NRL | Round 26

alphr.com.au

MEL
Storm
VS
SYD
Roosters
AAMI PARK, MELBOURNE • FRIDAY 29 AUG, 8:00 PM
🏁

AI Referee Insights

Todd Smith officiated this match (99 career games). The combined score of 50 points was 4 points above Todd Smith's career average of 46. Roosters bucked the trend — Storm historically win 75% of games under Todd Smith, but couldn't convert that edge today. Despite Todd Smith's 56% career home-team win rate, the away side Roosters prevailed.

Based on referee career statistics • Post-match analysis

AI Game Review

Roosters defied the model's 63% prediction for Storm — a notable upset. The margin model missed here — predicting 1.4 but the actual margin was 30 points. Roosters trailed 10–0 at half-time before staging a second-half comeback to win 10–40. A tough result for the model — all 3 picks missed on this one.

Model vs actual outcomes • Post-match analysis

Win Probability

AI Win Probability

63%StormFavourite

Storm

63%

Roosters

37%

AI Match Overview

Storm hold the advantage at 63% win probability, though Roosters are far from out of this at 37%. The model sees Storm ahead on 4 of 7 key factors including ELO Difference, Halves Control and Recent Win Rate. Storm carry a 169-point ELO rating advantage (1743 vs 1574). Recent form favours Storm with 5 wins from their last 5 compared to 3 for Roosters. The margin model predicts Storm by 1.4 points with a combined total of 41.

Generated from model features • Pre-kick-off analysis

Edge Analysis

3 ACTIVE EDGES

Each market is predicted by an independent model — H2H, margin, and totals may occasionally disagree.

H2H Recommendation

Storm to Win @1.48

Lost ✗

Edge

+7.7%

Line / Spread

Storm -6.5 @1.91

Lost ✗

Edge

+7.7%

Total Points

Under 44.5 @1.91

Lost ✗

Edge

+7.8%

Form & History

TeamLast 5Avg Pts
Storm
WWWWW
22.8
Roosters
WWWLL
31.2

Avg Conceded

14.8

Storm

18.4

Roosters

Avg Margin

8.0

Storm

12.8

Roosters

Run Metres

1606

Storm

1473

Roosters

Line Breaks

3.2

Storm

3.8

Roosters

Referee IndicatorAI
Favours Storm
Todd Smith99 games since 2019

Each team's win rate when Todd Smith refs their game (vs any opponent, all seasons)

MEL
75%9W 3L
SYD
55%6W 5L

When Todd Smith officiates, Storm have won 9 of 12 games (75%) vs any opponent — significantly stronger than Roosters's 6 from 11 (55%). That's a 20‑point gap across all seasons. His games average 45.9 pts, sitting close to the league average. Home teams win 56% of his matches (vs ~52% league avg), which could give Storm an additional edge at home.

Avg Total

45.9 pts

Home Win %

56%

Home Bias

Leans home

H2H History (Last 5)Storm lead 5-0
Aug 2025MEL 34 - 30 SYD
Oct 2024MEL 48 - 18 SYD
Jul 2024MEL 24 - 8 SYD
Apr 2024MEL 18 - 12 SYD
Oct 2023MEL 18 - 13 SYD
Prediction BreakdownPure Alpha Model

📊Team ELO Ratings

MEL
1743Overall1574
SYD
ELO difference: +169 in favour of Storm

🏈Positional Matchups

Player ELO aggregated by position group — higher = stronger unit

954Forwards1063
Best: 1197SYD +109Best: 1202
856Backs1106
Best: 990SYD +249Best: 1188
1329Halves1052
Best: 1329MEL +278Best: 1052
690Hooker1161
SYD +471

📈Recent Form (Last 5)

MEL
Stat
SYD
5.0
Wins (Last 5)
3.0
22.8pts
Avg Score
31.2pts
14.8pts
Avg Conceded
18.4pts
8.0pts
Avg Margin
12.8pts
1606.0m
Run Metres
1473.4m
3.2
Line Breaks
3.8
351.2
Tackles
317.6
8.6
Errors
13.4

🔑Key Prediction Factors

What the model weighted most in this prediction

1
ELO Difference14.0%
Storm
2
Forward Pack12.0%
Roosters
3
Backline Quality10.0%
Roosters
4
Halves Control9.0%
Storm
5
Recent Win Rate9.0%
Storm
6
Referee Tendency7.0%
7
Venue Advantage7.0%
Storm

Model Confidence

63%

Storm predicted to win by 1 points

Predicted total: 41 · Line: +1.4

0/3 match predictions correct
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