NRL round 3, 2026: Can the Broncos get campaign back on track?
The National Rugby League’s 2026 season‘s round three kicks off on Thursday night with a cracker between contender the Raiders and Bulldogs, but we have looked to a Friday night showdown between powerhouses Melbourne and Brisbane as our featured match.
A dazzling round two of the NRL raised plenty of few questions, including whether the defending champions the Brisbane Broncos are going to put up any sort of decent defence of their title.
The Broncos’ shocking capitulation against the unheralded Parramatta does not bode well, but the one thing that should never be foprgotten about he NRL is just how long its season is.
Look at the Panthers last year. They went into the season as the four-time defending champions but lost five of their opening six matches. Then the Panthers found their mojo and came ever so close to reaching another grand final, which they might well have won.
The Broncos don’t have the same depth of quality that has allowed the Panthers to continue to contend despite being forced by the salary cap to shed players of the calibre of Matt Burton, Steven Crichton, Jarome Luai, James Fisher-Harris etc.
The Panrthers’ continued brilliance is also a timely reminder of one of our tenets for betting on rugby league: always look at the team’s spine; if the key halfback, five-eighth, fullback and hooker options are in place, any team is well placed to produce their best. The Panthers have been able to rely on Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards, Mitch Kenny and now pivot Blaze Talagi.
Brisbane come up against a powerhouse Melbourne side, who have started the season brilliantly. Another loss here and it’s a long haul back for the Broncos.
Read on for our Melbourne v Brisbane tips and winner prediction for their round-three NRL clash.
Storm v Broncos match information
- Kick-off: 8pm, Friday (8pm Friday, March 20, AEDT)
- Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
- Head to head odds: Storm $1.36,Broncos $3.10
- Line betting: Storm (-9.5 points) $1.90, Broncos (+9.5 points) $1.90
- Match total: 54.5 points: over $1.90, under $1.90
2026 NRL premiership betting
$4.75 Penrith Panthers
$6 Melbourne Storm
$8 Sydney Roosters
$8.50 Brisbane Broncos
$13 Canterbury Bulldogs
$15 New Zealand Warriors, Cronulla Sharks
$17 South Sydney Rabbitohs
$19 Canberra Raiders
$29 Redcliffe Dolphins
$34 Parramatta Eels, Wests Tigers
$41 Newcastle Knights
$81 North Queensland Cowboys, Manly Sea Eagles, St George Illawarra Dragons
$101 Gold Coast Titans
Storm v Broncos betting tips
The NRL season really comes alive with the rematch between last season’s grand finalists, Brisbane and Melbourne. And they could not have made more different starts to the season.
The Storm host this clash and they have started 2026 with thumping wins against Parramatta and St George, to be fair not the strongest of oppenents.
Meanwhile the Broncos are seemingly still celebrating their 2025 heroics and have been dismal in losses against the Panthers and the Eels. That needs to change and quickly if they are not to lose touch with the top four, or even the top eight.
We think the bookies have gotten a little overexcited with the Storm’s start and have put up some big numbers in their favour. We will back the Broncos to at the very least muscle up in defence this week.
Melbourne by 4.
Broncos +9.5 points/match total under 54.5 points at around $3.20 with Australian betting sites.
NRL round 3, 2026
- Thursday, March19: Raiders v Bulldogs, GIO Stadium | 8pm
- Friday, March 20: Roosters v Panthers, Allianz Stadium | 6pm
Storm v Broncos, AAMI Park | 8pm - Saturday March 21: Knights v Warriors, McDonald Jones Stadium | 3pm
Sharks v Dolphins, Sharks Stadium | 5.30pm
Rabbitohs v Wests Tigers, Polytec Stadium, Gosford | 7.30pm - Sunday March 22: Eels v Dragons, CommBank Stadium | 4.05pm
Cowboys v Titans, Qld Country Bank Stadium | 6.15pm
* Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles have the bye
