Stats could influence NRL Premiership betting

The number crunching has begun in the battle to predict the destination of the NRL premiership, with online betting set to hit top gear as the season heads for the finals.

NRL.com has taken a look through the archive to see what the statistics say about who will win the top prize.

Revelations include the stark fact that no side outside the top four has gone on to claim the premiership since the McIntyre System's arrival in 1999.

This would seem to rule out the likes of the Eels (14.00), Panthers (75.00) and Wests Tigers (70.00) who are all hovering around 8th.

NRL.com's 'Stats Insider' also points out that teams who finish the regular season in second have won the major title twice, while the team finishing in third has won it three times and fourth place has won it twice.

Team three in the current ladder are the Titans, currently at 12.00 with Betfair.

First-placed Dragons are unsurprisingly the current Premiership favourites at 3.65 and the Bulldogs, in second, are at 4.50.

Results also reveal the team finishing in eighth has only won once in 10 attempts at the first week of the finals, while the team finishing fourth has an as-good-as-second record of six wins and four losses in week one.