to follow as you scout out the candidates.

• Defence wins Premierships: A good offence helps too, but in the last nine years every Premier has had a top three defence, and five of those the best in the league.
• Factor in finals experience: Finals footy is a whole different ball game, and teams like the Storm and Panthers, that have been there plenty of times before, generally rise to the challenge better than teams that have not.

Take a look at the last ten Premiers in the table below, the latter period of which has seen the Panthers enjoy the most dominant run in over 50 years this decade.