NRL Round 24 Results: Highlights & Expert Analysis

Indigenous Round brought four upsets and two games decided by two points. The Roosters beat Penrith to take top spot, the Warriors thrashed Brisbane and the Dolphins kept Manly scoreless. Every score plus the full ladder.

Indigenous Round produced four upsets and two games decided by two points. The Roosters beat Penrith 12-6 to take top spot, the Warriors put 40 on Brisbane at Suncorp, the Dolphins kept Manly scoreless, and Canberra and Parramatta both won as outsiders. Melbourne had the bye. It was a rough weekend for the tipsters, ours included.

NRL 2026: Round 24 in Focus

Eight games, four of which went against the tip, and a top eight that is still not settled. Our tips finished four from eight on the result. Game by game below, then the full ladder after Round 24 and what it means with the regular season nearly done.

Roosters go top by beating Penrith at CommBank

Sydney Roosters 12 def. Penrith Panthers 6

A Thursday-night arm-wrestle to open Indigenous Round, and just 18 points in it. The Roosters won 12-6 at CommBank Stadium to sit top of the ladder on 38 points.

Penrith stay second on 36 with the best defensive record in the competition, 313 points conceded from 21 games. Our tip was Penrith by 1 to 12, so this was the first of four results that beat us.

For the complete statistical head-to-head, see our full Penrith vs Sydney Roosters head-to-head record & tips →.

Dolphins keep Manly scoreless at 4 Pines

Dolphins 22 def. Manly Sea Eagles 0

The Dolphins produced the defensive performance of the round, shutting Manly out completely in a 22-0 win on the peninsula. A nil score at home in August is about as bad as a night gets.

The Dolphins hold fourth on 34. Manly are tenth on 24 and their season is drifting. We had the Dolphins by 1 to 12, so the right side but the wrong band.

For the complete statistical head-to-head, see our full Manly vs Dolphins head-to-head record & tips →.

Rabbitohs win the Sydney derby at Accor

South Sydney Rabbitohs 22 def. Canterbury Bulldogs 6

South Sydney were far too good for Canterbury in front of 26,582, winning 22-6 to move seventh on 30 points and into the eight.

Canterbury drop to ninth on 26 and have now lost 11. Our tip of the Bulldogs by 1 to 12 was wrong on the result.

For the complete statistical head-to-head, see our full Canterbury vs South Sydney head-to-head record & tips →.

Raiders steal it in Cronulla

Canberra Raiders 24 def. Cronulla Sharks 20

Canberra went to Shark Park and won by four, which was not in many scripts. The Raiders sit twelfth on 24 but have played a game more than most of the sides around them.

Cronulla stay fifth on 32 with a healthy +165 differential, but this was a chance to press for the top four. We tipped the Sharks by 13 or more, so this one cost us twice over.

For the complete statistical head-to-head, see our full Cronulla vs Canberra head-to-head record & tips →.

Eels edge the Cowboys by two in a 62-point game

Parramatta Eels 32 def. North Queensland Cowboys 30

The best finish of the round. Parramatta and North Queensland traded 62 points and the Eels got home 32-30 at CommBank.

The Cowboys hold eighth on 28 and stay inside the eight, but they now carry a -78 differential, the worst of any side in the top ten. Parramatta are thirteenth. We had the Cowboys by 1 to 12.

For the complete statistical head-to-head, see our full Parramatta vs North Queensland head-to-head record & tips →.

Warriors run riot at Suncorp

New Zealand Warriors 40 def. Brisbane Broncos 6

The Warriors were superb in front of 38,916, winning 40-6 at Suncorp and staying third on 36 with a +276 differential that is second only to Penrith.

Brisbane are sixteenth on 18 and have lost 15 of 21. Our tip of the Warriors by 13 or more was the most comfortable of the round.

For the complete statistical head-to-head, see our full Warriors vs Broncos head-to-head record & tips →.

Knights hold off the Titans in Newcastle

Newcastle Knights 36 def. Gold Coast Titans 26

Newcastle scored 36 at McDonald Jones to win by ten and stay sixth on 32 points, keeping their top-four hopes technically alive.

The Titans are fifteenth. We tipped the Knights by 13 or more; correct side, and the margin band just missed.

For the complete statistical head-to-head, see our full Gold Coast vs Newcastle head-to-head record & tips →.

Dragons pinch the derby by two

St George Illawarra Dragons 24 def. Wests Tigers 22

The wooden-spoon derby went to St George Illawarra by two points, 24-22, in front of 9,773. The Dragons remain seventeenth on 14 but that is a second win in a short space of time.

Wests Tigers are fourteenth on 20. Our tip called this a coinflip and leaned Dragons, which came in.

For the complete statistical head-to-head, see our full St George Illawarra vs Wests Tigers head-to-head record & tips →.

Melbourne had the bye

Melbourne Storm were the bye side in Round 24. They sit eleventh on 24 points, level with Manly and Canberra, with a game in hand on the Raiders.

NRL ladder after Round 24

 

Played totals differ because byes are staggered: every club has been through 24 rounds, and a bye is worth two points in the NRL, which is why the points column does not simply track wins. The top eight advance to the finals.

Ladder implications

The Roosters lead, just: Thirty-eight points and top of the ladder after beating Penrith. The Panthers and Warriors are both on 36.

Penrith and the Warriors own the differentials: Penrith are +286 and the Warriors +276. Nobody else is above +170, which matters if the top two comes down to a split.

The eight is nearly set but not quite: South Sydney are seventh on 30 and North Queensland eighth on 28. Canterbury are ninth on 26, with Manly, Melbourne and Canberra all on 24.

The Cowboys are the vulnerable ones: Eighth place with a -78 differential is the weakest for-and-against in the top ten, and they have played 22 games to Canterbury’s 21.

The bottom four are done: Wests Tigers, Gold Coast, Brisbane and St George Illawarra are all out of contention.

Round 24 talking points

Four upsets in eight games: The Roosters over Penrith, Souths over Canterbury, Canberra at Cronulla and Parramatta over the Cowboys all went against the tip. Rounds like this are why staking discipline matters more than strike rate.

A nil score in August: The Dolphins kept Manly to zero at 4 Pines. Shutouts are rare enough in the NRL that the under and the winning-margin markets both paid on the same game.

Two-point games decide the run home: Parramatta beat the Cowboys by two and the Dragons beat Wests Tigers by two. In a competition this tight, the margin markets are where the value sits rather than the head-to-head.

Byes are still shaping the ladder: Newcastle, North Queensland and Canberra have played 22 games while most rivals have played 21. Read the ladder with played totals in view, not just points.

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