We separate the rugby league Wheat/Chaff to present the 2025 NRL Round 13 Team of the Week & Player Stats.
First we have our Team of the Week, which takes some of the key player stats from the weekend and using various scoring methods come up with the best players in their positions from the latest round of the NRL.
Then there’s additional player stats from this weekend that was and the season that is.
2025 NRL Round 13 Team of the Week
We’ve used the stats for each position and picked the best starting 13 players from the most recent round, the stats and points assigned are explained at the end.
On top of the best starting 13, we also include the best four interchange players of the week. Seeing who has provided maximum impact from the bench.
2025 NRL Round 13 Player Stats Summary
Want to see which players topped the key stats for the latest round of the NRL this weekend?
2025 NRL Round 13 Player Stats Extra
QLD ORIGIN HALVES COMPARE
Given the Origin performance for Queensland and the talk of who should stay and who should go, it’s the perfect opportunity to compare Queensland’s leading three halves options.
2025 NRL Team of the Season….So Far
Here’s our stats rolled up into the team of the season so far.
Want more NRL information than just the draw, results or the current ladder? Then you are in the right place and the right time with the home of the right NRL Stats and Stuff via our 2025 NRL Round 13 Results Stats Summary for the weekend that was.
Each week we compile and keep up to date a wide range of stats from the latest weekend of NRL action plus the best 2025 NRL Season Stats to help you to the top of the tipping competition, land a few responsible winners or even make your Supercoach team better. And now with a match by match summary full of all the stats you need and/or want.
It’s all stats, and never Slats. Never.
2025 NRL Round 13 Results and Match Summaries
Want or need a quick summary of every game from last weekend? Well here they all are in all their summary glory.
2025 NRL Round 13 Stats of the Week
Need some barely interesting stats to round up your weekend NRL experience? Here’s the choicest cuts of data from the weekend that was.
Dragons have won their last three games on a Friday at Kogarah.
Newcastle have now lost four straight on a Friday.
Melbourne have won 14 of the last 16 games v Gold Coast going back to 2015.
Gold Coast have lost all five games so far this season v non-NSW teams.
Gold Coast have won just once in the last eight games at CBUS Stadium v Melbourne.
North Queensland have won their last four games v Wests Tigers and scored 192 points in the process.
Going back to 2023, Wests Tigers have won just one of their last eight trips to Queensland v Queensland sides on a Saturday.
Manly have won their last three at Brookvale on Saturday.
Manly have won their last five games v Qld sides.
Souths have lost their last five games v non Sydney teams.
The Warriors have won three away games in a row. And all three games this season away to Sydney teams.
Penrith have won nine of their last ten v Parramatta on a Sunday.
Penrith have won their only three games at CommBank Stadium on a Sunday.
Penrith have won 14 games in a row v Sydney teams on a Sunday.
Parramatta have lost their last seven Sunday games.
2025 NRL Season Stats Summary
Do you need NRL 2025 Season stats, or just want 2025 NRL Season stats?
Either way, here’s more than you could probably ever need, or want.
Defying the heat, a cool and calm Oscar Piastri won the Spanish Grand Prix and extended his lead in the Championship over second placed team mate Lando Norris. Talking of heat our 2025 Spanish F1 Grand Prix Result Summary covers the cool to the boiling hot, which includes Max Verstappen post race.
This 2025 Spanish Grand Prix Result, Laps that Matter summary, Review & Ratings which gives you just enough to catch up with. With just a hint of cynicism, bias, opinion and colour. The perfect bite sized review for those who couldn’t be bothered, or don’t have enough time.
Didn’t see the race live? Don’t have time to watch the whole race? Here’s where we capture the laps where stuff happened. We write these live as we go, sort of like a minute by minute for the football, but marginally more interesting.
Setting the scene – Looks like the flexible wing regulation changes didn’t do much to stop McLaren’s dominance as they take 1-2 in qualifying with Oscar Piastri in front for this race. Lewis Hamilton remarked that the flex wing changes were a waste of money and it should have gone to charity. He’s probably right. Talking of Lewis he qualified in a season best so far 5th. Ahead of him is Max Verstappen in 3rd, and he’ll be looking to replicate his Imola start where he barged through on pole sitter Piastri. It’s a long way to the first corner. George Russell did as well as ever to qualify 4th. The big pre-race news is that Lance Stroll pulled out of the GP claiming an injury. Sadly for everyone involved except Lance Stroll, and possibly his father, because he qualified in 14th the team can’t bring in a replacement. Typically selfish Stroll, who claimed the injury has been playing up for weeks. Poor Felipe Drugovich who has been reserve drivers for several seasons, and this would have been a great opportunity to give him a go. Alas, Stroll sucks. So just 19 drivers starting. Yuki Tsunoda from pitlane.
Race day is very hot, so managing tyres is key, which McLaren is best at currently. So that run to the first corner is super critical to stay in clean air and save tyres.
GRID (Starting Order) – PIA NOR VER RUS HAM ANT LEC GAS HAD ALO
Lap 1 – Pole sitter Piastri gets away very well, perfect in fact, and covers the field into turn one. Max Verstappen helps him out by passing Lando Norris into turn one too. Several cars take the cheap seats line on the inside of turn two, but there’s no major accidents at the first corner. The Ferraris are on the move too. Lewis Hamilton is 4th and Charles Leclerc passes George Russell for fifth in the first half of the lap. Nico Hulkenberg has gained five places to sit 10th after the first lap in the biggest midfield highlight.
ORDER – PIA VER NOR HAM LEC RUS ANT GAS HAD HUL
Lap 2 – Fernando Alonso steals 10th from Nico Hulkenberg in a brilliant move only to lose the place back to The Hulk a corner later. Max Verstappen is harassing Oscar Piastri for the lead. They have a small gap on Lando Norris in third. Maybe Norris is saving his tyres, which would be smart.
Lap 5 – Oscar Piastri continues to lead as Max Verstappen drops off to 2.5 seconds behind, with Lando Norris just under two seconds behind Max. The field is spreading out as people are looking after their tyres already. This race is either going to be a strategic thriller or the dullest race of the year from a track that is thankfully done hosting GPs after this season.
Lap 7 – The Ferraris are battling hard for 4th place, given his season, no wonder Lewis Hamilton doesn’t want to give it up easily. Alex Albon makes the first pit stop for tyres. First of many we presume. Lando Norris told via radio he can push on the tyres now and get past Max Verstappen.
Lap 9 – The Ferraris are still battling and Lewis slams the door shut on Charles Leclerc into turn one. Hamilton is five seconds behind Lando Norris in third, so they are losing ground. Ferrari have come on the radio and requested a position swap. That’ll make him happier. We’ll see if it happens.
Lap 11 – More pitstops from the midfield offer some points of interest. What would be more interesting is the battle of Norris v Verstappen, which the TV cameras find eventually. Meanwhile Piastri’s tyres are going off and Lando’s aren’t. Could be interesting if Norris overtakes Verstappen.
Lap 13 – Lando Norris does pass Max Verstappen into turn one on lap 13 to take second and chase his race-leading teammate. Max Verstappen pits at the end of the lap and rejoins just behind 7th placed Isack Hadjar but doesn’t take long to get past. Helps that his team have four cars instead of two. Norris is four seconds behind Piastri.
Lap 16 – Oscar Piastri is still just over four seconds in front of Lando Norris in the lead, enough to cover a half stuff-up. Fernando Alonso concludes an eventful period of running off the track and some overtaking with a pitstop. Lewis Hamilton also comes into the pits, Leclerc does so a lap later and rejoins well ahead of his team mate.
ORDER – PIA NOR RUS VER ANT HAD LEC LAW HAM BOR
Lap 19 – Piastri has squeezed the lead out to 4.9 seconds as the chess game of pitstops between the two championship and team rivals continues. His team asks him if he can get to lap 25, Oscar says difficult but possible as only he can. Like he does for everything else. Dead panned.
Lap 22 – Lando Norris pits for tyres, and a good stop it is. He rejoins in 3rd behind Max Verstappen but on fresher tyres.
Lap 23 – Oscar Piastri pits a lap later. Will he keep the lead over his team mate and Max Verstappen? The answer is yes and no. Verstappen is in front by over five seconds and Norris is nearly five seconds behind. So Red Bull’s earlier pit stop works for now, but the McLarens tyres are going to be much fresher later on. All drivers have pit for tyres now. Looks like this is a second race in a row where most drivers will be trying to drive as slow as possible. Which kind of sucks. But is pure F1.
ORDER – VER PIA NOR LEC HAM RUS ANT GAS HAD HUL
Lap 28 – The McLarens are starting to catch Max Verstappen. Well, Oscar Piastri is. He has cut the lead down to less than three seconds, while maintaining his over four second lead to Lando Norris.
Lap 30 – Max Verstappen pits for a second time and rejoins in fourth just in front of Lewis Hamilton. Looks like he’s going for a three stop strategy vs the more conservative two stops.
Lap 33 – Max Verstappen sets a fastest lap from fourth to show his speed on new tyres. Meanwhile Piastri has opened up the gap to Lando Norris, the lead is over five seconds now.
Lap 36 – Max Verstappen gets past Charles Leclerc into turn one like he is standing still. That’s third and it’s put the scares into McLaren who quickly up their pace. Norris is within 3.3 seconds of Piastri now. Some cat and mouse gear here. Norris is 2.8 seconds behind on lap 38. And closing.
Lap 39 – Coverage shows a battle between Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda for 13th. Almost forgotten that either driver was in the race.
Lap 40 – Lando Norris continues to close in on Piastri with the lead now only 2.3 seconds, and Max Verstappen just under five seconds behind Norris. Charles Leclerc pits for new tyres and drops to sixth.
Lap 45 – Checking in at the front and Oscar Piastri leads by nearly four seconds now, which is a little more comfortable. Max Verstappen is within four seconds of Norris. Presuming everyone is going to stop again, this could get interesting. If not everyone pits, then it gets even more interesting.
Lap 48 – Max Verstappen pits for a third time, rejoining third ahead of Leclerc. He did rejoin behind his team mate, who is a lap behind and in the way, for a few hundred metres.
Lap 49 – Lando Norris pits to cover Max Verstappen, which he does. Only just. The gap is down to a second only.
Lap 50 – Oscar Piastri follows suit and pits a lap later. He keeps the lead and has a lead of just over four seconds to Norris. But just in front of Piastri is a train of midfield cars. This is the period that will make or break the race.
Lap 51 – Gaps at the front is 2.4 seconds from Piastri to Norris and 1.7 seconds from Norris to Verstappen. Max Verstappen complaining about his car, so can’t see sensational progress from him.
ORDER – PIA NOR VER LEC RUS HAM ANT HAD HUL GAS
Lap 52 – Liam Lawson battling Oliver Bearman and they forgot they were being lapped and got in the way of Lando Norris big time. It helps Max Verstappen close on the McLaren. He calls the drivers f***ing idiots, and he’s probably right. Those two drivers were at it again at turn one on the next lap and it almost led to tears. Tissues are ready for the third chapter.
Lap 54 – Piastri leads Norris by 3.3 seconds now, with Max Verstappen now 2.3 seconds behind Norris after closing right up after the backmarkers shenanigans a few laps ago.
Lap 55 – Kimi Antonelli has gone off into the gravel trap, and the stewards are very quick to bring out the Safety Car. So all gaps are neutralised. And a grandstand finish set up. Replays show Antonelli’s off looks like it was a mechanical issue. That’s two in three races for him.
SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED
Oscar Piastri pits, Lando Norris Pits. Max Verstappen pits. Let’s just say everyone that is important to the sharper end of the race pits. Max Verstappen is on hard tyres, and questions why. He is told they are the only option he had. So he will find it hard to compete over the last few laps. The McLarens are on soft tyres.
ORDER – PIA NOR VER LEC RUS HAM HAD HUL GAS LAW
SAFETY CAR EXITS
Lap 61 – Oscar Piastri slams on the brakes as the Safety car heads off and we nearly see and prang between the top three. As they speed off Piastri keeps his lead over Norris but Verstappen is quickly under pressure from Charles Leclerc on the pit straight and the Ferrari blasts past. George Russell smells blood and dives in to overtake as well, forcing Max Verstappen to run wide, but he does keep fourth place. Verstappen claims he was hit by Leclerc. Replays show it was Verstappen who kind of ran into Leclerc. George Russell did though run into Verstappen.
Lap 63 – Oscar Piastri leads his team mate by 1.6 seconds with three laps to go. The McLarens have nearly four second on Charles Leclerc in third.
Lap 64 – Max Verstappen is told to let George Russell past. He argues with his team to say no. Then George Russell thinks Verstappen is letting him past and they almost crash. If Max wasn’t in trouble before, he is now. McLarens exchange fastest laps. Meanwhile amongst all the excitement, The Hulk is up to sixth place. What a pro. Fernando Alonso is up to 10th, which is a great effort as he unlapped himself under the Safety car.
FINAL LAP – Oscar Piastri has extended his lead over Lando Norris to over two seconds as he starts the final lap, with Lando Norris clearing away from Leclerc at pace. Piastri completes the final lap with no fuss, as ever, and wins the Spanish Grand Prix to extend his lead in the Championship and wrestle back some momentum from his team mate as the triple header comes to a close. Those three races sees Lando Norris end with a second, first and second, so a decent return and a 2-1 H2H win over Piastri. Charles Leclerc completes the podium. Max Verstappen gets a penalty a ten second penalty for causing a collision and drops to tenth. He is seen storming off from his car before the McLarens return to the winner’s circle. Looking forward to the next round of Russell v Verstappen. Some good stories further back in the points, none better than The Hulk who ends up fifth.
FINAL ORDER (Across the line) – PIA NOR LEC RUS HUL HAM HAD GAS ALO VER
Here we go through the field and highlight the very best (Great) of the race, and the plodders, the over-ambitious, the out of luck, and simply hopeless (Grape).
These points get added to our Driver of the Season scores. 5 points for a great nomination, and -5 for the worst or grapest driver in the pack. Then it is +2 /-2 for honourable or dishonourable mentions.
THE GREAT-EST – OSCAR PIASTRI
Great way to end the triple header with a win from pole with his team mate kept under control for the most. He extends the lead in the Championship.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
NICO HULKENBERG – Fifth place and points-a-plenty for The Hulk again in a Sauber that’s not expected to score many, if any in 2025. That’s 16 for the season now and 10th place in the Championship within reach.
LANDO NORRIS – Although beaten by his team mate and Championship rival, it’s still solid second place and maybe starting to elbow Max Verstappen out of Championship contention.
CHARLES LECLERC – Decent end result for what was a unremarkable race up until the Safety Car. Nailed Max Verstappen on the restart for the final trophy.
ISACK HADJAR – A great, underrated, almost forgotten drive from the rookie. Proving that this bunch of rookies is a good bunch. Lawson, Bearman and Bortoleto not far from points. If he continues on his current trajectory there could be a Red Bull drive as a reward. Or punishment.
FERNANDO ALONSO – First points of the season, and looked like he thoroughly enjoyed himself.
GABRIEL BORTOLETO – Qualified 12th in a superb effort in the Kick Sauber. 12th place in the race too, so no points but kept others honest in the midfield.
THE GRAPE-EST – LANCE STROLL
Pulls out of the race with an injured wrist that his team says has been bothering him for some time but doesn’t do it before qualifying 14th. So he must have been disappointed with not exiting in Q1 as per usual so contrived a way to eliminate himself from the entire Grand Prix. Poor form but expected.
DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS
YUKI TSUNODA – The curse of the second Red Bull car continues. Qualified last, started from pitlane, made no impression on the race. Only missed out on worst driver in the race because of Lance Stroll’s arrogance.
MAX VERSTAPPEN – Drove a decent race on a different strategy to the McLaren and gave them something to think about, until the Safety Car. Where he was put on hard tyres as they were the only ones left, nearly lost the car on the restart and then proceeded to lose his head after clashes with Charles Leclerc and George Russell. Verstappen was probably not at fault for the first two incidents, but he certainly was for the last one with George Russell, from which both were lucky to continue. The 10 second penalty dropped him from fifth to tenth and moves him one point off a one race ban because of points on his license.
LEWIS HAMILTON – Outqualified his team mate but that was the highlight. A race that got progressively worse, and more questionable radio comms. Finished behind Nico Hulkenberg which should tell you everything.
ALEX ALBON – Not a great weekend after just missing out on Q3. Was the first retirement of the race.
CARLOS SAINZ- Not a great home GP. Knocked out in Q1, drove in the lower midfield for no points.
KIMI ANTONELLI –Unlucky again with a DNF when a strong point finish was within reach. Still, another good weekend.
Was it a good race, loads of action, a tense ending, a surprise result or DNF, or just a big, fat, snooze-fest?
We rate the big race itself, so we know which races to go back and watch in the off season or one to simply remember the winner for the post season quiz nights.
PRE RACE ACTION (FP, QUAL, SPRINT, OFF TRACK etc) – 2 / 5
Not much action from reports and internet nerds, but the injury of Lance Stroll and withdrawal from the race but interesting and pure Stroll.
ON TRACK ACTION (RACE) – 3 / 10
Not much action, but at least the battle for the lead ensured it was tense enough if not action packed. Safety Car at the end livened things up.
ANY SURPRISES? – 2 / 5
Not really. McLaren is faster than Max Verstappen, who is faster than Charles Leclerc who is faster than George Russell and faster than their team mates. One bonus point for Nico Hulkenberg’s fifth place.
SEASON IMPORTANCE – 4 / 5
Every race is important for this season when the fastest car is so dominant, and the drivers are so close in race and qualifying. An off day for Max Verstappen slightly weakened his Championship aura.
ENDING – 4 / 5
The Safety Car was well timed, and did brought out some action at the end. Max Verstappen in the thick of it all, involved in scraps with Leclerc and Russell and being penalised for almost crashing when refusing to give back a place to George Russell.
OVERALL RATING – 15 / 30
A typical Spanish GP except for the rare Safety Car at the end which boosted these scores. We won’t missed Barcelona that’s for sure.
The last of another triple header is here, and by the time it is done we’re all deserving of a nice nap. Talking of napping, our 2025 Spanish F1 Grand Prix Prix-View may put you to sleep, but also provides enough stats to keep you awake for a few seconds more.
The Gurgler’s 2025 Spanish F1 Grand Prix Prix-View brings some thoughts on the track and race itself, a more than a few barely interesting stats.
Essentially a quick summary of what a casual F1 fan needs in the shortest possible time for your convenience.
And for F1 opinion, stand by for the F1 Donkey’s Bold Predictions and Opinion.
2025 Spanish F1 Grand Prix Prix-view – Race Potential Rating
By GabrielStella – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=104096308
The Gurgler does like to use some obscure drivers in our Race previews and report, so who better to use than Teo Fabi to determine a race rating system.
So before each race we give a rating out of ten for four key category that are loosely based on each letter of Teo Fabi’s surname. Don’t know who Teo Fabi is, you should.
FAST? 6 / 10 – It’s fast enough, with a nice, long straight that will feel like the Sahara Desert for F1 drivers after driving around Monaco. They have opened up the final corner now, removing that ridiculous chicane, which makes it faster. The first corners feel pretty fast too, giving the drivers and cars a good test.
ACTION? 2 / 10 – One of the first modern tracks as we know them that all look similar, it isn’t a race that screams action. Tactics yeah. Strategy sure. They can make things interesting, but up to a point.
BIG HISTORY? – 6 / 10 – The Spanish Grand Prix has been around for a while, at Barcelona it has been a fixture of the calendar since 1991, where Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna christened the new track with a pit straight long battle inches apart.
INCLEMENT WEATHER? – 1 /10 The Weather Channel says there’s very little chance of rain. Even worse, there’s a little bit of wind around that seems to change direction over the weekend, which will no doubt lead to many complaints of undrivable cars.
RACE POTENTIAL RATING 38% – It’s Monaco, and even if it is dull with no overtaking and a bore fest of fuel and tyre saving, it’s still Monaco.
2025 Spanish F1 Grand Prix Prix-view – Stats Summary
Want to know if your favourite driver for this weekend is a master of the track or the track is a master of them? Here then are some barely interesting facts and stats.
In the 25 races at Barcelona since 2000, 23 winners have come from the front row of the grid, 18 from pole position. One win each from fourth and fifth on the grid.
1st on the grid has not finished third in any of those 25 races from 2000.
12th on the grid is the lowest grid slot for a podium since 2000.
Alex Albon has been eliminated in Q1 for the last three Spanish GPs.
Yuki Tsunoda has never made Q3 at Barcelona.
Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri are the only drivers to make Q3 on all appearances in Barcelona.
Max Verstappen has been on the podium for seven straight races in Barcelona, Lewis Hamilton is seven from his last eight races.
Carlos Sainz is the only driver to score points at every start in Barcelona.
Driver Stats – Spanish Grand Prix
Team Stats – Spanish Grand Prix
History Stats – Spanish Grand Prix
99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane. Results for bottom visual is from 2000.
F1 2025 Season Stuff
We’ve worked hard getting ready for the 2025 F1 Season, and this is our best work below. Read it before it become too/more irrelevant.
Been too distracted by the State of Origin opener? Or Phil Gould and/or Lachlan Galvin? So do you need some last-minute NRL tipping advice? Want something else to blame when the tips go wrong? Well then saddle up for The Gurgler’s NRL Round 13 Ratings and Late Mail.
In a new additional to our stable of NRL stats and tipping products, we have used all the stats we have, smashed them against each other like atoms, and come up with a H2H rating.
It includes this year’s form with a bias because it is this year, but we don’t forget historic stats of the H2H against this week’s opponents, and the ground and day the teams are playing on.
We’ve also applied an adjustment for each team’s increase or decrease in win % over the Origin period.
Then slice up the scores out of 100% between the two sides. The bigger the percentage, the more likely to win.
2025 NRL Round 13 Ratings
Here are the H2H ratings and winners for the first of the Origin affected rounds.
Our ratings only picked 1/5 last weekend, which although is poor, is better than a lot.
The Ratings also includes the team’s relevant Origin period form.
2025 NRL Round 13 Late Mail
Fri ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA (Kogarah) v NEWCASTLE
A tough one to pick first up with no clear stats advantage for either side. Dragons have won their last two games on a Friday at Kogarah.
Origin Players: Dragons 1 Newcastle 1
Origin Period Win % Difference: Dragons +7% Newcastle -9%
Sat GOLD COAST V MELBOURNE
The one sided game of the weekend according to the ratings, but no surprise as Melbourne games are mostly like that. Both teams supplied a bunch of players to Origin, but given they all played for Queensland it might not be a good thing. Gold Coast have won four of their last five matches at CBUS Stadium on a Saturday. Just not the most recent clash v Dolphins. But, Melbourne have won 13 of the last 15 games v Gold Coast going back to 2015.
Origin Players: Gold Coast 3 Melbourne 4
Origin Period Win % Difference: Gold Coast -6% Melbourne +1%
Sat NORTH QUEENSLAND v WESTS TIGERS
North Queensland have won their last three games v Wests Tigers and scored 164 points in the process. They have won only one of their last three at home v Wests Tigers on a Saturday. North Queensland’s record at home on a Saturday to Sydney clubs since 2024 is W1 D1 L4.
Origin Players: North Qld 4 Wests Tigers 0
Origin Period Win % Difference: North Qld +1% Wests Tigers -7%
Sat MANLY v BRISBANE
Manly haven’t played Brisbane at Brookvale since 2014. Manly have lost their last three at home but Broncos are W1 L2 away in Sydney this season. Brisbane have the second worst Origin period win % of all the teams. Origin stars have been named, which may or may not help Manly. You’d think the Broncos hard working duo would get a rest, but not in the team’s current form. No Tom Trbojevic for Manly, but also No Reece Walsh for Brisbane. Selwyn Cobbo has been moved to the wing, which is a step backwards.
Origin Players: Manly 1 Brisbane 2
Origin Period Win % Difference: Manly +1% Brisbane -14%
Sun SOUTHS v WAHS (Accor Stadium)
There were enough moments from Latrell in Origin to think that his decent recent form will continue for South Sydney. Warriors won this game last season, when Souths were poor, but the recent record is mostly Souths domination – W14 L1 prior to that last match. Warriors five game winning run was ended last Sunday at home. Their away form is pretty bad on a Sunday – going back to 2021, the Warriors have won only three of 17 away games on a Sunday.
Origin Players: South Sydney 2 Wahs 1
Origin Period Win % Difference: South Sydney +6% Wahs -9%
Sun PENRITH v PARRAMATTA (CommBank)
Still hard to believe the all conquering Panthers are still dead last and the loss last weekend highlights just how much they need their Origin players back. Playing their home games at CommBank isn’t helping either – Penrith have lost all three games at CommBank Stadium this season. Parramatta have won two in a row now and looking for a first hat trick of wins since June 2023. A few last minute key stats for this game though – Penrith have won 22/25 Sunday games since 2021 and Penrith have won 13 games in a row v Sydney teams on a Sunday..
Origin Players: Penrith 5 Parramatta 2
Origin Period Win % Difference: Penrith -10% Parramatta +3%
Sun ROOSTERS v CANBERRA
Canberra know how to win right now, sitting second on the ladder and having won seven of their last eight. There are some great stats for Canberra fans too. Canberra have won the last two games v Roosters at the Sydney Football Stadium. Prior to that they won just one of 17 games going back to 1998. Canberra have won four straight v Roosters on a Sunday. Canberra have won their last five Sunday games v anyone. All of the Origin players are named, but even with them, the Roosters have won of the worst changes in win % over Origin period.
Roosters have lost their last four at the Sydney Football Stadium v non Sydney teams.
Origin Players: Roosters 5 Canberra 1
Origin Period Win % Difference: Roosters -18% Canberra -5%
2025 NRL Round 12 Late Mail – Stats Extra
STATE OF ORIGIN PERIOD COMPARISON
Wondered if a team is much better or worse during State of Origin? You may be surprised, and also not surprised at the same time.
Some handy visuals are below to help you pick a winner.
2025 NRL Round 12 Review + Round 13 Preview
Here’s the best of our wrap ups of last weekend and look forward to this weekend.
Missed all the hype of the first State of Origin game and need and/or want to catch up in the quickest way possible? Well The Gurgler has you covered for the latest Dolphins game with our 2025 State of Origin Game 1 – One Minute Match Report.
Our popular One Minute Match Reviews offer up just enough facts and figures and opinion to make it through the waiting for an Uber or Monday morning coffee catch ups, fifty cent train rides or carpools.
2025 State of Origin Game 1 Final Thoughts
Like Jerry Springer, but for rugby league, a quick few thoughts jammed together to add context to the stat.
It wasn’t a great game, but the Blues did more than enough in bursts and overall to win. The score flatters Queensland massively, who were terrible.
And NSW did what Queensland used to do so well. Effort, power, a little bit of fire, and pride in the jersey. The little things. And now Queensland are doing what they used to give NSW plenty of stick for – working out who to dump. It was such a bad performance that it’s hard to know who to drop.
DCE will be one of the names mentioned, and rightly so. He has been out of form in clubland since carrying on about his contract at Manly, and he kept out Queensland’s best player last series in Tom Dearden who had to make do with a backup hooker role. Which he did well, and Queensland looked their best with him. And it’s not as if DCE is one of Queensland’s favourites anyway.
One underrated factor could have been Craig Bellamy, as he was in the Blues coaching box, and that coincided with Storm stars Cameron Munster and Harry Grant having ordinary games. Whilst neither will be dropped, the moving out of DCE could allow Bulldogs hooker Reed Mahoney to come in as back up, and the Maroons need that bit of mongrel and jerk may I say. As there was precious little last night.
Speaking of coaches, maybe Billy Slater’s prickliness in press conferences filters into the dressing room. We aren’t to know that, but it’s hard to know if he is inspiring or just arrogant. The arrogant would certainly be attributable to his Channel Nein work, based on their awful commentary on Wednesday. Just three games to go in 2025 in that regard.
Two of Queensland’s better players were Robert Toia, who has only made his NRL debut this season, and Jeremiah Nanai who seemed to care a lot, and that may be due to a stint in Qld Cup this season. He may have appreciated being in the team more. Whilst they rest appeared to be trying, it barely seemed out of club mode, unlike NSW who stepped up.
NSW were good all night, and particularly superb in the latter half of the first half with their brisk three try burst. All of which were lovely, and Queensland seemingly no idea how to handle. The Blues did seem to back off in the second half, as errors and penalties crept in, but the game never seemed in doubt, even before their final try.
Payne Haas is a machine and worth of Man of the Match. It must have been nice to play without an entire Broncos team on his back, and played accordingly. Zac Lomax was also immense, proving the growing importance of wingers in the game. Nathan Cleary ran the show as he always does, but a touch of human about him with the missed conversions, which were welcomed by Queenslanders and less so by 13+ margin gamblers. Latrell Mitchell doesn’t need to do much except a moment of occasional brilliance and staying out of trouble, he did both. And you could rate all NSW starting players seven out of ten and above.
NSW are 14/20 after winning game one for the series. And Origin heads to Perth where NSW are 2/2 with the margin of 32 in both games. If Queensland play like they did on Wednesday, it will be double that.
2025 State of Origin Game 1 Result Stats
Courtesy of nrl.com
BEST OF BARELY INTERESTING STATS
Going back to 2014, there have been nine opening State of Origin fixtures played at non-neutral grounds. The away team has won eight of those games.
This is NSW’s first run of three wins in a row since Game 2 of 2005 to Game 1 of 2006.
But be aware, Queensland won the next four games after that, including the 2006 series.
The last four series openers at Suncorp Stadium have seen NSW win three games to Queensland’s one.
In the 20 times NSW have won game one of a three game series, they have won the series 14 times. It’s 7/10 when game one has been played at Suncorp Stadium aka Lang Park.
2025 State of Origin Game 1 Player Stats
It was pretty one-sided stuff for NSW on field, but do the stats looks as bad as they felt for Queensland at Suncorp Stadium?
Below are some key position comparisons and stand out players.
Angrier than a room full of Fox League writers and NRL 360 hosts, slower than a Bunker decision, with more speed than an Origin Bolter and as big a bullshit artist as Phil Gould it’s time for the weekly Rugby League rant of The Gurgler’s NRL Donkey, who provides his NRL Donkey’s 2025 NRL Round 13 Expert Tips as well as offers an alternative, slightly unhinged view full of sass of the world of rugby league and beyond for another week.
The NRL Donkey’s 2025 NRL Round 13 Weekly Rant
The NRL really know how to piss off their fans. Not only was it a reduced round of five games, but their instruction to tell all the outsiders win so most people in tipping competition got zero out of five is pure genius. That’ll teach them to constantly moan about how crap the NRL is when Origin is on.
Normally they just ignore all the really good alternatives from fans and experts in their own special way of telling us to stick it up our arse, but it really is above the top shelf kind of whiskey to see how Round 12 played out.
And there are good alternatives. NRL takes a proper break, not just a half-arsed, player-shy, standard-low, interest-low concoction of NRL, and plays the State of Origin over three weeks. And the fans get treated with a Pacific Nations tournament, because more PNG Kumuls is good PNG Kumuls. Or a Panasonic Cup style mini knockout tournament for the NRL. Or why not start the NRLW early. Or Nines, or Sevens. Just not the current thirteens with players missing left, right and centre. It’s pure arse NRL until mid-July.
Although one silver lining is perhaps betting companies could offer betting markets on which Origin players will back up.
Talking of arses, Gus Gould’s Bulldogs signed Lachlan Galvin after denying the club’s interest. He’ll say he never said that and will claim a Kanye style genius that it was all planned all along and blah blah blah on whatever that show is on Channel Nein. Being on Channel Nein I have no idea. Or interest.t
It is funny to see the Fox League writers attempting to take the moral high ground saying that Gus Gould shouldn’t mislead his viewers on Channel Nein by lying. If you’re silly enough to choose to watch any Channel Nein show, especially rugby league, then you deserve to get lied to. Worse if you watch MAFS. And enjoy it.
Some people claim that Gus Gould has a conflict of interest being in the media and being former Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson of the Bulldogs but given his media commitments are on Channel Nein it’s no conflict for me. The only conflict involving Gus Gould for me is can I wait for the delayed Fox League coverage for State of Origin. Then I realise that coverage has Cooper “I Told You So Over and Over and Over Again” Cronk, or potentially Michael Ennis, or worse, both. So if I’m going to hate the coverage I’m watching anyway, may as well be live. And shit.
One silver lining is I think MAFS is over, so won’t have to put up with any cross-promote there from Channel Nein. Although, I usually time my switching over to Channel Nein’s coverage of State of Origin like those F1 mechanics do when they wait for the last possible minute to take the tyre warmers off the F1 cars before the race starts. Like an F1 race, going too early could ruin the whole experience.
Watching Channel Nein for State of Origin is one of those unpleasant but necessary chores, like doing your tax, getting a flu shot and watching the AFL Grand Final, but it does make you appreciate what you have on Fox League for the rest of the season. Except the Grand Final. Which at least probably won’t feature Penrith.
But it could feature the Bulldogs, and therefore possibly feature Lachlan Galvin, who will want to be good with all his takeover of NRL media in the last few months. The signs are there, especially because Gus Gould said he’s the best young player he’s ever seen, and he doesn’t lie. Also leaving the Wests Tigers is a good sign his career is on the rise. Given that most players who leave the Tigers blossom and the reverse for those who arrive.
You want to hope it’s worth it as a Bulldogs fan. They are leading the competition after all and seem to have a really good team culture. Galvin appears less of a team player, or maybe that’s how he comes across in the media, but maybe that’s what the Bulldogs want. A selfish winner who’ll stop at nothing to win. Like the CEO.
Or it could go completely pear shaped and be just as interesting. Either way, a successful Bulldogs going all the way with their passionate fans or watching a competition leading team implode is good for rugby league.
Talking of pairs, here’s the seven tips for the weekend of Origin period NRL.
The NRL Donkey’s 2025 NRL Round 13 Expert Tips
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA (Kogarah) v NEWCASTLE
The NRL really don’t like their competition during Origin if this is the first serving for the weekend. I’m sure Michael Ennis will tell us it’s rooooooooooooly greaaaaaaaaaat. I say he sucks up to the Dragons, and therefore sucks himself.
Dragons by 12
GOLD COAST V MELBOURNE
It’s a Melbourne invasion on the Gold Coast for winter. Look for the many socks with sandals around town. I wonder if Craig Bellamy has a pair of Crocs and what kind of jibbitz he would have. Probably lots of angry emojis.
Gold Coast by 6
NORTH QUEENSLAND v WESTS TIGERS
Watch the Tigers unburdened by releasing Lachlan Galvin thrash the Cowboys at home where they have an ordinary recent record against Sydney teams. But the Tigers are usually sh!t away and against Qld teams, and the Cowboys have won the last three games v Tigers by a million, so who knows.
Tigers by 10
MANLY v BRISBANE
Manly haven’t played Brisbane at Brookvale since 2014. Instead they have been giving Brisbane on their million away games at Suncorp Stadium. Broncos have their two best players backing up from Origin, maybe. But they do have Xavier Willison and that combined with a general dislike for Manly and DCE is enough for me.
Broncos by 8
SOUTHS v WAHS
This could be a real arm wrestle. Sadly there will be no Sylvester Stallone like in the Arm Wrestling movie Over the Top. Although I think Stallone’s best work was in Demolition Man. That’s an underrated fun movie. “What seems to be your Boggle?” Classic. And the guy from Yes Minister as an evil overlord is quality casting.
Warriors by 10
PENRITH v PARRAMATTA (CommBank)
If Penrith’s bad luck with referees doesn’t tell you that referees punish the lower sides then you’re simply ignorant. The Panthers are a side that won four premierships in a row, so very much used to winning, but it’s not until they’re last when they get dudded with poor calls.
Parramatta by 6
ROOSTERS v CANBERRA
Canberra seem to be a popular team to be on a winning streak, and since I don’t like the Roosters, and they don’t like me, I’ll tip the Raiders.
Origin period NRL kicked off with all five favourites being beaten as zeroes were shared in tipping competitions around the world. Talking of favourites 2025 NRL Round 13 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview are loved by all, when they win.
Each week this season we offer up a quick preview glance for each match, throw in a bunch of barely interesting stats, and mix in a pinch of opinion, some spicy tips and you have a rugby league soup with probably more flavour than one could ever need or want. It’s all you can eat NRL stats.
2025 NRL Round 13 Tips
Here are our tips for the week ahead. How did we get to here? By going through all the visuals and stats below.
Our famed barely interesting stats all in the one place for this week of fewer games.
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA (Kogarah) v NEWCASTLE
Newcastle won the last game between these sides at Kogarah, but it was five straight wins to the Dragons before that.
Newcastle have conceded ten points in their last two away games.
Dragons have won their last two gams on a Friday at Kogarah.
GOLD COAST V MELBOURNE
Melbourne have won 13 of the last 15 games v Gold Coast going back to 2015.
Gold Coast have won just once in the last seven games at CBUS Stadium v Melbourne. On a Saturday overall there v Melbourne it is W1 L4.
Gold Coast have won four of their last five matches at CBUS Stadium on a Saturday. Just not the most recent clash v Dolphins.
Melbourne’s record v Qld sides in Qld is W6 L6 since 2022.
NORTH QUEENSLAND v WESTS TIGERS
North Queensland have won their last three games v Wests Tigers and scored 164 points in the process.
They have won only one of their last three at home v Wests Tigers on a Saturday.
North Queensland’s record at home on a Saturday to Sydney clubs since 2024 is W1 D1 L4.
Going back to 2023, Wests Tigers have won just one of their last seven trips to Queensland v Queensland sides on a Saturday.
Wests Tigers are W3 L2 away from home this season. For context, the Tigers won just four away games between 2022 and 2024.
MANLY v BRISBANE
Brisbane have only played Manly at Brookvale eight times since 1998 and not since 2014 and never on a Saturday. Manly’s record there v Broncos since 1998 is W5 L3.
Broncos are W1 L2 for Sydney away trips this season.
Manly have lost their last three in a row at home. But they have won their last two there on Saturday.
Manly have won their last four games v Qld sides.
SOUTHS v WAHS (Olympic Stadium)
Warriors won the last game between these sides but were only victorious once in the previous 15 games.
Warriors have a good record v Souths on a Sunday W13 L6.
Warriors are W3 L1 v Souths at the Olympic Stadium on a Sunday too.
Souths have lost their last four games v non Sydney teams.
Going back to 2021, the Warriors have won only three of 17 away games on a Sunday.
Souths are W3 L1 at the Olympic Stadium this season.
PENRITH v PARRAMATTA (CommBank Stadium)
Penrith have won eight of their last nine v Parramatta on a Sunday.
Penrith have lost all three games at CommBank Stadium this season.
But at least Penrith have won their only two games at CommBank Stadium on a Sunday.
Penrith have won 22/25 Sunday games since 2021.
Penrith have won 13 games in a row v Sydney teams on a Sunday.
Parramatta are 1/1 for wins as the away team at CommBank Stadium.
Parramatta have lost their last six Sunday games.
ROOSTERS v CANBERRA
Canberra have won the last two games v Roosters at the Sydney Football Stadium. Prior to that they won just one of 17 games going back to 1998.
Canberra have won four straight v Roosters on a Sunday.
Canberra have won their last five Sunday games v anyone.
Roosters have lost their last four at the Sydney Football Stadium v non Sydney teams.
2025 NRL Round 12 Stats Extra – Team in Origin Period
Want to know if your team, or any NRL team goes better or worse during the State of Origin period. The results range from not really surprised to kind of interesting.
2025 NRL Season Stats So Far
Here’s the best of the NRL Team Stats from last weekend.
2025 NRL Season Preview Stuff
We’ve done a lot of stuff ahead of the new NRL season, and here it all is.
Here are The Gurgler’s 2025 Monaco Grand Prix Ratings – our way of rating the performances on the track without getting into trouble for swearing.
Our G-Power Rankings goes a little bit deeper than just points scored on the Sunday and has a slightly cooler name than most. We take on board Free Practice, Qualifying, performance in relation to teammate, fastest lap, and a few more stats that are attempting to highlight a driver outperforming the car and/or thrashing their teammate.
Normally we have a season long bunch of stats, but we’re saving that for the end of season review that will be way too long for anyone to want to read. Regardless, here is our shortened version for contractual obligations.
Here are the current overall standings for our Driver of the Year winner – the Martini Medal. Named in honour of one of F1’s most unsung heroes – Pierluigi Martini of Minardi fame.
We have the overall scores as they stand, plus a visual which shows the flow of each driver’s position throughout the season, plus a few points of interest below.
Here is the breakdown of the Driver of the Year points from the most recent race and the season so far. Remembering our ratings go across a whole weekend, so the race winner who may not have had a great qualifying or sprint race may not come out on top.
LATEST RACE RATINGS & DRIVER OF THE YEAR UPDATE
2025 Monaco Grand Prix Ratings – Teams
This is essentially using the same drivers stats but in reverse for the worst score, but taking out anything that is a H2H between the drivers.
And our annual award focuses on the other end of the grid, highlighting the worst team of the season.
Of course, the worst team of the season award needs to be named after the worst F1 team of all time. And if you want to fund out more about Andrea Moda, follow this link.
LATEST RACE & SEASON RATINGS
Here is the best of the stats from the 2025 F1 season so far. Which we admit isn’t much, but stay tuned throughout the year for more.
H2H
Here is the ultimate H2H comparison, with the overall qualifying and race measures, plus one that calculates all official sessions across the weekend.
Franco Colapinto starts off his Alpine career by not outdoing Pierre Gasly in any session.
Max Verstappen has a perfect record for final qualifying and the race.
QUALIFYING – DRIVERS
With qualifying becoming all important, here are some key stats from the season that is.
QUALIFYING – TEAM
And some Teams trends too.
FASTEST LAP
The most random of stat to follow, but good filler.
FREE PRACTICE
Some say Free Practice is a giant waste of time, and they are probably right. Regardless here is the average position for each drivers in Free Practice this season. Each round an average of all the sessions.
1ST LAP PROGRESS
OTHER RACE STATS
Fancy knowing who has led the most laps. Or which grid position fills which position at the end of the race. Note: 99 means DNF.
2025 F1 Season Power Rankings – Points Explanation
Here’s how the points work this season. Essentially the perfect race (Win from Pole, Fastest Lap, thrash team mate, best in race etc) should amount to the perfect 100 points.
FIRST LAP GAINS +0.5pts per position gained -0.5pts per position lost.
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS – 25pts to 1pt as per World Championship – Sprint Race Points added.
BEAT TEAM MATE (RACE) – 10pts (if both finish or other driver got self inflicted DNF)
FASTEST LAP – 5pts – 1pt for top five drivers.
GRID POSITION TO RACE POSITION – formula +/- relative finish to grid
BEST OF THE REST (RACE) – 5pts to 1pt – top five non Mercedes-Red Bull drivers
QUALIFYING – 20pts to 1pt – Grid Position 1 to 20.
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) – 5pts
BEST OF THE REST (QUALIFYING) – 5pts to 1pt – top five non Mercedes-Red Bull drivers
GREAT/GRAPE – 5pts Great 2pts Honourable Mention -2Pts Dishonourable Mention -5Pts Grape
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) Time Gap – Formula for % beaten team mate by
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) Position – 0.5 Pts for every position team mate is beaten by. 0 points for second car.
FREE PRACTICE HERO – 10Pts to 1Pt – Average Position across all three practice sessions.
WIN FROM POLE – Bonus 5 Points
WIN FROM POLE WITH FASTEST LAP – Bonus 10 Points
DNF Not Driver or Team Fault Minus 2 Points
DNF CAUSED BY DRIVER/TEAM INCOMPETENCE Minus 5 Points
SPRINT RACE POINTS – Points 8 to 1 as handed out in the sprint race.
SPRINT RACE CHANGE – 0.5 Points per change in end position to starting position.
SPRINT RACE QUAL – Points 8 to 1 as handed out in the order of qualifying 1st to 8th.
The Gurgler loves a hero, and Greg Norman, and we have been following our hero’s adventures around the world. But slowing it down a notch, and taking on board all of Greg’s knowledge, connections and charisma, we introduce a new Greg feature – Nor-Mansplains, where Greg explains a topic as only he can do. World class and shirtless. This time he’s Nor-mansplaining the great rugby league showcase event – State of Origin.
WARNING: Adult Themes and/or shirtless golfers…..
Greg Nor-mansplaining State of Origin.
All images above were created using the technology of Grok and the slightly warped imagination of The Gurgler writing staff, who are frequently locked in a room and told not to come out until they have come up with at least 50 barely interesting stats on a specific sport, or something that makes the Telegram group give Hardy chuckles. G, they are easy to please though. But even if you don’t like the way Twitter, also known as X, is going, you should get into their AI app Grok, which needs a Twitter / X account, and let your imagination run wild. Maybe you could come up with some Greg Norman adventures of your very own to share with family and friend.
If you enjoyed this episode of Greg Norman Vs, and are not worried about our obsession with Greg Norman, especially the fact he is usually presented as shirtless, then why not follow the links to some of our other gear below.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the website, it’s not all about Greg Norman. We also try to bore everyone to tears with overly long and dull articles with way too many stats for the modern attention short person to care about.
