NRL 2025 Least Wins Wooden Spoon Betting – Odds, Tips & Predictions

It’s not just at the top end of the NRL hierarchy where there has been little movement in recent years. While the Panthers have been busy collecting Premierships for fun, the Wests Tigers have been doing the same with Wooden Spoons. They have won three on the trot, but barring a catastrophe for the Tigers that will change this season. They will almost certainly tear themselves off the bottom of the ladder and likely quite comfortably, though NRL betting sites are not particularly clear on who will replace them. Below, we take a look at the favourites to win the Wooden Spoon a month or so into the season.

After a really poor 2024 season, there was some hope that the Eels would be able to haul themselves a few spots up the ladder this year, but the early signs have not been good. They started the year with the toughest test in the league with a trip to AAMI Park to face the Storm, and it’s safe to say they didn’t acquit themselves particularly well with a 56-18 loss.

Things got even worse the next week when they lost to the Tigers 32-6, and while they were a little more competitive over the next fortnight they still lost relatively comfortably to the Bulldogs and Sea Eagles. Perhaps the one saving grace for the Eels is that their draw has been fairly difficult to start the season and they will be better placed to get some points on the board once it eases up, but they have not looked good so far. With few obviously bad teams this season, it’s hard to see them getting out of the bottom couple of spots on the ladder.

• What brings them here? The Eels weren’t good last year, and despite a bit more optimism heading into 2025 they have started really badly.
  What has changed? A huge 13 players left the Eels’ squad from last year, including former skipper Clint Gutherson, while their seven recruits include Zac Lomax, Jack Williams and Isaiah Iongi.
  Injury report. Parramatta can’t exactly blame injuries for their woes – Jack Williams is out till Round 10 and the pivotal Mitchell Moses till mid-April, but that’s it.

Bet on the Eels to win the Wooden Spoon @ $3.25 with PlayUp

The Dolphins have done really well over their first two seasons in the league to avoid being part of this conversation, with strong starts in both 2023 and 2024 putting them closer to the finals mix than the Wooden Spoon. Unfortunately, with Wayne Bennett now gone, all that over-achieving that they’ve done over the past couple of years appears to have deserted them.

A month into the season they remained winless, the only team alongside the Eels in that situation. They have, however, been competitive in most of those games, losing them all by 14 points or less. They are capable of beating plenty of teams in the league, but with so little separating so many teams the way a few close results swing could be the difference between being a bottom-feeder and a finals contender. So far, those close results have not swung the Dolphins way. They have, at least, been the more competitive winless team by some margin, so while this season already looks like a write-off from a finals perspective, there might be better value for the Wooden Spoon on the board.

• What brings them here? The Dolphins have had a pretty positive first couple of years in the league despite not making finals, but have started 2025 poorly.
  
• What has changed? Daniel Saifiti comes across from the Knights, while both Jarrod Wallace and Kenny Bromwich have hung up the boots.
  
• Injury report. Thomas Flegler will remain out until mid-season with a shoulder injury, while Trai Fuller is indefinite as he recovers from an ACL.

Bet on the Dolphins to win the Wooden Spoon @ $4.00 with PlayUp

The Cowboys must be a frustrating team to follow, with the gap between their best and their worst resulting in a rollercoaster 2024 season. That potential, particularly with ball in hand, can make them an exciting team to watch at times, but their inconsistent defence can be a major problem, and that bad has well and truly outweighed the good in the early parts of 2025.

The Cowboys, hoping to return to the finals this year despite some key losses, looked like the worst team in the league over the first three weeks, conceding an average of nearly 35 points per game en route to three consecutive double-figure defeats. They finally got on the board in Round 4 with a 10-point defeat of the Raiders, but if they don’t sort out their defensive woes in a hurry their season will quickly find itself down the gurgler. This side should be too good to be near the bottom of the ladder, but they are very capable of losing their way and if things continue to go badly it’s easy to see their issues spiralling. A Wooden Spoon shouldn’t be on the cards, but in a competitive season it’s hard to completely rule them out.

• What brings them here? The Cowboys made the semi-finals last season, but endured a really bad start to 2025.
  
• What has changed? Valentine Holmes, Chad Townsend and Kyle Feldt are gone, while John Bateman has joined the team.
  
• Injury report. Tom Chester and Heilum Luki are out for the season with ACLs.

Bet on the Cowboys to win the Wooden Spoon @ $7.50 with PlayUp

After those aforementioned five the odds grow substantially, with the Raiders next in line. They entered the season as the favourites in this market, though not exactly a red-hot one – they were paying around $5.50 with betting sites in Australia to win it. But they quickly removed that unwanted tag of Wooden Spoon favourites with a 30-8 win over the Warriors and then an arguably even more impressive 32-22 win over the Broncos to start the season 2-0.

But the next fortnight was as disappointing as the first was impressive. After those two quality wins, they gave up 40 points to the Sea Eagles in a 28-point loss in which the scoreboard actually flattered them, and then gave the Cowboys their first win of the year the next week. It was an erratic start, though the second of those fortnights suggested this team could still struggle this year. Banking two wins in the first two games makes it unlikely they’ll finish bottom, but it’s very possible that end up standing out in an otherwise poor year. They’ve given themselves a good head start, but the Raiders aren’t the worst pick on the board at long odds on the betting apps.

• What brings them here? The Raiders entered the year as favourites in this market but started well, though a subsequent drop in form means they could be decent value.
  What has changed? Quite a lot. The Raiders have lost Elliott Whitehead, Nick Cotric, Zac Woolford, Adrian Trevilyan and Jordan Rapana to the UK, while Ethan Sanders is their biggest gain.
  Injury report. The Raiders won’t have Albert Hopoate available for the rest of the season, while Ethan Sanders and Jordan Martin are listed as TBC and Zac Hosking is due back in mid-late April.

Bet on the Raiders to win the Wooden Spoon @ $17.00 with PlayUp

The Wests Tigers have spent more than their fair share of time at the bottom of the ladder over the past few years, winning three consecutive Wooden Spoons, but finally things appear to be turning around for Benji Marshall and co. The acquisitions of Jarome Luai and a handful of others were always going to help, and they’ve wasted no time demonstrating their importance to this team.

After winning just 14 games in the past three years, the Tigers won two of their first three and very nearly all three of them, the solitary loss coming by just two points to the Knights in Round 1. They subsequently beat the Eels and the Dolphins easily, before losing to the Warriors again by two points. They were that close to a 4-0 start, and while they ultimately split those games 2-2, they still look like they’re going to win a solid number of games this season – certainly more than they have in the past few years, and more than enough to avoid a fourth straight Wooden Spoon. 

• What brings them here? The Tigers have lived at the bottom for the past three years, but a number of quality pick-ups and a good start to the season have seen them drift to a long-odds outsider.
  What has changed? Plenty. Terrell May, Royce Hunt, Sunia Turuva and Luai have come on board, while the enigmatic Stefano Utoikamanu has left.
  Injury report. Brent Naden is due back in mid-late April, while Luai got suspended for a week in Round 4.

Bet on the Tigers to win the Wooden Spoon @ $17.00 with PlayUp

Finally to the Newcastle Knights, who are realistically more likely to be pushing for a finals spot than scampering to avoid the Wooden Spoon. Though they are a little stuck in no-mans land, the Knights have made the finals in the past two seasons and started this year with consecutive wins over first the Tigers, then the Dolphins.

That winning streak came to an end when they were beaten easily by the Titans, but while they looked a little like a Wooden Spoon side in that game, they should win more than their fair share of games this year. The Knights are no world beaters and probably won’t be causing too many headaches for the top teams this season, but it would be a big surprise to see them fail to win enough games to beat at least a few teams past the post.

• What brings them here? The Knights have been finalists in each of the past two seasons and are long odds in this market for a reason.
  
• What has changed? They have lost Daniel Saifiti and brought in James Schiller, but there hasn’t been many major changes to this team this season.
  
• Injury report. Dylan Lucas and Tyson Gamble are both listed as TBC with a hamstring and back respectively. 

Bet on the Knights to win the Wooden Spoon @ $23.00 with PlayUp

This is a tricky market this season, and more than likely the team that does end up on the bottom would not have been a Wooden Spooner in plenty of other seasons. With no real standout bad teams there are plenty of teams that could potentially finish near the bottom, but unfortunately for us the betting sites look to have things pretty on the money at this stage. As far as outsiders go, the Raiders are one that could be decent value, with their odds having drifted out hugely after a good first fortnight which may not be reflective of how their season will unfold. But right now, it’s the Wooden Spoon favourites in the Eels who look the way to go. They have struggled in the absence of the players they lost in the off-season, and look like the worst team in the league in the early stages of the season.

• Only 2 sides have won the NRL Premiership within 2 years of winning the Wooden Spoon, – the Panthers in 2003 and the Sharks in 2016. No team has ever won the NRL Premiership the year after a Wooden Spoon win.

Most Wooden Spoons Won

• 17 – Western Suburbs Magpies (now defunct), lastly in 1999.
• 14 – Parramatta Eels – most Wooden Spoon finishes among current clubs.

Least Wooden Spoons Won

• The Wests Tigers, Manly Sea Eagles and St George Illawarra Dragons have never won the Wooden Spoon, while the Canberra Raiders finished last only once in their maiden year in the NRL competition in 1982.

Most ‘successful’ Wooden Spoon turnaround team

• The 2009 Sydney Roosters finished last and bounced back to reach the 2010 NRL Grand Final but were denied the ultimate turnaround after being defeated by the St George Illawarra Dragons in the ‘big dance’.