Betfair Official Blog

NRL Preview - Rugby Betting

Rugby League punters are set for another productive season as the world's leading domestic Rugby League competition, the NRL, gets underway this weekend.

Rugby League betting continues to grow in popularity in Australia and Betfair's NRL product offers punters a host of opportunities to score plenty of wins from up to 8 matches every weekend (Friday night through to Monday night).

The 16-team competition (consisting of 15 Australian clubs plus one from New Zealand) attracts hundreds of thousands of fans each week with the majority of fixtures broadcast live around the Australia-Pacific region and many broadcast live all around the globe.

Betfair covers all NRL matches, including the enormously popular State-Of-Origin series, with punters able to choose from a variety of markets- several of which are offered In-Play.

Every NRL match will feature the following markets:

-Match Odds (Which team will win?)
-3 x Handicap Match Odds (Which team will win with the stated handicap applied?)
-Total Match Points (Will the total points scored be under or over the stated total?)
-First Scoring Play (How will the first points be scored in the match?)
-Half-Time/Full-Time (Which team will be leading at half-time and full-time?)
-Winning Margin (What will the winning margin be?)
Match Odds, Handicap Match Odds and Total Match Points markets are all turned In-Play at the start of play which means punters can continue to wager on the match right through until the final siren.

The option of betting In-Play on the above markets is a great feature of the Betfair product, especially if a key player is injured early in the match or weather conditions change.
Australian users should note that In-Play betting is only available over the phone, but bets placed In-Play can be cancelled via the Betfair website.

Alongside the markets available for each match, Betfair also offers NRL Accumulators plus a host of season-long markets including Premiers 2008, Regular Season Winner, Top 4, Top 8 and Wooden Spoon.

2008 Prognostications
The all-conquering Melbourne Storm won the premiership in 2007 and early indications suggest the Storm will again be the team to beat in 2008 with the likes of Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis and Israel Folau all sure to cause the opposition plenty of headaches throughout the season.
Other teams to keep an eye on include the Parramatta Eels, Manly Sea Eagles, North Queensland Cowboys and Sydney Roosters.

The Eels boast a great blend of experience and youth, strength and skill and are expected to be a force to be reckoned with in 2008.

The Manly Sea Eagles fell one step short last season, defeated by Melbourne on grand final day, but coach Des Hasler is renowned for his tenacity, this characteristic suggesting the Sea Eagles will be desperate to go one step further.

The North Queensland Cowboys boast a wealth of attacking power through the likes of reigning Dally M winner Johnathan Thurston and try scoring machine Matt Bowen and can never be discounted.

Other teams expected to improve in 2008 include the Sydney Roosters, South Sydney Rabbitohs and the New Zealand Warriors.

The 2008 NRL offers a feast of Rugby League betting options; make sure you get involved this season.