NRL 2025 Round 18 – Betting Tips, Odds & Predictions

The NRL ladder remains incredibly tight 17 rounds into the season, and the Sharks dropping from 6th down to 10th courtesy of a solitary loss was indicative of that. Losses to each of the bottom five opened up a bit of a gap to that bottom group, but with just a game and a half separating 5th from 12th there are still a lot more teams with finals aspirations than there are finals spots. It’s a shortened round this weekend with seven teams having the week off, but among the five games that will be played there is plenty of potential quality. It kicks off with probably the game of the weekend when the Bulldogs host the Broncos on Friday night, while later the now first-placed Raiders host the Dragons, and the Cowboys host the Storm. Take a look at the previews and NRL tips from Australianbettingsites’ resident league expert for all five games below.

Odds provided by Playup

• Date: Friday, 4th of July
• Kick off: 8.00pm AEST
• Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
• Broadcast info: Channel Nine, Fox League

Bookmaker	Bulldogs Odds	Broncos Odds
	$1.53	$2.50
	$1.50	$2.60
	$1.53	$2.54

Match Analysis

Round 18 kicks off with what should be a high-quality game between the Bulldogs and the Broncos at Accor Stadium, though both will be missing numerous stars through Origin. The Bulldogs will be seething after a rare loss last weekend, going down in a tight, defensive game against the Panthers. That was just their third loss of the season, but with the Raiders winning it was enough to see them lose their grip on top spot, and things don’t get easier this weekend with the losses of Stephen Crichton, Kurt Mann, Max King and Jacob Kiraz.

The Broncos, meanwhile, have got some much-needed confidence back with three wins on the bounce. They beat the Warriors by 14 points in one of their better performances of the year, though they will lose Reece Walsh, Gehamat Shibasaki, Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan to Origin. All three of those recent wins have also come up at Suncorp Stadium. They’ve had no problems winning at home this year – they’re 6-2 – but away they’re just 2-5, and the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium could hardly be a sterner test.

Over the last two seasons, the Bulldogs are an impressive 15-3 on their home turf, which doesn’t augur particularly well for the visitors’ hopes. Having said that, the 5-1 record they boast there this season has by and large not been against great sides and they did go down by 36 points to the Dolphins at home just a month ago, so it’s not out of the realms of possibility. The Broncos are in form and are capable of giving this one a serious shake, but the Bulldogs might just be able to sneak over the line.

Expert Tip

Bulldogs to win by 1-12 @ $3.00 with PlayUp

The Bulldogs are very hard to beat at home, but the Broncos are in form and can keep it close.

Alternative Bets to Consider

• Total match points: Under 44.5 @ $1.90 with Bet365
• Anytime tryscorer: Josaiah Karapani @ $2.15 with Bet365

• Date: Saturday, 5th of July
• Kick off: 5.30pm AEST
• Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
• Broadcast info: Fox League

Bookmaker	Raiders Odds	Dragons Odds
	$1.30	$3.55
	$1.28	$3.60
	$1.30	$3.55

Match Analysis

It’s not a sentence anyone expected to be reading – certainly not this far into the season – but the Raiders are officially on top of the ladder. Appropriately their move into top spot came after a tight victory, something they have become the masters of over recent seasons, as they just managed to hold off a fast-finishing Knights team to win by four points – their sixth win on the trot and their fourth by a try or less in their last five games.

It was a good week for the Dragons from a wins perspective, too, who recorded a much-needed win over the Eels to snap a two-game losing streak – though it came at a cost. Four players were injured in the game, and combined with Valentine Holmes’ absence for Origin that means they might be stretched a little thin this weekend. A win would be very handy though; though they remained in 11th, last week’s win kept them right on the tail of the teams inside the top 8, with only points difference separating them from each of the Sharks, Sea Eagles and Dolphins.

Unfortunately, they will likely have a tough time remaining that close given this matchup, particularly with a couple of those teams getting the automatic bye points this weekend. The Raiders lose a couple of players to Origin, but with the Dragons’ absences the home side should still be too strong, though given their penchant for close wins they look like value to do so in a relatively tight game.

Expert Tip

Raiders to win by 1-12 @ $3.15 with EliteBet

The Raiders just love to win close – nine of their 13 wins this year have been within this margin.

Alternative Bets to Consider

• Line: Dragons +11.5 @ $1.91 with Bet365
• Total match points: Under 48.5 @ $1.87 with EliteBet

• Date: Saturday, 5th of July
• Kick off: 7.35pm AEST
• Venue: Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
• Broadcast info: Fox League

Bookmaker	Cowboys Odds	Storm Odds
	$3.40	$1.32
	$3.60	$1.30
	$3.50	$1.31

Match Analysis

After an absolutely abysmal three-week period, the Cowboys desperately needed the points against the Titans last weekend, and they managed to get there in the end – though they didn’t make it easy on themselves. The visitors led throughout against the bottom-placed Titans, but every time they opened up a two-score lead they gave it right back again. Fortunately, when the final siren blew they found themselves six points in front, but Cowboys fans out there should enjoy those spoils while they can, because it gets a lot tougher this week.

After just beating the Wooden Spoon favourite, the Cowboys will this Saturday welcome the Premiership favourite to North Queensland, the Storm looking to extend their winning streak to five. They continued their otherworldly form at AAMI Park last weekend with a crushing 30-6 win over the Sharks, though of course, they will be without numerous stars including Xavier Coates, Cameron Munster and Harry Grant for Origin this weekend.

The Cowboys, however, will be without plenty of Origin players as well, and they do not have the depth of the Storm to cover for their absence. They’ll at least benefit from not having to travel to Melbourne, where they lost by 24 points just a month ago, though last time the Cowboys played in Townsville they lost 58-4 to the Dolphins. The Origin absences should soften the blow a bit, but expect the Storm still to win easily.

Expert Tip

Storm to win by 13+ @ $2.10 with PlayUp

The Storm have plenty of outs, but so do the Cowboys and one team will likely handle it much better than the other.

Alternative Bets to Consider

• Total match points: Over 50.5 @ $1.91 with Bet365
• Anytime tryscorer: Ryan Papenhuyzen @ $1.85 with PlayUp

• Date: Sunday, 6th of July
• Kick off: 2.00pm AEST
• Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
• Broadcast info: Fox League

Bookmaker	Roosters Odds	Tigers Odds
	$1.28	$3.70
	$1.25	$4.00
	$1.25	$4.00

Match Analysis

The Roosters enter this game fresh off a bye and having won two on the trot prior to that, with that run of form seeing them move up to 6th. They’ve done well to remain a competitive team despite the massive loss of depth they suffered in the off-season, though that depth will again be tested this week with the likes of Spencer Leniu, Angus Crichton and others away on Origin duty.

Fortunately, the team they are playing is facing a far more significant personnel crisis. After a really strong start to the season for Benji Marshall’s Tigers, they’ve lost six games in a row and now have a couple out through suspension, as well as Jarome Luai to Origin. It’s not necessarily as bad as all that sounds, with many of those losses really tight ones, but four consecutive four-point losses looked like it had really taken the wind out of their sails against Manly last week.

With both these sides not boasting anywhere near a full-strength line-up this weekend, it is a little difficult to get a gauge on things. The Tigers really need to show something and despite their own absences, have a chance to at least be competitive against a Roosters team decimated by Origin. The Roosters should still be too good, but the Tigers can keep it close.

Expert Tip

Roosters to win by 1-12 @ $3.15 with PlayUp

The Chooks are playing good footy, but the Tigers have been in better form than their six-game losing streak would suggest.

Alternative Bets to Consider

• Total match points: Under 49.5 @ $1.91 with Bet365
• Line: Tigers +12.5 @ $1.90 with EliteBet

• Bulldogs vs Broncos under 44.5 total match points @ $1.90 with Bet365 – the Bulldogs are coming off an 8-6 defeat, and have played in just one game that has passed this number in their past five.
• Raiders to win by 1-12 vs Dragons @ $3.15 with EliteBet – given their incredible ability to win close games time after time after time, and with the Raiders paying well over $3 to win by 1-12 with new betting sites like EliteBet, they look like great value to win this one without blowing out the Dragons.
• Roosters vs Tigers under 49.5 total match points @ $1.91 with Bet365 – four of the Tigers last five games have yielded 38 points or less, and with both them and the Roosters missing numerous key weapons this looks like good value to stay under this very high line.
• Alex Johnston anytime tryscorer vs Sea Eagles @ $2.30 with Bet365 – Johnston has been terrific for the Bunnies so far this season, scoring at least one try in six of his eight games, including a huge four against the Storm a fortnight ago.

Same Game Multi Tip

• Date: Sunday, 6th of July
• Kick off: 4.05pm AEST
• Venue: 4 Pines Park, Sydney
• Broadcast info: Channel Nine, Fox League

Bookmaker	Eagles Odds	Rabbitohs Odds
	$1.34	$3.25
	$1.33	$3.35
	$1.34	$3.35

Match Analysis

The final Origin-affected round of the year concludes with the Sea Eagles hosting the Rabbitohs in an important game for both teams. Manly find themselves precariously positioned in 9th, just a game out of 5th but just two clear of the Bunnies back in 16th. Fortunately they won’t be too hampered by Origin absences, and having won five of seven at home this season should be hard to beat.

The Rabbitohs will be without both Latrell Mitchell (Origin) and Cody Walker (injury), two key players who they can ill-afford to lose in the midst of a five-game losing streak. In fairness to them they have had an incredibly tough draw during that time and very nearly beat a couple of good teams, but last weekend they were ill-disciplined defensively and conceded 50 points in a poor showing against the Dolphins.

Still, the Bunnies have been really competitive against some quality opposition of late even if they haven’t been winning, so don’t expect them to be raising the white flag in this one. Unfortunately those two key absences could really hurt them though, and at a venue at which the Sea Eagles are typically hard to beat, expect the home side to earn an important win – albeit one which could be a little more hard-fought than the betting apps seem to expect.

Expert Tip

Sea Eagles to win by 1-12 @ $3.10 with EliteBet

The Rabbitohs can keep this close, but beating the Sea Eagles at 4 Pines Park is never easy.

Alternative Bets to Consider

• Line: Rabbitohs +9.5 @ $1.91 with Bet365
• Anytime tryscorer: Alex Johnston @ $2.30 with Bet365