Rugby League
2025-06-01 - South Sydney Rabbitohs vs New Zealand Warriors
A Sports Betting Pick by Stu
Rugby League : Australia : NRL Season 2025
Sunday 1st June 2025 - KO 1400 AEST
South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney return from a bye week refreshed and buoyed by a gritty Round 11 win over the Wests Tigers, this puts the Rabbits in 6th on 6-5 record with 14 points.
Coach Wayne Bennett has made just one change to that side, with Sean Keppie joining the bench in place of Liam Le Blanc. The Rabbitohs will be hoping superstar fullback Latrell Mitchell is named to back up from Origin I, though it appears he will not play, Fletcher Myers is on standby should he be rested.
Jamie Humphreys continues to grow in confidence at halfback and will be central to Souths attacking structure, his kicking game is superb and he has gone someway to filling the void left by the departure of Adam Reynolds.
He’ll be supported by Jayden Sullivan at five-eighth and the ever-reliable Siliva Havili at hooker. The forward pack, led by Jai Arrow and Keaon Koloamatangi, will need to match the Warriors physicality through the middle.
South Sydney Rabbitohs Team news – watch for news on Latrell, I suspect he will not play and Sean Keppie is the other change.
New Zealand Warriors
The Warriors suffered their first home defeat of the season in Round 12, falling 22-18 to the Raiders in a tight contest. Despite the loss, they remain firmly inside the top four in second on a good record of 8-2. New Zealand have been excellent on the road in 2025, winning five of their last six games in Australia.
Coach Andrew Webster welcomes back two key players: James Fisher-Harris returns from suspension, and Rocco Berry is back from a hamstring injury. Mitch Barnett has been named to back up from Origin 1, and the early mail there is he will play.
Luke Metcalf, the current Dally M Medal leader, continues to shine in the halves and will be a key figure against Souths, he partners Chanel Harris-Tavita, with Wayde Egan providing crisp service from dummy-half. The Warriors’ back three—Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck—offer speed, power, and experience.
New Zealand Warriors Team news – Barnett should back up from Origin and his front row partner Fisher-Harris is welcomed back to start. Rocco Berry also returns in the centres.
Odds
The visiting Warriors will start as slight favourites, $2.20 to $1.68, the line is 2.5 points and combined points 45.5
The Betting Verdict
The Rabbits have had the better of recent meetings, winning 8 in a row dating back to 2018, however the Warriors did win the only meeting last season at Accor Stadium 4-34.
The Rabbitohs have won three of the last five clashes at Accor Stadium, making this a genuinely even rivalry. Overall H2H has the Rabbits out in front, 21-18 and at this venue, South Sydney win 57% of their matches, while the Warriors unsurprisingly are less than 50%, 10-15.
New Zealand will take great pride from their last effort here against Souths, after conceding the first try, the Warriors defended their hearts out and came away with a dominant victory, 4-34, 1 try to 6. To me, that shows improvement away from home which is massive in these matches for the well-travelled New Zealand team.
According to Bet365, the Warriors are slight favourites at $1.68, with the Rabbitohs priced at $2.20. although New Zealand have traditionally been a poor travelling team and have never won the title, this season looks to be building nicely and they truly have the team to possibly go all the way in 2025.
Souths have not been great despite their 6th placing, losing to all the top 8 teams faced to date and only managing to beat teams outside the top 8.
New Zealand appear to have mentally broken their issues when travelling and if the Rabbits are possibly without Latrell Mitchell while the Warriors team is strengthened with the return of Berry and Fisher-Harris, New Zealand should win this match well.
The Pick :
South Sydney Rabbitohs 16-28 NZ Warriors
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
Take the NZ Warriors to win and cover the points 2.5 points handicap at $1.91 with Bet365
