Eric Uribe
The upcoming National Rugby League season doesn’t start until mid-March. It’s champion won’t be decided until October of 2022. But hey, it’s never too early to begin plotting your bets for the Australian rugby season. That’s exactly what we’re doing in this article. Read on to get our top betting picks to win 2022 NRL Grand Final!
2022 NRL Season Preview
The coming year will mark the 115th season of NRL. Once again, all 16 teams in the league will vie for the championship and become the unofficial kings of Australian rugby. As we begin our 2022 NRL season preview, it would suit us to take a gander at how the betting odds currently shake out. Per the top betting sites for rugby, these five teams have the best odds at winning it all:
| Team |  |  |
| Penrith Panthers | +450 | +450 |
| Melbourne Storm | +450 | +450 |
| Sydney Roosters | +500 | +500 |
| Manly Sea Eagles | +650 | +650 |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | +750 | +750 |
It remains to be seen how COVID-19 will affect the looming season. Of course, Australia has had among the strictest rules for the pandemic, which spilled into a chaotic 2021 NRL season. It resulted in 13 teams being forced to relocate to Queensland for half the year and a Bisbane grand final — the first time there since Super League was created. We’re not going to try to predict what’ll happen with the virus (who can at this point?) but all we can say is expect the unexpected.
Speaking of the 2021 season, let’s recap what happened so we can get a better sense for what’s possibly on the horizon next season. Melbourne dominated much of the previous campaign. Despite the retirement of legend Cameron Smith, the Storm didn’t miss a beat. The Storm rallied off 19 straight wins at one point, won a minor premiership — but fell short of a Grand Final title. Instead, it lost in the preliminary finals to eventual winners Penrith.
That’s why it should come as no surprise that both Penrith and Melbourne have the best odds at winning the 2022 Grand Final. The Panthers have advanced to this final two years in a row, coming up just short in 2020 but then “righting those wrongs” in 2021. With a very young roster, Penrith could somehow improve its play during the upcoming season too.
Betting Picks To Win NRL Grand Final
Anytime we’re making other bets like futures — especially when it’s this early — we like to bet on at least two options. This is natural risk-management since having “all your eggs in one basket” is ALWAYS risky business in betting, no matter the sport. But given the steep odds across NRL teams, it also makes betting sense to do it since you’re not risking profit by wagering multiple ways. With that in mind, here are our two favorites betting picks to win the 2022 NRL Grand Final:
Melbourne Storm
We’re not even going to overthink this first pick — the Storm are almost always in the thick of it. Why would anything change this season? Its attack, which was near unstoppable at points this past season, should be back and as good as ever. And yes, they’re losing a few core pieces such as Dale Finucane, Hynes and Josh Addo-Carr. But just like they did with Smith, we anticipate they’ll find suitable replacements.
Plus, Melbourne’s loss to Penrith in last year’s preliminary final felt “fluky.” That’s not to discredit the Panthers, who are talented up and down the roster. But it really felt the Storm beat themselves due to errors and piss-poor execution. If Melbourne can clean up mistakes like those, another 19-win streak is entirely possible and this time, it’ll be capped with a grand final victory. Bet ’em here and don’t think about it twice!
Manly Sea Eagles
Our other pick is another team that fell in the preliminary finals. Yes, we’re riding with the Sea Eagles here. Why? Well, because of Tom Trbojevic, that’s why. “Tommy Turbo” as he’s aptly nicknamed was simply spectacular throughout 2021. It ended with him winning the Dally M Medal, given to the league’s Player of the Year.
Manly will live and die based on how Trbojevic performs, which hey, is a lot of pressure for most players. However, the 25-year-old Trbojevic is not like most players. He’s better and we believe he can will the Sea Eagles to a championship victory, so much so that we’re betting on it.
How To Bet The NRL Grand Final?
Many of the most-used online sportsbooks STILL don’t give rugby its fair shake. Despite growing popularity in pockets around the world, rugby betting can sometimes be hard to find — but not at the bookmakers we’ve listed underneath. For betting on the NRL Grand Finals (and NRL in general), you can’t go wrong with the sportsbooks below. You’ll find up-to-date betting lines on a slew of rugby leagues, whether it’s in Australia, England, or elsewhere. To get started, click around the table!
