NRL Round 16 odds, title update and schedule; who is hit hard by Origin

Storm v Panthers preliminary final preview, free betting tips

NRL Round 16 starts on Thursday, July 1, with a blockbuster between the Sydney Roosters and premiership hot-pots Melbourne Storm at the SCG. We take a look at a big weekend ahead in the NRL.

The Storm are sitting on top of the NRL table and if they win again as the bookies expect they will, it could leave the fifth-placed Roosters up to six points behind the fourth-placed side as we close in on the pointy end of the season.

Melbourne will still be without rising star hooker Harry Grant (hamstring) and fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen (concussion) for at least the next couple of matches, but pivot Cameron Munster should be OK to back up after Origin.


More: NRL betting guide
NRL match betting previews and tips


The Roosters have been grimly hanging in there after a string of injuries and retirements. They are a young and talented team and an upset win here could throw them right back into calculations.

The Roosters-Storm clash is not the only blockbuster this week, with the second-placed Penrith and third-placed Parramatta squaring off at BlueBet Stadium on Friday night.

Again, this match has huge repercussions in the jockeying for top-four and top-two positions. The Panthers-Eels clash is one to treat warily for punters, with Panthers ace halfback Nathan Cleary injuring his shoulder while steering NSW to an Origin series win against Queensland on Sunday night.

The Panthers also have five other players potentially backing up from a bruising encounter at Suncorp Stadium, so we will wait to see the final teams before making any big calls on who will win that match-up.

Elsewhere, the early match on Friday between the 11th-placed NZ Warriors and seventh-placed Dragons is another eight-pointer with a logjam of teams battling for the seventh and eighth places on the table.

Manly should be able to continue their resurgence when they play struggling and injury-hit Canterbury in the first match on Super Saturday, while Ricky Stuart’s Raiders face a must-win match against the equally desperate Titans if they are to have any chance at finals football.

The Bulldogs team could well be decimated with five players reported to have breached Covid-19 protocols and in danger of missing this match.

On Sunday, the Rabbitohs should be able to stamp their premiership credentials when they take on the Wests Tigers.

Star Latrell Mitchell will be back at fullback after his impressive display for the Blues at centre, where we felt he was unlucky not to deliver WGL followers a big collect by winning the Origin player of the match award, which went to Roosters flyer James Tedesco.


NRL Premiership odds before Round 16

The Panthers maintain their favouritism at the top of betting with TopSport, though the relentless Storm keep firming in, and are close second picks at $3.10 to add another title to their collection.

Of course, there was no NRL action at the weekend with State of Origin game 2 taking centre stage, though there has been some movement ahead of round 16 as far as title betting goes.

Bookies believe only six teams have any chance of winning the title, with the Newcastle Knights and Cronulla sharing the seventh line of betting at a massive $81. We think it’s a race in three, with the Panthers, Storm and Rabbitohs the only chances of lifting the trophy this season.

Souths are in from $7 to $6.50 and they certainly have the attacking firepower in their back line to challenge the Storm and Panthers; the big question is whether their big boppers can compete with the packs of that duo.

Sydney Roosters have eased from $10 to $13, but as mentioned earlier if they spring a surprise against the Storm on Thursday night they will be right back in the mix.

NRL title odds 2021

$2.70 Penrith Panthers
$3.10 Melbourne Storm
$6.50 South Sydney Rabbitohs
$9 Parramatta Eels
$13 Sydney Roosters
$14 Manly Sea Eagles
$81 Newcastle Knights, Cronulla Sharks
$91 St George Illawarra Dragons, Canberra Raiders
$101 New Zealand Warriors, Gold Coast Titans
$151 North Queensland Cowboys
$251 Wests Tigers, Brisbane Broncos
$1001 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Check out all the latest odds at TopSport!


NRL Round 16 fixture, odds and times

Thursday, July 1 

  • 7.50pm: Sydney Roosters $3.40 v Melbourne Storm $1.33

Friday, July 2 

  • 6pm: New Zealand Warriors $1.67 v St George Illawarra Dragons $2.20
  • 7.55pm: Penrith Panthers $1.31 v Parramatta Eels  $3.50

Saturday, July 3

  • 3pm: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs $6.25 v Manly Warringah Sea Eagles $1.12
  • 5.30pm: Canberra Raiders $1.37 v Gold Coast Titans $3.10
  • 7.35pm: Newcastle Knights $1.62 v North Queensland Cowboys $2.60

Sunday, July 4

  • 2pm: Brisbane Broncos $3 v Cronulla Sutherland Sharks $1.40
  • 4pm: Wests Tigers  $7 v South Sydney Rabbitohs $1.10

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