NRL Predictions for the Preliminary Finals
Team Ratings for the Preliminary Finals
The basic method is described on my Department home page. I have made some changes to the methodology this year, including shrinking the ratings between seasons.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.
| Current Rating | Rating at Season Start | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rabbitohs | 11.42 | 5.82 | 5.60 |
| Roosters | 9.66 | 12.35 | -2.70 |
| Cowboys | 9.46 | 6.01 | 3.40 |
| Storm | 4.47 | 7.64 | -3.20 |
| Panthers | 4.45 | -2.48 | 6.90 |
| Broncos | 3.86 | -4.69 | 8.50 |
| Warriors | 2.82 | -0.72 | 3.50 |
| Sea Eagles | 2.78 | 9.10 | -6.30 |
| Bulldogs | 0.42 | 2.46 | -2.00 |
| Knights | -0.28 | 5.23 | -5.50 |
| Dragons | -2.10 | -7.57 | 5.50 |
| Raiders | -7.64 | -8.99 | 1.40 |
| Eels | -8.12 | -18.45 | 10.30 |
| Titans | -8.40 | 1.45 | -9.90 |
| Sharks | -10.92 | 2.32 | -13.20 |
| Wests Tigers | -13.68 | -11.26 | -2.40 |
Performance So Far
So far there have been 198 matches played, 116 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 58.6%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.
| Game | Date | Score | Prediction | Correct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roosters vs. Cowboys | Sep 19 | 31 – 30 | 5.70 | TRUE |
| 2 | Sea Eagles vs. Bulldogs | Sep 20 | 17 – 18 | 3.20 | FALSE |
Predictions for the Preliminary Finals
Here are the predictions for the Preliminary Finals. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.
| Game | Date | Winner | Prediction | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rabbitohs vs. Roosters | Sep 26 | Rabbitohs | 6.30 |
| 2 | Panthers vs. Bulldogs | Sep 27 | Panthers | 4.00 |
David Scott obtained a BA and PhD from the Australian National University and then commenced his university teaching career at La Trobe University in 1972. He has taught at La Trobe University, the University of Sheffield, Bond University and Colorado State University, joining the University of Auckland, based at Tamaki Campus, in mid-1995. He has been Head of Department at La Trobe University, Acting Dean and Associate Dean (Academic) at Bond University, and Associate Director of the Centre for Quality Management and Data Analysis at Bond University with responsibility for Short Courses. He was Head of the Department of Statistics in 2000, and is a past President of the New Zealand Statistical Assocation. See all posts by David Scott »
The ninth best team is in the grand final?
10 years ago
Yes, very interesting. Looking back through the results, a lot of the Bulldogs wins have been very close, and they have had some big losses. Their ranking was very low going into the finals.
It means I have the Rabbitohs pretty hot favourites for the Grand Final.
10 years ago