Dolphins vs Brisbane Broncos Prediction: Back the ‘visitors’ to score big at Suncorp

Brisbane Broncos will look to cement a positive start to the NRL Premiership season with a third win in four when they take on the Dolphins in a nominal away fixture at Suncorp Stadium on Friday (09:00 GMT, 20:00 local, live on Sky Sports Action).

The Broncs were back to winning ways against the North Queensland Cowboys in one interstate clash last week, and face another QLD opponent in the winless Dolphins in Friday’s big TV clash. Below are my Dolphins vs Brisbane Broncos predictions, complete with full team news and Betfred’s match odds.

Dolphins vs Brisbane Broncos Odds

The bookies are backing a landslide here. They have the Broncos at 1/5 for the win in 80 minutes, forcing us to the handicap markets for value about the Maroon and Golds.

On the regular two-way handicap Michael Maguire’s side are 20/21 for a victory against a 12.5-point start for the Dolphins, who are 5/6 in the corrected match-up.

The Fins are 18/5 for the straight win in normal time, making them an implied 21.7% shot for the victory, with the draw priced up at 25/1.

Team News

Kenny Bromwich is back for the Dolphins and is named among the substitutes, with Sean O’Sullivan and Josh Kerr in reserve. Max Feagai and Junior Tupou are excluded from the list of alternatives.

There’s no Oryn Keeley, who was initially named as an interchange option, as he drops out for Bromwich.

Kulikefu Finefeuiaki and Jack Bostock both came through their return to action last week with no damage.

Rugby League Odds

Kotoni Staggs is back for the Broncos, with the quad injury which saw him miss the first three rounds of the season having cleared up. Out goes Deine Mariner, who is named as one of the two reserves in the 19-man squad.

Tyson Smoothy is the other player on standby as Maguire goes largely with the same squad which beat their traditional rivals, the Cowboys, at Suncorp seven days ago.

Handicap 3-way Alternative 1: Broncos -18 @ 13/8

I’m with Betfred’s traders here. The Broncos have looked far superior to the Dolphins in everything I’ve seen of this pair so far in 2025.

They might have started both halves badly against the Canberra Raiders in round two, but for the rest of the campaign they’ve been pretty red-hot. The Dolphins, on the other hand, have struggled to string together anything of significance.

Kristian Woolf hasn’t had the best of starts to life as the main man in charge at the Dolphins, and it might get worse before it gets better.

Up against the likes of Adam Reynolds, Ben Hunt, Jesse Arthars and Selwyn Cobbo, plus a pack being brilliantly led by Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan right now, I can’t see the Fins being in this one for long.

It’s not worth playing it safe given the likelihood of a decent-sized Broncos win, and I’m even slightly tempted by the alternative which offers 12/5 for Brisbane to overcome a 22-point start.

Broncos Over 34.5 Total Points @ 13/10

Having scored 98 points in three games so far in 2025, this is slightly over the Broncos’ average, but they are playing a team down on their luck and I expect them to cash in.

The strike available to them in some of the players I’ve mentioned makes them a scoring threat throughout. Chuck in the brilliant Reece Walsh from full-back, and there’s just no telling what they can deliver on Friday if they’re on their game.

In a league which doesn’t have the Penrith Panthers running away with things, the Broncos become a very dangerous animal indeed.

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