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BettingPro's Bets of the Week for 18-20 September 2026: the Bet of the Weekend, our four-leg multi and the best plays across the AFL preliminary finals and the NRL semi-finals.
Welcome to BettingPro’s Bets of the Week: the team’s best plays for 18-20 September 2026. Four knockout finals, one carnival opener, and every pick sourced from our own form and head-to-head pages.
How the card settled: one from four on the knockout finals. Brisbane got up by nine. Sydney, the Sharks and the Warriors all lost, and the Warriors defeat also cost us the Bet of the Weekend. On the track, Cosmic Crusader ran second in the Underwood and Tennessee Bound was scratched from the Sir Rupert Clarke, so that one was a refund rather than a loss. The common thread in the football: we backed the side with the better record in the fixture three times and the record lost every time.
A note on prices this week. Our odds feed is down, so this card carries selections and reasoning but no quoted prices. We will not print a number we cannot verify. Check the live price at a bookmaker before backing any of these.
18+ T&C's Apply. What are you really gambling with? Chances are you're about to lose. Set a Deposit Limit For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au
18+ T&C's Apply. What are you really gambling with? Chances are you're about to lose. Set a Deposit Limit For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au
#AD 18+ T&Cs Apply Imagine what you could be buying instead. For free & confidential support call 180 0858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au
This Weekend’s Best Bets: Full Roundup
🏈 AFL Preliminary Final 1 – Sydney v Fremantle (Fri 18 Sep, SCG)
Settled: lost. Fremantle 12.11 (83) def. Sydney 10.11 (71). We were with Sydney on freshness and a five-game winning run. Sydney led by 28 in the third and did not kick a goal in the last quarter, Fremantle kicking the final six of the night. The one read that did hold up was the venue note below: Fremantle have now won three of their four at the SCG.
Sydney finished 19-5, have won their last five on the bounce and knocked over Brisbane in the qualifying final, which bought them a week on the couch. Fremantle were the better home-and-away side at 20-5 but have taken the long road: beaten by Hawthorn a fortnight ago, then a draining win over Geelong, and now a six-day turnaround and a flight east.
The two have met seven times since 2023 and Sydney lead 4-3, but the splits are strange and they do not flatter the home side. The road team has won five of the seven, and two of Fremantle’s three wins have come at the SCG, including a one-point raid in 2024. Sydney’s edge in this fixture has mostly been built in Perth, which is not where this one is played.
We are still with Sydney, on freshness and on a five-game winning run, but this is the thinnest of the four and anyone taking Fremantle has the head-to-head venue record on their side.
Best Bet: Sydney to win. More detail on the matchup in our Fremantle v Sydney head-to-head and the AFL preliminary finals preview.
🏈 AFL Preliminary Final 2 – Hawthorn v Brisbane (Sat 19 Sep, 5:15pm AEST, MCG)
Hawthorn go in fresher, having beaten Fremantle in week two to skip the semi. Brisbane lost their qualifying final to Sydney and then took Adelaide apart by 53 points, with Charlie Cameron kicking five. The Lions are chasing a third straight flag and have looked like it since August.
Brisbane lead the head-to-head 3-2 since 2023 and won the most recent meeting 125-58 at the Gabba in round 22. That is a 67-point hiding, and while a preliminary final at the MCG is a very different night, nothing in Hawthorn’s recent form suggests they have closed that gap.
Best Bet: Brisbane to win. Won. Brisbane 20.11 (131) def Hawthorn 19.8 (122). Full breakdown on our Brisbane v Hawthorn head-to-head.
🏉 NRL Semi-Final 1 – Roosters v Sharks (Sat 19 Sep, 7:50pm AEST, Allianz Stadium)
This is the one where the market and the form guide disagree. The Roosters host, and they beat the Sharks 27-8 at this ground in round 16. But they have now lost four straight, including the qualifying final to Penrith, and they have not looked like a top-four side for a month.
Cronulla come in off a 26-16 win over the Cowboys and the head-to-head is dead level at 4-4 since 2023. More to the point, the Sharks have already knocked the Roosters out of one finals series recently: they won 20-10 in week one of the 2025 finals. Backing an away side into a home final takes some nerve, but a team on a four-game losing run is not one to be laying odds about in a knockout game.
Best Bet: Sharks to win. Lost. The Roosters won 46-10. See the Sharks v Roosters head-to-head for the full record.
🏉 NRL Semi-Final 2 – Warriors v Knights (Sun 20 Sep, 4:05pm AEST, Eden Park)
Our Bet of the Weekend. The Warriors finished 18-7 and only came unstuck against the Dolphins in the qualifying final. Newcastle have been the story of the back half of the season and knocked out South Sydney 20-10, but this is a horrible matchup for them.
The Warriors have won seven of the nine meetings since 2023, including a 46-32 win at home in round 26 and a 40-10 demolition in a 2023 final. The game has been moved to Eden Park to take the bigger finals crowd, which only sharpens one of the loudest home advantages in the competition.
Best Bet: Warriors to win. Lost. The Knights won 12-10. The record is laid out on our Warriors v Knights head-to-head, and both games are covered in the NRL finals week 2 preview.
🏇 Group 2 7 Stakes – Royal Randwick (Sat 19 Sep)
The Sydney spring carnival opens at Royal Randwick, and the million-dollar 7 Stakes over 1600m is the feature. The draw is Autumn Glow, who returns for Chris Waller first-up, with connections using this as the lead-up to the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes on 17 October rather than a sprint campaign.
Best Bet: none posted yet. Fields and barriers are declared during the week and we do not put up a racing selection before the field is final. Our horse racing tips page carries the selection once the acceptances are out.
Bets of the Week Multi Builder
Our four-leg multi for 18-20 September 2026, all four from knockout finals:
| Leg | Selection | Match |
|---|---|---|
| 1. AFL Preliminary Final 1 | Sydney to win ❌ lost | Sydney v Fremantle (Fremantle won by 12) |
| 2. AFL Preliminary Final 2 | Brisbane to win ✅ won | Hawthorn v Brisbane (Brisbane won by 9) |
| 3. NRL Semi-Final 1 | Sharks to win ❌ lost | Roosters v Sharks (Roosters won 46-10) |
| 4. NRL Semi-Final 2 | Warriors to win ❌ lost | Warriors v Knights (Knights won 12-10) |
We are not quoting a combined price this week. Build the four legs at your bookmaker and it will price the multi for you before you confirm the bet. If you would rather take it in pieces, the two AFL legs are the shorter pair and the Sharks leg is the one carrying the risk.
Our standing four-leg multi lives on the Weekend Mega Multi page, refreshed every week.
Where to Place These Bets
The right bookmaker depends on the market. For same-game and multi builders on the finals, Ladbrokes and Neds have the deepest markets. For racing once the Randwick field is declared, Ladbrokes and Neds again lead on tote guarantees. bet365 and Dabble are strong for straight head-to-head and line betting on both codes. Compare the price at two or three before you take it, because the gap on a knockout final is usually worth more than any sign-up offer.
FAQs
Why are there no odds on this week’s card?
Our odds feed is down, and we do not publish a price we have not verified. Every selection below is the bet we want; click through to a bookmaker for the live price before you back it.
Are these picks tipped to win, or value plays?
Both. Each Best Bet is the selection our analysts rate as the most likely winner at a fair price. Where the market has a game wrong, we say so in the reasoning.
Which games are knockout this weekend?
All four. Penrith and the Dolphins have already qualified for the NRL preliminary finals, so both semi-finals are elimination games, and both AFL preliminary finals decide a Grand Final place.
When do you post racing best bets?
Once fields and barriers are declared, which is usually mid-week for a Saturday meeting. We do not post a racing selection before the field is final.
