NRL 2022 Premiership Winner Betting Preview – Odds, Tips & Predictions

With the upcoming NRL season set to kick off in March, we take a look forward at who are likely to be the major contenders to take home the coveted NRL Premiership in 2022.  Online betting sites  like  PlayUp  have a range of  NRL betting markets set for the remainder of the 2022 season to help you get the best price possible on your tip to take out the title.

There are a number of teams more than capable of taking out the 2022 NRL Premiership, but as cliché as it may seem to pick last year’s winners to go back-to-back, there’s plenty of reasons to like the Panthers’ chances. Their best player and the reigning Clive Churchill Medallist Nathan Cleary is still just 24 years old and has scope to improve even further, Brian To’o runs the ball as well as any winger in the game, and the team will be brimming with confidence following their 2021 success. There is no shortage of teams capable of knocking them off their proverbial throne, but we’re backing the Panthers to take home the silverware once again in 2022.

The Penrith Panthers to win the 2021 NRL Premiership

Let’s examine other great NRL teams and their odds to lift the NRL Premiership Trophy in 2022.

The young and exciting Panthers fell agonisingly short of winning just the third Premiership in their history in 2020, but last year they proved that they were far from a one-hit wonder, impressing throughout the season and ultimately going on to win a thrilling Grand Final against the Rabbitohs to break an 18-year drought. Superstar Nathan Cleary was an unsurprising Clive Churchill Medallist, and he will be expecting to lead his talented young team deep into the finals once again in 2022.

The Storm’s seemingly endless run at the top of the NRL table continued last season, with Melbourne’s only side finishing the home and away season in first, just ahead of both Penrith and South Sydney. Unfortunately, they couldn’t add to their trophy collection, going down in a tight and low-scoring Preliminary Final to eventual Premiership winners in the Panthers. With so much talent in their ranks their reign at or near the top appears far from over, and they should be a force to be reckoned with once again in 2022.

One of the most successful teams in NRL history, the Roosters have been particularly dominant in recent years having taken out both the 2018 and 2019 Premierships. Their quest for a three-peat fell short when they were eliminated in the semi-finals in 2020, and they repeated that dose last season after being thrashed 42-6 by the Sea Eagles. Despite that unflattering finals exit, however, the Roosters have a list that is littered with talent, and if they can find their best they will be right in the mix once again in 2022.

The Sea Eagles started off the 2021 season with four consecutive losses, giving them a record of 7-17 over the course of those four games and the 2020 season. The turnaround thereafter was dramatic, with Manly going on to win 16 of their final 20 games to sneak into the top four. They made it to the Preliminary Finals before being comprehensively outclassed by the Rabbitohs, but led by Dally M Medallist Tom Trbojevic as well as Daly Cherry-Evans, they can continue their upward trajectory in 2022 and once again cause plenty of headaches.

The Rabbitohs are the most successful team in NRL history with 21 Premierships, but 20 of them having come before 1972 suggests they are far from the force they once were. After many lean years, however, they’ve managed to enjoy some success in recent years, most notably a 2014 Premiership. Last season they went heartbreakingly close to adding a 22nd Provan-Summons Trophy to their cabinet, but a 14-12 loss to the Panthers consigned them to their first runners-up performance since 1969. Despite the loss, however, the season suggested good things are on the horizon for the Bunnies, and they’ll be a threat once again in 2022.

With the exception of an anomalous 2018 season which saw them finish dead last, the Eels have been a consistently dangerous team over the past five years, but they have developed an unhappy knack of being knocked out in the semi-finals. 2021 spelled the fourth time in five years they’ve been sent packing in week two of the finals, suggesting that something has to change if they’re to match it with the best. Expect them to again be knocking on the door of the top four in 2022, but they’ve got their work cut out to match it with the above teams.

The Raiders’ hunt for an inaugural Premiership in the NRL era is set to continue in 2022, but they’ll need to demonstrate a significant turnaround in form if they’re to get anywhere near it. The 2019 Grand Finalists suffered a significant drop-off last year, and though they finished the season reasonably well, their poor start left them too much to do and they ended up finishing in tenth place. There were some positive signs towards the latter end of the season that suggested brighter times may be in store in 2022, but they appear a step below the best of the best.

Is 2022 the year the Titans finally start making some noise? There was a bit to like about Gold Coast last season – though their defence had more holes than a slice of swiss cheese at times, when they were at their best their offensive prowess was among the best in the league. They snuck into the top eight and went extremely close to knocking the Roosters off in what would have been a significant Elimination Final upset, and that one-point loss would have made the Titans even hungrier heading into 2022.

Most NRL Premierships

• South Sydney Rabbitohs – 21
• Sydney Roosters – 15
• St George Dragons – 15
• Balmain Tigers – 11
• Manly Sea Eagles – 8
• Canterbury Bulldogs – 8

Longest Grand Final Winning Steak

• 11 years – 1956 to 1966 – St George Dragons

Current clubs yet to win a NRL Premiership

• New Zealand Warriors – 1995 to Present
• Gold Coast Titans – 2007 to Present

Longest NRL Match Winning Streak

• 19 matches – Eastern Suburbs Roosters (1975)

Most NRL games played

• Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm) 430 games (2002 to 2020)