The 2018 NRL season is almost here and Before You Bet will look into the future with our 2018 NRL season Preview and Betting Tips. The NRL Premiership race looks to be tight in 2018 with a number of teams in contention.
2018 NRL Ladder Prediction and Season Betting
Below is our predicted ladder for the 2018 NRL season. We really like the Cowboys this season after making the Grand Final without JT and Scott in 2017. The Roosters and Storm are hard to split in the top four. The Panthers are one of the teams to watch and could surprise the NRL in 2018. In the bottom eight, the Sea Eagles are the most likely team to miss the eight without Blake Green. After three straight wooden spoons, the Knights can improve with the likes of Mitchell Pearce.
Predicted 2018 NRL Ladder
1 North Queensland Cowboys
2 Melbourne Storm
3 Sydney Roosters
4 Penrith Panthers
5 Brisbane Broncos
6 Cronulla Sharks
7 Parramatta Eels
8 St George Illawarra
9 South Sydney Rabbitohs
10 Manly Sea Eagles
11 Newcastle Knights
12 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs
13 Wests Tigers
14 Canberra Raiders
15 New Zealand Warriors
16 Gold Coast Titans
Minor Premiership
After making the Grand Final in 2017, the Cowboys are the best bet for the Minor Premiership for a few reasons. Firstly, they made the Final without two of their best players - Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott. Thurston has since announced his this will be his last season and that’s huge motivation for this Cowboys side to win it all. In their run to the Grand Final, the likes of Morgan and Taumalolo were the key. In 2018, they’ve now added Jordan McLean from the Storm to bolster the pack. Their home schedule also looks good with a number of matches against teams that we are predicting will finish in the bottom eight. So the North Queensland Cowboys will be a fun team to watch in 2018.
TIP: North Queensland Cowboys $6 at Ladbrokes
Finish in the top four
We can’t see the Cronk departure hurting the Storm too much in 2018. Craig Bellamy is a master coach and Brodie Croft is a star in the making. He showed that against Leeds and in the time Cronk was playing Origin last season. They still have Cameron Smith and I would argue he’s more important than Cronk. It’s also potentially Billy Slater’s last season and that’s extra motivation for this side. The outside backs are strong with Addo Carr, Scott and Vunivalu. They have lost a few big forwards in McLean and Harris. But they countered that by bringing back Hoffman and they’ll likely revive Sam Kasiano’s career.
TIP: Melbourne Storm $2 at Sportsbet
To miss the eight
The Sea Eagles would be the best value bet to miss the eight after losing Blake Green in the offseason. The number 6 position he leaves behind will be a huge void and the pressure will add up on Daly Cherry-Evans. Last season they were poor in defence as they were the only top 8 side to allow over 500 points. So that means they won alot of close matches in 2017. That’s a key measurement when predicting a team to fall below it’s place from last season. The other thing that hurts Manly is the retirement of Brett Stewart and Steve Matai has hurt their recruiting chances with money tied up.
TIP: Manly Sea Eagles $2 at Sportsbet
Least Wins (Wooden Spoon)
The Gold Coast Titans are the favourites in this market and it’s hard to see otherwise. Firstly, they’ll be massively impacted because of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games as CBus Stadium is out of action from Round 2 to Round 8. They do finish with a string of home matches. But three of their final home games are against final teams from last season (Panthers, Storm and Cowboys). In the offseason, they obviously lost Jarryd Hayne, but that wasn’t unexpected. But the biggest loset is arguably coach Neil Henry. New coach Garth Brennan has had success coaching under 20s, so he’ll be looking to rebuild this club with youth. Which shows from their personnel moves, such as releasing Will Zillman and letting McQueen/Roberts/Hayne leave. But he is inexperienced at NRL level and it looks to be another rebuilding year for the Titans in 2018.
TIP: Gold Coast Titans $3.50 at Sportsbet
2018 NRL Premiership Betting
The Sydney Roosters are going to be the obvious choice in this market with Cronk. But he doesn’t have Smith or Slater to lean on anymore. The fact is the Cowboys made the Grand Final from 8th position and without Johnathan Thurston in 2017. 2018 is his final season and that’s enough motivation for us to predict the Cowboys as Premiership favourites. His combination with Michael Morgan is hard to stop and Morgan had a great season when he was injured. They’ve added Jordan McLean into an already huge forward pack as well. Jason Taumalolo is in his prime and one of the favourites for the Dally M. On their way to the final last season, they won all three finals in Sydney. They lost to a great Storm side but that should motivate them even more for victory in 2018.
TIP: North Queensland Cowboys $5.50 at Sportsbet
2018 Dally M Medal Winner
Without Cronk at the Storm, Cameron Smith is the best bet to win the Dally M in 2018. He won the medal last year with 33 votes and that was with Cronk in the lineup. He’s easily the best player in the competition and when the Storm win matches, he’ll get the majority of the votes.
TIP: Cameron Smith $9 at Sportsbet
