NRL Round 17 odds, schedule and times

NRL Round 17 kicks off on Thursday night, September 3, with Brisbane v Penrith from Brisbane and finishes on Sunday night. Our NRL betting expert has examined the odds in our usual Monday column highlighting what league action is on for the week ahead. 

With just four rounds remaining, the battle for the top four positions remains tense, though top team Penrith are safe and second-placed Melbourne are looking rock solid. The top eight looks fairly well set, though the NZ Warriors’ shock win against Newcastle has moved them into ninth and kept alive their faint hopes of playing finals football.

Round 17 will provide plenty of answers with a couple of top-shelf clashes to really sort the contenders from the pretenders with the finals closing in.

The best two matches of the round are clearly the Friday night match-up between the sixth-placed Rabbitohs and second-placed Storm at ANZ Stadium, and the Saturday night grand final rematch between Canberra (fifth place) and Sydney Roosters (fourth) in Canberra.

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More: NRL betting guide
NRL betting previews, tips

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The Raiders and Roosters are locked on 22 points so the stakes could not be higher, with the Unibet odds-makers posting the visitors at $1.57 and Canberra at $2.43. We see it as a little closer than that, given the way the Raiders have consolidated of late after looking like only battling to make finals.

The early Newcastle-Cronulla match on Friday night has also now taken on more significance with the winners all but certain of being part of the finals action. The Knights had designs on a top-four spot before their crushing loss to the Warriors, but that hope looks gone now.

NRL Premiership odds prior to Round 17

The odds-makers at Unibet see this year’s premiership as a race in three, with Melbourne Storm joined at the top of betting by defending premiers Sydney Roosters and ladder leaders Penrith.

Parramatta drifted alarmingly from $6 to $8.50 with some betting sites, after they were carved up by the impressive Souths 38-0 to kick off round 16. That was worrying for the Eels as they have pretty close to a full list of players to choose from.

Souths firmed from $21 to $17 after their slick display and will move in rapidly if they can find a way to beat the Storm, who are back close to full strength, on Friday night. The Bunnies will regain Dane Gagai (hamstring) and Alex Johnston (head knock) for the clash but will have to make do without star fullback (hamstring tendon) for the rest of the season.

The Knights drifted in title betting from $21 to $34, , where they were joined by their next opponents Cronulla, who were in from $41.

North Queensland Cowboys, Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury Bulldogs are all no longer in the title betting and their players are counting down the days to the end of their miserable seasons.

NRL title odds 2020

$3.75 Melbourne Storm, Sydney Roosters, Penrith Panthers
$8.50 Parramatta Eels
$10 Canberra Raiders
$17 South Sydney Rabbitohs
$34 Newcastle Knights, Cronulla Sharks
$151 New Zealand Warriors
$501 Manly Sea Eagles, St George Illawarra Dragons, Wests Tigers,
$1001 Gold Coast Titans

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NRL Round 17 fixture, odds and times

Thursday, September 3

• 7:50PM: Brisbane Broncos $9.50 v Penrith Panthers $1.06

Friday, September 4

• 6PM: Newcastle Knights $1.86 v Cronulla Sharks $1.96
• 7:55PM: South Sydney Rabbitohs $2.45 v Melbourne Storm $1.54

Saturday, September 5

• 3PM: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs $1.86 v Gold Coast Titans $1.96
• 5:30PM: Manly Warringah Sea Eagles $1.49 v Wests Tigers $2.63
• 7:35PM: Canberra Raiders $2.43 v Sydney Roosters $1.57

Sunday, September 6

• 4:05PM: New Zealand Warriors $3.25 v Parramatta Eels $1.33
• 6:30PM: North Queensland Cowboys $2.35 v St George Illawarra Dragons $1.60

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