Are the Rabbitohs an NRL Premiership Contender in 2023?

The Rabbitohs are the fourth most likely team to win the 2023 NRL premiership.

Despite currently sitting outside the top eight following their Round 21 loss to the Broncos, Souths are at 78.5% to make the 2023 NRL finals, with only five teams above them in the top eight probabilities.

Stats Insider's futures model gives the Rabbitohs a 9.9% chance to win the 2023 NRL premiership, making them the fourth most likely team to win this year's premiership. On PointsBet, the Rabbitohs are on the third line of betting to win the 2023 NRL Premiership, behind only the Panthers at $2.60 and the Storm at $4.50.

Stats Insider's NRL expert explained that the model's faith in the Rabbitohs is down to a combination of returning players and a favourable fixture.

"Souths have finally made it through the State of Origin period and are getting closer to their full strength line up," he said.

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"While they're currently the ninth place side, the Rabbits do have the fourth easiest run home according to our schedule difficulty assessor, including this round's game against Wests. After that game they face the Dragons two weeks later in Round 24, two games they'll start as heavy favourites in.

"Facing the bottom two teams in the next three weeks gives the Bunnies a big leg up on the competition, which is why our futures model has them as a strong chance to make the finals, despite currently sitting outside the top eight. 

"From there, our model believes Souths are a true premiership contender and will only climb up our premiership probabilities if they can get on a winning streak.

The Rabbitohs next face the Tigers in Round 22 of the 2023 NRL season.

2023 NRL Premiership Probabilities

All probabilities are correct at the time of publication.

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)