Oscar Pannifex breaks down Round 11 of the NRLW, offering his usual expertise, analysis, and betting plays on the neds blog!
A try in the very first minute through Corban Baxter summed up the tale of the tape v North Queensland last week. This Easts pack are quite simply unmatched in the NRLW right now to consistently lay a winning platform for Tarryn Aiken and Jocellyn Kelleher in attack.
The Roosters halves are the form pairing in the competition and while Tayla Preston’s boot will at least help Canterbury remain competitive in yardage, the Bulldogs attack can’t hope to go with Easts here.
Roosters by how many, on their way to an historic undefeated regular season record.
Tips: Sydney Roosters 13+
Anytime Tryscorer: Sariah Paki @ $2.30, Brydie Parker @ $1.32
The stage was set last week for Wests to declare themselves as genuine NRLW contenders but they did just about everything wrong in a 58-0 capitulation v Titans.
Penalties and errors in every set to begin the first half saw the Gold Coast run out to an early lead and the Tigers simply couldn’t stop the rot from there. With twice as many tackles made as their opposition by halftime, fatigue was the difference after the break.
Canberra are also coming off a shock loss, albeit in a very different fashion.
The Raiders were ambushed by Parramatta last week and impressed to claw their way back before conceding on the buzzer. In what profiles as another close game here (assuming a response from the Tigers), it’s unclear what sort of Raiders side we might see this weekend.
Tigers to bounce back.
Tips: Wests Tigers 1-12 @ $3.15
Anytime Tryscorer: Salma Nour @ $4.75
For the second time this year, the Cowboys defence collapsed to the tune of 50 points last week.
Admittedly it was against a red-hot Roosters attack, but the result highlights North Queensland’s deficiencies right now. For all their genuine improvements mid-way through the season, the Cowboys lack the personnel to be a genuine chance in the yardage battle each week.
Parramatta’s own productivity through the middle-third can highlight those issues again here. The Eels have arguably been the disappointments of the 2026 NRLW season but are far better than their ladder position suggests.
If they can play another clean 70 minutes on both sides of the ball like they did v Canberra, their pack will earn Rory Owen enough chances to help Parra finish their season on a high.
Tips: Parramatta Eels to Win
Anytime Tryscorer: Rory Owen @ $1.72, Rory Owen 2+ @ $3.80
Cronulla produced one of their best performances of the season last week, clawing back a 10-point deficit with four well-worked second-half tries.
The development of Chantay Kiria-Ratu was on show behind a winning forward pack; she kicked the Sharks into strong position on fifth tackle and executed smartly in good-ball. Expect her to take another leading role here if Cronulla can win the ruck as they did last week.
Quincy Dodd was instrumental to that momentum through the middle-third against New Zealand and I like her to feature on the scoreboard again.
Despite their ladder position, St George held their gloves up against Brisbane last week and can make this another contest early. How their pack handles these big Sharks forwards once fatigue sets in might be the difference.
Tips: St George-Illawarra Dragons to Cover the Line (+8.5 Points) @ $1.90
Anytime Tryscorer: Teagan Berry @ $1.80
A disappointing second-half against Cronulla leaves this New Zealand side at long odds to play finals footy this year. There was enough quality throughout this roster to give the Wahs a genuine hope of finishing in the Top 6 this year, but inconsistencies and inexperience ultimately proved the difference – both last week and throughout the regular season.
Given the number of ex-Broncos in this Warriors line up, I like New Zealand to make this more of a contest than their ladder position suggests. The Wahs play a physical brand of footy when they’re on and can lean into the emotions of a few personal rivalries here.
Brisbane have played themselves back into some sort of form after a hiccup mid-way through the year and should bank this on their way to another finals campaign. With so much of what they do well still coming solely through Tamika Upton though, the challenge for New Zealand here is simple but a challenge nonetheless.
Tips: Brisbane Broncos to Win
Anytime Tryscorer: Tamika Upton @ $1.28, Kerrie Johnson @ $1.48
There’s been plenty of attention on the Titans throughout a compelling 2026 NRLW campaign but there’s just as much to like about Newcastle right now.
Coming off a 50-point drubbing of North Queensland last week, we got to see the Knights open up and work through the gears. Kirra Dibb is relishing the responsibility of a primary playmaker but she’s enjoying wonderful support from Georgia Roche and Lucy Spain in the spine around her.
The Titans also ran up a cricket score last week but lost star five-eighth Teagan Levi (HIA) in the process. They’ve got the systems to maintain the rage but it undoubtedly puts a ceiling on their attack and makes this a far more winnable game for the Knights.
Tips: Newcastle Knights to Cover the Line (+13.5 Points) @ $1.90
Anytime Tryscorer: Sidney Taylor @ $2.95
