Shane Flanagan’s NRL side were being heavily backed to finish last in 2025 before Christmas – but things have changed.
Move over St George Illawarra, you’ve suddenly got serious company in the fight to avoid the wooden spoon. In a surprising twist, the TAB has revealed to Yahoo Sport Australia why the Dolphins and Warriors are now the heaviest backed teams to run last in 2025 after the Dragons had occupied that unwanted position pre-Christmas.
Seemingly buoyed by the positive vibes coming out of Wollongong – on the back of experienced duo Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook being named co-captains – punters have drifted away from the Red V on the TAB’s “most losses” market. They are now on the same line of betting as the Dolphins, who have been wound in from $9 to $5.50.
There is also plenty of money for Parramatta ($13) and the Cowboys ($15), while the Tigers are at $8 to make it four straight wooden spoons. “We’ve pushed the Dragons out and tightened the Dolphins so that they’re now joint favourites for Most Losses,” TAB spokesman Rohan Welsh told Yahoo Sport Australia. “TAB punters appear to be liking what they’re hearing and seeing out of the Dragons with some senior recruits sparking some notable interest within our key markets.
“There was some early interest in them for Most Losses but that’s cooled a little and they’re now back to fourth most popular in that market with around 7% of the TAB outlays, just a little more than the likes of Parramatta and the Cowboys. The Warriors and Dolphins are best backed for Most Losses with close to half the market share between them, but it’s the most open market we’ve had on the wooden spoon in years.”
Dragons tipped for stunning rise into top-eight
Not only are punters confident Saints won’t finish 17th, they’re just as convinced coach Shane Flanagan can guide the Dragons to the top eight for the first time since 2018. Welsh said: “The big indicator showing there’s genuine support for a return to form for the Red V is the weight of money for them in TAB’s top 8 market.
“They’re comfortably best backed to make the playoffs at $4.25 and would be a loss for TAB at the moment as they’re holding 30 per cent of the money. That’s a big turnaround from where they were when Ben Hunt’s departure saw them written off. The addition of Cook, Gutherson and Holmes seems to have punters’ attention at those prices.”
A defiant Flanagan declared this week: “We’ll be better than last year, that’s all I can guarantee. If we’re better than last year, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”
