The Bulldogs are the panel’s lock of the weekend, while the Cowboys are heavily favoured in Vegas.
Our RLZ experts have crunched the form, stats, and latest news to bring you confident predictions.
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Round 1 Fixtures & Expert Predictions
All times AEDT
Newcastle Knights vs North Queensland Cowboys (Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas – Sun Mar 1, 1:15pm AEDT)
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs St George Illawarra Dragons (Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas – Sun Mar 1, 3:30pm AEDT)
Team Lists and Late Mail: https://rugbyleaguezone.com/nrl-round-1-team-lists-2026/
| Game / Writer | Matt Pritchard | Andrew Pelechaty | Brendan Wood | Chris Petrie | Jem Nash | Lachlan Jeffery | Mathew Williams | Matt Attard | Nathan Smith | Shannon Meyer | Round Total Correct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score (Season) | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | – |
| Knights vs Cowboys | Cowboys by 8 ❌ | Cowboys by 20 ❌ | Cowboys by 10 ❌ | Cowboys by 10 ❌ | Cowboys by 4 ❌ | Knights by 6 ✅ | Cowboys by 12 ❌ | Cowboys by 22 ❌ | Cowboys by 14 ❌ | Cowboys by 22 ❌ | |
| Bulldogs vs Dragons | Dragons by 4 ❌ | Bulldogs by 8 ✅ | Bulldogs by 6 ✅ | Bulldogs by 12 ✅ | Bulldogs by 14 ✅ | Bulldogs by 18 ✅ | Bulldogs by 18 ✅ | Bulldogs by 8 ✅ | Bulldogs by 16 ✅ | Bulldogs by 16 ✅ | |
| Round Score | 0/2 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 2/2 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 9/20 |
- Knights vs Cowboys — 9/10 tipping Cowboys (only Lachlan Jeffery backing Knights by 6). Margins range 4–22; average Cowboys margin among backers: ~13.6 points. Strong consensus for North Queensland in the Vegas opener.
- Bulldogs vs Dragons — 9/10 tipping Bulldogs (margins 6–18, average ~13.0 points). Matt Pritchard is the lone contrarian with Dragons by 4 — the panel’s biggest upset call of the round.
The Bulldogs are the overwhelming lock for our writers, while the Cowboys are heavily favoured (with Jem Nash seeing the closest contest at by 4). Matt Pritchard’s Dragons tip stands out as the boldest take.
