NRL try scorer betting is a bet on a named player to score a try: at any time in the match (anytime), the first or last try of the match, or two or more tries. A try is worth four points under the laws of the game, and your bookmaker's terms say which official result settles the bet and how bench players and penalty tries are treated.
The rates below come from the NRL's match centre data on nrl.com for every NRL Telstra Premiership match of the 2025 and 2026 seasons, finals included. That is 426 matches and 3,495 tries, an average of 8.2 tries a match. Every one of those matches had at least one try. Try scorer markets sit alongside the head to head, line and totals in NRL betting, and they follow rules of their own.
Anytime, first, last and 2+ try markets
| Market | Wins if | Check in the terms |
|---|---|---|
| Anytime try scorer | The player scores at least one try | Whether golden point extra time counts |
| First try scorer | The player scores the first try of the match, by either team | Bench players and penalty tries |
| Last try scorer | The player scores the last try of the match | Extra time and bench players |
| 2+ tries | The player scores two or more tries | Extra time |
| Hat-trick | The player scores three or more tries | Extra time |
First and last try markets list the named players plus a no try scorer option, which wins only if the match has no try at all. A team market, such as one team's first try scorer, counts only that team's tries, so read the market name as well as the price.
Golden point is the NRL's sudden-death extra time: a regular-season match level after 80 minutes plays up to 10 more minutes and the first score wins, while finals play 10 minutes of extra time before golden point starts. Whether a try scored in extra time counts towards a try scorer bet is set by your bookmaker's terms.
A second try is far from rare. Wingers who scored once went on to score again in 32.8% of those games (257 of 784), and scored three or more in 45 of their 1,704 games, 2.6%.
How often each position scores
Position sets the starting point for a try scorer price. Over the 426 matches, counting only players who took the field and grouping them by the position they started in:
| Position | Games | Scored 1+ | Scored 2+ | Share of first tries | Fair anytime price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winger | 1,704 | 46.0% | 15.1% | 31.5% | $2.17 |
| Centre | 1,704 | 31.5% | 5.9% | 20.0% | $3.17 |
| Fullback | 852 | 31.0% | 5.3% | 9.6% | $3.23 |
| Five-eighth | 852 | 23.4% | 4.0% | 7.0% | $4.28 |
| Second row | 1,704 | 21.0% | 2.3% | 15.3% | $4.77 |
| Halfback | 852 | 18.8% | 2.6% | 4.7% | $5.33 |
| Hooker | 852 | 12.6% | 0.8% | 1.9% | $7.96 |
| Prop | 1,704 | 7.9% | 0.3% | 6.3% | $12.72 |
| Bench (took the field) | 3,370 | 7.9% | 0.7% | 1.4% | $12.72 |
| Lock | 852 | 7.4% | 0.7% | 2.3% | $13.52 |
Fair anytime price = 1 / scoring rate, taken before rounding, so a winger who scored in 784 of his 1,704 games has a fair price of 1,704 / 784 = $2.17. The first try shares add up to 100% across the 426 matches. Per player, a winger scored the first try in 7.9% of his games (134 of 1,704), a centre in 5.0%, a fullback in 4.8% and a second rower in 3.8%.
Starting forwards count for more in first try markets than their share of all tries suggests. Second rowers scored 11.4% of all 3,495 tries but 15.3% of first tries, and starting props 4.0% against 6.3%. Bench players went the other way: 8.3% of all tries, 1.4% of first tries.
A group rate is not one player's chance. His team's strength, the opponent, the weather and who plays inside him all move it, so use the table to check a price, not to set one.
Worked example: is a first try scorer price above fair?
Example: Illustrative prices, not a current market. You bet $10 on a winger to score the first try at $11.00. If he does, the bet returns $10 x 11.00 = $110, a $100 profit. If anyone else scores first, or he never scores, you lose the $10.
Here is the same bet at two illustrative prices, checked against the 2025 and 2026 winger rate of 7.86% (134 of 1,704 games), which is a fair price of 1,704 / 134 = $12.72:
| Bookmaker | Price | Return per $1 at a 7.86% chance |
|---|---|---|
| Bookmaker A | $11.00 | 0.0786 x 11.00 = 86.5c |
| Bookmaker B | $13.00 | 0.0786 x 13.00 = 102.2c |
| Fair price | $12.72 | 100c |
Only Bookmaker B's price sits above the group rate's fair price. Before you treat that as value, check the player: a winger in a side expected to lose by 20 does not have the group's 7.86%. To see what the whole market charges, add 1 / price for every selection, no try scorer included; bookmaker margin explains reading that total.
Risk: Betting involves risk. The rates are past results, and past results are no guarantee of future results. Even at a 7.86% chance, the player fails to score the first try in about 92 games out of 100, and a price above a group rate can still lose. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Bench and interchange players: when bets stand or are void
Under the interchange rule the Australian Rugby League Commission confirmed for 2026, teams name six interchange players (jerseys 14 to 19) and may use four of them, up to eight interchanges a match. In 2026, squads were named during the week, two players were cut 24 hours before kick-off, and the final 19 was confirmed 90 minutes before kick-off. NRL team lists covers that timetable.
That makes unused bench players common. The NRL's 2026 match records list 2,557 bench players (six a team, but five or seven in three team lists), and 874 of them (34.2%) never took the field. Those who did come on played a median of 32 minutes.
Bench players rarely score the first try. Across 2025 and 2026 they scored it in 6 of 426 matches (1.4%), partly because 280 of the 426 first tries (65.7%) came inside the first 10 minutes. They scored the last try far more often, in 36 matches (8.5%).
Your bookmaker's terms decide what happens to a bet on a bench player. The rule types to look for:
- Did not take the field: the bet is void and the stake returned, so a bet on one of the two unused bench players is refunded.
- On the field at any time: the bet stands once he plays at all, so a first try scorer bet loses if the first try came before he went on.
- On the field for the first try: a first try scorer bet is refunded if he was not on the field when the first try was scored.
- All-in: the bet stands whether or not he takes the field, so a bet on an unused bench player loses. The NSW Bookmaker Declared Betting Events Betting Rules, for bookmakers licensed and authorised in NSW, start from all-in (clause 5.1.1). They also keep first and next try scorer bets standing whether the player takes or leaves the field or is dismissed (clause 5.2.5.1(b)).
A player who is cut from the squad, or withdrawn after you bet, never takes the field, so find out whether your market refunds that or is all-in. Read the clause before you bet: player did not play rules compares the rule types across sports.
Penalty tries and how they settle
The referee may award a penalty try if, in the referee's opinion or the video referee's, a try would have been scored but for unfair play by the defending team. It is awarded between the posts, wherever the offence happened (Section 6 of the 2026 International Rugby League Laws of the Game).
Penalty tries are rare: 13 of the 3,495 tries in 2025 and 2026 (8 and 5). In the NRL's match records every one was listed against a named player, and two of them were the first try of their match.
Terms differ on what that credit means for a bet:
- Credited player: the bet settles on the player the official result credits, so the penalty try counts for him in anytime, first and last try markets.
- Excluded: penalty tries are left out of player markets. The NSW rule book does this for first and next try scorer bets: unless a penalty try is priced in the market, it is passed over and the try after it settles the bet (clause 5.2.5.1(a)).
Example: Illustrative case. The first try of a match is a penalty try credited to Team A's winger, and Team B's centre scores the next try. Under the credited player rule, first try scorer bets on the winger win. Under the NSW clause, the centre's try settles first try scorer bets, so a bet on the centre wins instead.
Dead heats in try scorer markets
A first try scorer bet cannot end in a tie, because only one try is first. Dead heat rules come in where a market asks who scores the most tries, in a match, a round or a series, and ties there are common. In 214 of the 426 matches (50.2%), two or more players shared the most tries; in 98 of them nobody scored more than once, so every try scorer in the match was level.
Where a dead heat rule applies, the stake is divided by the number of players tied and that share is paid at the full price, while the rest of the stake loses. The NSW rule book settles a tie that way when no tie price was offered (clause 5.1.8). Bookmakers set their own dead heat terms, so check yours. Dead heat rules covers them across racing and sport.
With an illustrative $20 bet at $7.00 on a player to score the most tries in a match:
| Players tied on the most | Stake paid at $7.00 | Return | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| None, he is outright | $20.00 | $140.00 | $120.00 |
| 2 | $10.00 | $70.00 | $50.00 |
| 3 | $6.67 | $46.67 | $26.67 |
| 4 | $5.00 | $35.00 | $15.00 |
Return = (stake / number tied) x price, so a three-way tie pays ($20 / 3) x 7.00 = $46.67. At $7.00 a seven-way tie returns exactly the $20 staked.
Try scorers in same game multis
A player to score is a common same game multi leg, and it is not independent of the others. In the 426 matches, wingers scored in 55.4% of their team's wins and 36.7% of its losses. NRL same game multis measures the links and works one through.
Void rules bite harder inside a multi. Depending on the terms, an unused bench player's leg is dropped and the rest re-priced, or the whole ticket is cancelled. Under an all-in rule his leg counts as lost, and the multi loses with it.
Mistakes in NRL try scorer betting
- Backing a bench player to score first. Bench players scored the first try in 6 of 426 matches, and whether you get your stake back when he comes on late depends on the terms.
- Reading an anytime price as a first try price. The group rates give a winger a fair $2.17 to score at any time and $12.72 to score first.
- Ignoring the likely result. A winger's chance of scoring fell from 55.4% in his team's wins to 36.7% in its losses.
- Backing a player early in the week without reading the void rule. In 2026, two players were cut from each squad 24 hours before kick-off.
Comparing try scorer prices on the Terminal
Try scorer prices for the same player can differ between bookmakers.
The B337 Terminal shows racing and sports prices from 40+ bookmakers side by side. For NRL, its sports board carries head to head, line and total markets, plus player props where bookmakers offer them, and not every bookmaker prices every game. Prices are read on a repeating cycle, not tick by tick, so confirm the price in your own bookmaker account before you bet. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Even a winger fails to score in more than half his games (54.0% in 2025 and 2026), and there is no guarantee of profit. See responsible gambling for limits and support.