Sydney Roosters vs Brisbane Broncos Prediction: Maguire magic for the Broncos on opening night

The opening round of 2025 NRL Premiership action resumes on Thursday when the Sydney Roosters host the Brisbane Broncos at the Allianz Stadium in one of the stand-out ties of the big kick-off in Australia (09:00 GMT, 18:00 local - live on Sky Sports Main Event).

After the glamour and glitz of the Grand Depart in Las Vegas last weekend, there will be more than enough action in this one for the game to sell itself. Here are my Sydney Roosters vs Brisbane Broncos predictions, along with full team news and Betfred’s match odds.

Sydney Roosters vs Brisbane Broncos Odds

Despite the Roosters being the ones coming off the back of a run to the final four last season and the Broncos having suffered a difficult 2024, it is Brisbane who are favoured to get over the top in this one.

The effect of new head coach Michael Maguire is expected to pay immediate dividends, with the Broncs 2/5 to win at the Allianz at an implied probability of 71.4%.

The Roosters are 2/1 to get the job done on home turf, with the draw in 80 minutes available at 22/1 with Betfred.

If you fancy the Broncos but find the match result odds restrictive, they are priced at 5/6 in the standard two-way handicap market against a 7.5-point start. In the same scenario, the Roosters can be followed at 10/11.

Team News

It is a much-changed Roosters side that Trent Robinson sends out onto the paddock in 2025, with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Luke Keary having begun Betfred Super League careers at the end of long associations with the Chooks.

The veteran duo tallied 478 Roosters appearances between them, but with Waerea-Hargreaves (310) now at Hull Kingston Rovers and Keary (168) playing for the Catalans Dragons, the Sydney side have a different edge to them in 2025.

Chad Townsend comes in as a replacement for Keary after a three-year spell with the North Queensland Cowboys, while in the pack Naufahu Whyte will be expected to complete the minutes Waerea-Hargreaves previously accounted for.

Rugby League Odds

There’s a lot expected of the Broncos under ‘Madge’ Maguire, and Pat Carrigan’s move to prop from lock is one of the key moves behind the new man’s altered approach.

Kobe Hetherington takes the 13 jersey, and Jack Gosiewski is included in the back row after recovering from a broken arm which ended his 2024 season early.

Cory Paix plays his first competitive game in 18 months after impressing in pre-season at hooker, meaning Billy Walters will be an interchange option after the departure of dad Kevin as coach at the end of last season.

Broncos by 1-12 points @ 19/10

There’s few sights quite like the Broncos when they are on a roll. Even when they were putting together a stretch of six straight defeats last term they were drawing of 40,000 at Suncorp Stadium, and if they can show a top-eight pedigree once more in ’25 then they may take everyone along for the ride.

Michael Maguire has certainly got what it takes to turn a ship around, having led Wigan Warriors to their first Super League title in 12 years back in 2010 and then masterminded the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ only Premiership title in the last half-century in 2014.

And I think he gets them off to a good start at the Allianz on Thursday against a Roosters side who will likely take some time to get bent back into shape.

After their third-place finish last term, they began 2025 with a couple of good beatings in the pre-season comp at the hands of the Dragons and the Knights. And I don’t think the step up to Premiership action provides them with an overnight solution.

They will keep it close enough for the 1-12 to be a decent consideration, but I have the Broncos to win on opening night and the 19/10 at an implied 34.5% chance appeals greatly.

Over 43.5 total points @ 5/6

I’ve got to go with the numbers on this one. Sure, the new season brings refreshed possibilities, but both of these sides were involved in high-scoring encounters more often than not in 2024.

Of the Roosters’ 30 games in regular season and finals football last year, 17 cleared 44 points at a 56.7% rate, while the Broncos had 18 such matches out of 27 played at 66.7%.

That makes the 5/6 offered at an implied 54.5% a bargain in mathematical terms. And even though rugby league isn’t played on a calculator, this one checks out to the footy head too.

You can read all our latest Rugby League Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights Rugby League content hub.