NRL 2025 Round 5 – Betting Tips, Odds & Predictions

Round 5 of the 2025 NRL season is Multicultural Round, celebrating the 65 different nations represented in this season in a league in which one-third of players were born overseas, and around half have at least one parent born overseas. As for the games themselves, it kicks off when the Raiders host the Sharks on Thursday night, while highlights include Saturday night’s clash between the Broncos and the improved Tigers, and a Sunday afternoon fixture in Manly between the Sea Eagles and Storm. Below, you can take a look at our previews and NRL tips and predictions for all eight games.

The Raiders strong start to the season has quickly come undone over the past couple of weeks, with a loss to the previously winless Cowboys last weekend following on from a flogging at the hands of the Sea Eagles to take their record to 2-2. That’s a record they share with just two other teams, one of whom they will host this weekend.

The Sharks were unable to make it three wins on the trot in Round 4, going down relatively meekly to the impressive Bulldogs after consecutive strong wins. But despite the similar starts to the season for these two teams from a win/loss perspective, the Sharks will head to this game strongly expecting to bounce back with another win. They won’t have it all their own way, but the visitors should be able to pick up their third win of the season this Thursday night.

Bookmaker	James’ Tip	Odds
	Sharks to win	$1.60
	Sharks -3.5	$1.87
	Sharks 7+	$2.15

Predicted Squads

Canberra Raiders: 1. Kaeo Weekes 2. Savelio Tamale 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Seb Kris 5. Xavier Savage 6. Ethan Strange 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papali'i 9. Tom Starling 10. Joe Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Matty Nicholson 13. Morgan Smithies 14. Owen Pattie 15. Corey Horsburgh 16. Trey Mooney 17. Ata Mariota

Cronulla Sharks: 1. Will Kennedy 2. Samuel Stonestreet 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Daniel Atkinson 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Braydon Trindall 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Oregon Kaufusi 11. Briton Nikora 12. Teig Wilton 13. Cameron McInnes 14. Jayden Berrell 15. Tom Hazelton 16. Toby Rudolf 17. Tuku Hau Tapuha

What an interesting position the Panthers find themselves in. A couple of off-season personnel losses were always going to sting a little, but they nonetheless entered it as second-favourite to win what would be an incredible fifth consecutive flag. Three losses in their first four games, however, is not the ideal start. After beating the Rabbitohs in Vegas to start, they have lost three in a row, the latest against the Bunnies, and are now in relatively desperate need of a win.

Fortunately, they return home to take on a Cowboys team that has by and large struggled to start the season. They did record their first victory of the season on the weekend, beating the Raiders by ten points, but prior to that they had been nothing short of a disaster. The Panthers are clearly not a patch on the team they have been the past few years at the moment, but they’re still more than capable of finding that form and shouldn’t have too many issues disposing of the Cowboys.

Bookmaker	James’ Tip	Odds
	Panthers to win	$1.23
	Panthers 7+	$1.53
	Panthers -13.5	$1.88

Predicted Squads

Penrith Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Paul Alamoti 3. Izack Tago 4. Thomas Jenkins 5. Casey McLean 6. Jack Cole 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. Lindsay Smith 11. Luke Garner 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Daine Laurie 15. Liam Henry 16. Isaiah Papali'i 17. Matthew Eisenhuth

North Queensland Cowboys: 1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Robert Derby 3. Jaxon Purdue 4. Viliami Vailea 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Jake Clifford 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 10. Jason Taumalolo 11. John Bateman 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Reuben Cotter 14. Sam McIntyre 15. Kai O'Donnell 16. Griffin Neame 17. Coen Hess

An off-season is a long time in the NRL, and these two teams are a good indication of that. Last year, the Rabbitohs finished second-last while the Roosters were a top four team, and while they won’t likely be swapping places this season, the Bunnies have started the season very well under Wayne Bennett while Sydney is struggling immensely. South Sydney’s win over the Panthers in Round 4 took them to 3-1 a year after they were 1-9 ten weeks into the season, and incredibly they now head into this clash with their oldest rival as the favourite.

In contrast to the Rabbitohs, the Roosters woes continued last weekend with an 18-point loss to the Titans, taking them to 1-3 for the year. Their offence, so dominant last season, has failed to score more than 14 points in three of those four games, and it’s hard to see where things are going to turn around for them any time soon. These games are always fiercely contested and that should be no different on Saturday afternoon, but the Bunnies have their puffy tails up and can notch up another win at home.

Bookmaker	James’ Tip	Odds
	Rabbitohs to win	$1.75
	Rabbitohs 1-12	$3.20
	Roosters under 2.5 tries	$4.30

Predicted Squads

South Sydney Rabbitohs: 1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Jye Gray 3. Jack Wighton 4. Isaiah Tass 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Cody Walker 7. Jamie Humphreys 8. Sean Keppie 9. Peter Mamouzelos 10. Tevita Tatola 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Jai Arrow 13. Lachlan Hubner 14. Jayden Sullivan 15. Davvy Moale 16. Tallis Duncan 17. Siliva Havili

Sydney Roosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Mark Nawaqanitawase 4. Robert Toia 5. Dom Young 6. Sandon Smith 7. Chad Townsend 8. Naufahu Whyte 9. Connor Watson 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Angus Crichton 12. Siua Wong 13. Nat Butcher 14. Zach Dockar-Clay 15. Spencer Leniu 16. Blake Steep 17. Salesi Foketi

• The Bulldogs lost only a couple of games at home last season, and in their home clash against the Knights won 36-12
• The Sharks have been dominant over the Raiders over the past couple of years, winning three in a row by an average of 24 points, including a 40-0 drubbing last time they met.
• The Panthers strangely lost to the Cowboys in Penrith last year, but in their three prior home games against North Queensland they won by an incredible aggregate of 90-12.

Multi of the Week

This is not exactly the most enthralling match-up of the weekend, but both teams will enter it with the hope of securing a win in a season in which they might not be all that easy to come by. Certainly that’s proven the case for the Eels so far; their 14-point defeat to the Sea Eagles on Sunday left them as one of just two winless teams, and their points difference of -86 is comfortably the worst in the league.

The Dragons, meanwhile, removed themselves from that category of winless teams with a really impressive defeat of the Storm which very few predicted. The week off seemed to serve them well after two consecutive tight losses to start the year, and after beating arguably the best team in the league they will feel confident in their ability to pick up their second win in a row against probably the worst.

Bookmaker	James’ Tip	Odds
	Dragons to win	$1.60
	Dragons -4.5	$1.95
	Dragons 7+	$2.10

Predicted Squads

Parramatta Eels: 1. Isaiah Iongi 2. Sean Russell 3. Will Penisini 4. Zac Lomax 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Dylan Brown 7. Dean Hawkins 8. Joe Ofahengaue 9. Joey Lussick 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Kitione Kautoga 13. J'maine Hopgood 14. Ryley Smith 15. Dylan Walker 16. Dan Keir 17. Sam Tuivaiti

St. George Illawarra Dragons: 1. Clint Gutherson 2. Tyrell Sloan 3. Moses Suli 4. Valentine Holmes 5. Christian Tuipulotu 6. Kyle Flanagan 7. Lachlan Ilias 8. Toby Couchman 9. Damien Cook 10. David Klemmer 11. Luciano Leilua 12. Jaydn Su'A 13. Jack de Belin 14. Jacob Liddle 15. Blake Lawrie 16. Hamish Stewart 17. Dylan Egan

There have been a couple of teams unexpectedly fly out of the blocks this season, and the Titans might be chief among them. Admittedly they have not had the toughest draw in the world, but they have been impressive over the first month in picking up three wins in four games, and now get a great opportunity to go to 4-1. Bizarrely, this will be the second time they’ve played the Dolphins this season already, having beaten them by eight points in Round 1.

That result set the tone for a dreadful start to the season for the Dolphins, who appear to be taking some time to adjust to life without Wayne Bennett. After over-performing in each of their first two seasons in the league, they are winless through four games and second-last on the ladder, and that looks likely to continue this weekend. They’ve been at least relatively competitive in every game and should avoid being blown out here, but it's hard to see them winning.

Bookmaker	James’ Tip	Odds
	Titans to win	$1.53
	Titans 1-12	$3.20
	Titans/Titans half-time/full-time	$2.05

Predicted Squads

Gold Coast Titans: 1. Jaylan de Groot 2. Tony Francis 3. Brian Kelly 4. Phillip Sami 5. Jojo Fifita 6. AJ Brimson 7. Jayden Campbell 8. Mo Fotuaika 9. Sam Verrills 10. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 11. Klese Haas 12. Beau Fermor 13. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui 14. Chris Randall 15. David Fifita 16. Jaimin Jolliffe 17. Brock Gray

Dolphins: 1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Jake Averillo 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Jack Bostock 6. Kodi Nikorima 7. Isaiya Katoa 8. Daniel Saifiti 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Felise Kaufusi 11. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki 12. Oryn Keeley 13. Max Plath 14. Kurt Donoghoe 15. Mark Nicholls 16. Ray Stone 17. Kenny Bromwich

The Broncos weren’t exactly at their best last weekend, but they did what they had to do against the Dolphins to secure their third win from four games in season 2025. Though the end result was just eight points, the Broncos led by two scores for virtually the entire game and were up 20-6 until a Dolphins try in the dying minutes made the scoreboard look a little closer than the game really was.

The Wests Tigers, meanwhile, went agonisingly close to continuing their own excellent start to the season, ultimately falling just two points short of the Warriors. That would have made it three wins on the trot – some result for a team which has finished on the bottom of the ladder for the past three seasons – and having led with just ten minutes to go they will be flat to have let that game slip. Still, it isn’t all about winning for the Tigers this season, and already their improvement is plain to see. Will that be enough to beat the Broncos at Suncorp? Probably not, but they should be a whole lot more competitive than they would have been over the past few seasons.

Bookmaker	James’ Tip	Odds
	Tigers +17.5	$1.95
	Broncos 1-12	$3.60
	Broncos/Broncos half-time/full-time double	$1.40

Predicted Squads

Brisbane Broncos: 1. Reece Walsh 2. Selwyn Cobbo 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Gehamat Shibasaki 5. Jesse Arthars 6. Ben Hunt 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Patrick Carrigan 9. Cory Paix 10. Payne Haas 11. Jack Gosiewski 12. Brendan Piakura 13. Kobe Hetherington 14. Billy Walters 15. Corey Jensen 16. Xavier Willison 17. Jaiyden Hunt

Wests Tigers: 1. Jahream Bula 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Adam Doueihi 4. Starford To'a 5. Jeral Skelton 6. Lachlan Galvin 7. Latu Fainu 8. Terrell May 9. Api Koroisau 10. Fonua Pole 11. Jack Bird 12. Alex Seyfarth 13. Alex Twal 14. Tallyn Da Silva 15. Royce Hunt 16. Tony Sukkar 17. Sione Fainu

The Sea Eagles were handed a pretty friendly first month of games, but they have capitalised on it with three dominant wins from their four games. The latest was a 14-point win over the Eels which followed on from much bigger wins against the Cowboys and Raiders, though their solitary game against a team with decent finals prospect saw them go down by 20 points to the Warriors. This Sunday’s clash will be comfortably their sternest test of the season to date.

After entering the season as Premiership favourites, the Storm picked up two wins to start the year including one against the team that beat them in last year’s Grand Final, though last weekend’s six-point loss to the Dragons was a big surprise and far from their best performance. If they play like that again the Sea Eagles are every chance, but rarely do the boys in purple play two bad games in a row. Playing the Storm isn’t a particularly nice prospect at the best of times; after a performance like last week, they will come out breathing fire and should be able to not only win, but relatively comfortably clear the 4.5-point line set by betting sites.

Bookmaker	James’ Tip	Odds
	Storm to win	$1.55
	Storm -4.5	$1.91
	Storm 7+	$2.05

Predicted Squads

Manly Sea Eagles: 1. Lehi Hopoate 2. Jason Saab 3. Tolu Koula 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Clayton Faulalo 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Josh Aloiai 9. Jazz Tevaga 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Jake Simpkin 15. Corey Waddell 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Nathan Brown

Melbourne Storm: 1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. Will Warbrick 3. Jack Howarth 4. Grant Anderson 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. Tyran Wishart 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Shawn Blore 12. Eli Katoa 13. Trent Loiero 14. Bronson Garlick 15. Alec MacDonald 16. Tui Kamikamica 17. Nelson Asofa-Solomona

Four rounds into the season, and the Bulldogs sit atop the NRL ladder as the only undefeated team left in the league. Their draw has admittedly not been the toughest, but they did what they needed to against the Dragons, Titans and Eels and upon facing a sterner test against the Sharks in Cronulla last weekend, promptly went on to win by 14 points. They look to have taken a step forward yet again, and back on their home turf this weekend look well placed to make it five from five.

The Knights have not been bad by any means and picked up tight wins in their first two games, but they were pumped by the Titans in Round 3 and have since had a couple of weeks to think about through their Round 4 bye. Unfortunately for Kalyn Ponga and co, they aren’t exactly set to be eased back into the season. The Bulldogs were excellent at home last season and having seemingly improved in 2025, will likely be hard to beat at Accor Stadium once again. They should be able to close out Round 5 with their fifth consecutive win.

Bookmaker	James’ Tip	Odds
	Bulldogs to win	$1.48
	Bulldogs -6.5	$1.95
	Bulldogs 13+	$2.65

Predicted Squads

Canterbury Bulldogs: 1. Connor Tracey 2. Blake Wilson 3. Bronson Xerri 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Bailey Hayward 7. Toby Sexton 8. Max King 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Daniel Suluka-Fifita 11. Josh Curran 12. Jacob Preston 13. Jaeman Salmon 14. Kurt Mann 15. Harry Hayes 16. Kurtis Morrin 17. Jack Todd

Newcastle Knights: 1. Kalyn Ponga 2. James Schiller 3. Dane Gagai 4. Bradman Best 5. Greg Marzhew 6. Fletcher Sharpe 7. Jack Cogger 8. Jacob Saifiti 9. Phoenix Crossland 10. Brodie Jones 11. Dylan Lucas 12. Tyson Frizell 13. Adam Elliott 14. Jayden Brailey 15. Jack Hetherington 16. Mat Croker 17. Thomas Cant

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