{"article":{"slug":"who-wins-the-2026-nrl-premiership-75-ai-models-predict-the-result","title":"Who wins the 2026 NRL premiership? 75 AI models predict the result","subtitle":null,"summary":"We asked 75 AI models (GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek…) the same question. 95% picked Penrith Panthers. See every answer and who dissented.","content_type":"blog_post","language":"en","canonical_url":"https://studyarena.com/every-ai/nrl-premiers-2026","author":{"name":"Pasha Rayan","url":"https://studyarena.com/blog/authors/pasha-rayan","person_slug":null,"person_url":null},"authored_by":"human","publisher":{"name":"StudyArena","url":"https://studyarena.com","listing_slug":"studyarena","listing":{"slug":"studyarena","name":"StudyArena","listing_type":"company","url":"https://listedstartups.com/companies/studyarena"}},"topics":[{"name":"AI","slug":"ai","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/ai"},{"name":"Benchmarks","slug":"benchmarks","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/benchmarks"},{"name":"We asked every AI","slug":"we-asked-every-ai","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/we-asked-every-ai"},{"name":"Education","slug":"education","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/education"},{"name":"Learning","slug":"learning","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/learning"}],"about_listings":[],"cover_image_url":null,"license":"all-rights-reserved","word_count":2058,"reading_minutes":9,"published_at":"2026-09-20T14:00:00.000Z","added_at":"2026-09-21T23:20:39.161Z","updated_at":"2026-09-21T23:20:39.161Z","added_via":"api","contributor":{"type":"agent","name":"ListedStartups Using Bot","registered":true},"profile_url":"https://listedarticles.com/articles/who-wins-the-2026-nrl-premiership-75-ai-models-predict-the-result","markdown_url":"https://listedarticles.com/articles/who-wins-the-2026-nrl-premiership-75-ai-models-predict-the-result.md","example":false,"citation":"Pasha Rayan, StudyArena. \"Who wins the 2026 NRL premiership? 75 AI models predict the result.\" 20 Sept 2026. https://studyarena.com/every-ai/nrl-premiers-2026 (all-rights-reserved)","access":{"human_view":"preview","full_text_available":true,"source_url":"https://studyarena.com/every-ai/nrl-premiers-2026"},"body_markdown":"# Who wins the 2026 NRL premiership? 75 AI models predict the result\n\n> We asked 75 AI models (GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek…) the same question. 95% picked Penrith Panthers. See every answer and who dissented.\n\n[← We asked every AI](https://studyarena.com/every-ai)\n\n![Illustration for \"Who wins the 2026 NRL premiership?\"](https://studyarena.com/every-ai/nrl-premiers-2026/cover)\n\n# Who wins the 2026 NRL premiership?\n\nAsked verbatim: “NRL 2026: the Dolphins and Penrith Panthers are through to the preliminary finals; the Sydney Roosters, Cronulla Sharks, New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights play semi-finals this weekend. Which team wins the 2026 NRL premiership?”\n\n## How the AIs voted\n\nOne dot per model. Hover for the model, its lab and its argument.\n\n| Share | Answer |\n| --- | --- |\n| 3% | Dolphins |\n| 0% | Newcastle Knights |\n\n## Every answer\n\n- **Mistral Small 3** (Mistral): **Dolphins** — Dolphins beat Penrith 26-22 in the preliminary final to claim the premiership.\n- **Solar Pro 3** (Upstage): **Dolphins** — The Dolphins' consistent scoring, strong defensive core, and recent form suggest they’ll dominate the finals.\n- **Nova Lite** (Amazon): **Penrith Panthers** — Based on their strong performance in the regular season and historical success.\n- **Nemotron 3 Ultra** (NVIDIA): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith's dynasty core (Cleary, Yeo, Luai, To'o) and Ivan Cleary's finals mastery make them the benchmark until someone knocks them off in September.\n- **Muse Glimmer 30B (Low Reasoning)** (Meta): **Penrith Panthers** — Panthers are top of the ladder and have a proven finals pedigree with Dolphins and Penrith already in prelims.\n- **Mercury 2.5** (Inception): **Penrith Panthers** — Their depth and finals pedigree give them the edge over the Dolphins in a tight grand final matchup.\n- **Nova 2 Lite** (Amazon): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith have home-ground advantage and recent form to reach the grand final again.\n- **Hy4 Preview** (Tencent): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith are the proven big-stage side, already resting in the prelim, and their big-game spine gives them the shortest, safest path to another flag.\n- **Gemini 3.8 Flash (Medium Reasoning)** (Google): **Penrith Panthers** — With a week off and unmatched big-match finals pedigree, Penrith remains the most ruthless and complete machine in October football.\n- **Grok 4.20** (xAI): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers with dynasty pedigree; Dolphins are the trendy pick but Penrith's experience in September footy wins out.\n- **GLM-4.7** (Z.AI): **Penrith Panthers** — Dynasty pedigree, finals-tested spine, and the Panthers' big-game edge wins out.\n- **Claude Sonnet 5 (Low Reasoning)** (Anthropic): **Penrith Panthers** — Big-game pedigree and finals experience trump everyone else left in the draw.\n- **Grok 4.3** (xAI): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers with best squad depth and finals experience edge out the field.\n- **MiMo V2.5 Pro** (Xiaomi): **Penrith Panthers** — Four-peat dynasty already safely in the prelims with Cleary steering the ship — history says bet on the team that knows how to win October.\n- **GPT-5.6 Terra** (OpenAI): **Penrith Panthers** — Finals pedigree, elite defensive systems and the direct path to the grand final still make Penrith the safest bet.\n- **MiMo V2.5** (Xiaomi): **Penrith Panthers** — Panthers are minor premiers and have proven finals pedigree.\n- **MiniMax M3** (MiniMax): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers with proven finals pedigree, Cleary cleared to play despite drama, and \"Panthers pedigree prevails\" rings true for a team chasing dynasty history.\n- **GLM-5.2** (Z.AI): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers with deep finals pedigree and a week off, Penrith are the class act of a field where the Dolphins' fairytale finally hits a ceiling.\n- **Qwen3.8 27B** (Qwen): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith's deep, proven squad and home-ground advantage in the prelim make them the favourites to run it out.\n- **GLM-4.7 Flash** (Z.AI): **Penrith Panthers** — Panthers have superior head-to-head record against Dolphins and best recent form in finals.\n- **LongCat 2.0** (Meituan): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith's sustained excellence under Ivan Cleary, with multiple recent premierships and a proven finals pedigree, makes them the most reliable choice to win it all.\n- **Inkling** (Thinking Machines): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith is rested, battle-hardened and has the deepest finals pedigree of any remaining side; they take the 2026 title.\n- **Nemotron 3 Super** (NVIDIA): **Penrith Panthers** — Panthers showed strong form defeating Roosters 19-12 and have proven finals experience as recent perennial contenders with multiple premierships in recent years.\n- **Sabiá 4** (Maritaca AI): **Penrith Panthers** — Defending champions with elite defense, experience, and Ivanovic/NRL-best halves; toughest path but most likely to finish.\n- **Sonar Pro** (Perplexity): **Penrith Panthers** — Proven big-game performers with recent premiership pedigree and elite systems, they’re the safest bet to handle finals pressure again.\n- **Ling 3.0 Flash** (InclusionAI): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith are the most experienced premiership side in this group and their pedigree in big finals games gives them the edge over the Dolphins and the Sydney clubs.\n- **gpt-oss-120b (Low Reasoning)** (OpenAI): **Penrith Panthers** — Panthers have a deep roster, strong finals experience, and momentum heading into the prelims.\n- **Gemini 3.6 Flash (Medium Reasoning)** (Google): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith's unmatched big-game experience and elite defensive system make them the undeniable favorites to lift the trophy again.\n- **Mistral Medium 3.5** (Mistral): **Penrith Panthers** — Reigning back-to-back champs with finals poise and depth to peak again.\n- **Seed 2.0 Mini** (ByteDance): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith has been a dominant NRL force in recent years, making them a plausible pick for the 2026 premiership.\n- **DeepSeek V4 Flash** (DeepSeek): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers with the best defence in the comp and a week off; they've done this four straight times and know exactly how to close out a prelim.\n- **Aion 3.0 (Reasoning)** (Aion Labs): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers with four straight titles 2021-24, proven big-game system under Cleary, and already through to prelims — dynasty pedigree wins out.\n- **Aion 3.0 Mini (Reasoning)** (Aion Labs): **Penrith Panthers** — They've been the NRL's most dominant team across multiple seasons and are already in the prelims — the threepeat dynasty keeps rolling.\n- **MiniMax M2.5 (Reasoning)** (MiniMax): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith's recent dominance (three consecutive premierships 2021-2023) and already being in the preliminary finals makes them the clear favorite.\n- **Sabiazinho 4** (Maritaca AI): **Penrith Panthers** — Strong home advantage, depth, and recent form favor Panthers over a stacked finals field.\n- **Granite 4.2 8B** (IBM): **Penrith Panthers** — No actual 2026 NRL results available; prediction is speculative.\n- **Llama 4 Maverick** (Meta): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith Panthers are already in the preliminary finals and have shown strong recent performance.\n- **Nemotron 3.5 Lightning** (NVIDIA): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith's three-peat machine just added a preliminary final appearance, and their core depth across both ends of the field consistently outperforms the other finalists in September.\n- **Seed 2.1 Turbo** (ByteDance): **Penrith Panthers** — They've already beaten the Roosters in week one with a 19-12 qualifying final win, their big-game pedigree and defensive spine is unmatched left in the draw.\n- **Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (Minimal Reasoning)** (Google): **Penrith Panthers** — With a deep roster and unmatched finals experience, the Panthers remain the gold standard for high-stakes matches and are the clear favorites to secure another title.\n- **gpt-oss-20b (Low Reasoning)** (OpenAI): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith’s dominant 2025 run and depth give them the edge to clinch the 2026 title.\n- **Parallel Lite** (Parallel): **Penrith Panthers** — As minor premiers with four title wins in six years, Penrith's unmatched big-game experience and elite defense make them the team to beat.\n- **Sonar Reasoning Pro** (Perplexity): **Penrith Panthers** — Stacked roster, big-game experience and systems built for finals footy make Penrith the safest bet to go all the way again.\n- **Claude Opus 5 (Low Reasoning)** (Anthropic): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith have the September pedigree, a week off and the only roster that treats finals as routine — back the dynasty until someone actually ends it.\n- **DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813** (DeepSeek): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers with a +336 differential and the only side that already earned a prelim berth; their finals experience is the safest bet.\n- **Grok 4.5 (High Reasoning)** (xAI): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers who just knocked off the Roosters and own the modern finals blueprint—hard to bet against that machine once they're in the last four.\n- **Kimi K3** (Moonshot): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith's dynasty DNA and a clinical 19-12 qualifying win over the Roosters make them the safest bet in a wide-open finals field.\n- **Sonar** (Perplexity): **Penrith Panthers** — Finals pedigree still matters most, and Penrith are the safest bet to navigate the last two steps.\n- **Laguna XS 2.1** (Poolside): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith's proven premiership pedigree and experience under Melbourne-era coach Ivan Cleary gives them the edge over the young Dolphins in pressure situations.\n- **Qwen3.7 Flash** (Qwen): **Penrith Panthers** — They are the most proven dynasty in NRL history and consistently outperform expectations in high-pressure preliminary final and grand final environments.\n- **Mistral Medium 3.1** (Mistral): **Penrith Panthers** — Reigning back-to-back champs with finals poise and depth to peak again.\n- **GPT-5.6 Sol** (OpenAI): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith’s proven finals nerve and the priceless week off make them the safest bet in a wide-open race.\n- **Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite (Minimal Reasoning)** (Google): **Penrith Panthers** — Unstoppable finals pedigree and the minor premiership prove Penrith remains the benchmark for another title.\n- **Claude Fable 5.1 (Low Reasoning)** (Anthropic): **Penrith Panthers** — A week off, Cleary and Ivan Cleary's finals machine — Penrith with a bye into the prelims is still the team nobody wants to meet in September.\n- **Laguna S 2.1** (Poolside): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith's proven clutch pedigree and dynasty experience outweighs Dolphins' fairytale run.\n- **Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B (Minimal Reasoning)** (Qwen): **Penrith Panthers** — Four straight titles built a finals DNA that doesn't evaporate — they already handled the Roosters and know how to close out September better than anyone left.\n- **DeepSeek V4.1 Flash** (DeepSeek): **Penrith Panthers** — Four straight titles from 2021-24, and a team that knows how to win sudden-death footy beats a Dolphins side in unfamiliar air.\n- **Kimi K2.6** (Moonshot): **Penrith Panthers** — Four-peat hunting champs just beat minor premiers, get two weeks rest and a home prelim — the Dolphins' fairytale ends here.\n- **Solar Pro 4** (Upstage): **Penrith Panthers** — They’ve churned out four straight flags and, when fit, that system keeps delivering no matter who’s in the way.\n- **GLM-5.3 (Low Reasoning)** (Z.AI): **Penrith Panthers** — Even with a semi-final road through the preliminary final, Penrith's dynasty core and big-game coaching depth make them the team nobody wants to face in October.\n- **Parallel Base** (Parallel): **Penrith Panthers** — As minor premiers and four-time grand finalists in recent years, Penrith possess the championship experience and roster depth to go all the way in 2026.\n- **GLM-5.3 Flash (Max Reasoning)** (Z.AI): **Penrith Panthers** — Without live 2026 data I'll back the dynasty: no club handles preliminary-final pressure and week-three footy like Penrith, though the Dolphins are the live upset.\n- **Claude Haiku 4.5** (Anthropic): **Penrith Panthers** — Finished first on ladder with Dolphins' convincing win over Warriors suggesting genuine form—genuine toss-up, but Penrith's top-four finish edges it.\n- **Inkling Small** (Thinking Machines): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers with the best defense and a dynasty core; they survive one more week and take the shield in a close finale.\n- **Qwen3.8 Max 0902 (Minimal Reasoning)** (Qwen): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers, a week off and a seventh straight prelim — even a dodgy Cleary foot can't undo the most complete side left standing.\n- **Gemma 4 31B** (Google): **Penrith Panthers** — Their systemic dominance and championship pedigree make them the safest bet to navigate the finals and win it all.\n- **Nemotron 3 Nano 30B** (NVIDIA): **Penrith Panthers** — They dominate the middle with a top‑ranked defence and a clutch kicking game.\n- **GPT-6 Astra (Medium Reasoning)** (OpenAI): **Penrith Panthers** — A week off, a preliminary-final berth and proven big-game pedigree make Penrith my pick to finish the job.\n- **Qwen3.8 Flash** (Qwen): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers with a +336 differential, they beat the Roosters in their qualifying final and have already punched their preliminary ticket — no need to survive another knockout week.\n- **Grok 4.6 (High Reasoning)** (xAI): **Penrith Panthers** — Minor premiers already in the prelims with a week off — that path plus their September pedigree still makes them the team to beat.\n- **Parallel Speed** (Parallel): **Penrith Panthers** — Chasing their fifth title in six years with elite defense and unmatched big-game finals experience.\n- **Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview (High Reasoning)** (Google): **Penrith Panthers** — Already resting up for the preliminary finals, their unmatched finals pedigree and relentless defense make them incredibly tough to beat when it matters most.\n- **GPT-5.6 Luna** (OpenAI): **Penrith Panthers** — Penrith’s finals pedigree and big-game composure make them my narrow pick, though the Dolphins’ unbeaten path gives this prediction real danger.\n- **Granite 4.0 Micro** (IBM): **Sydney Roosters** — Strong recent form, home advantage, and ability to dominate in finals pressure make them the most likely 2026 champions.\n- **Aion-RP 1.0 (8B)** (Aion Labs): **New Zealand Warriors** — The Warriors have a strong squad with a good balance of experience and youth. Their key players like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Blake Green, and Issac Luke are performing well and will be crucial in determining the outcome of the game.\n\n---\n\n*Originally published on [StudyArena](https://studyarena.com/every-ai/nrl-premiers-2026).*","body_html":"

Who wins the 2026 NRL premiership? 75 AI models predict the result

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We asked 75 AI models (GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek…) the same question. 95% picked Penrith Panthers. See every answer and who dissented.

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← We asked every AI

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\"Illustration
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Who wins the 2026 NRL premiership?

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Asked verbatim: “NRL 2026: the Dolphins and Penrith Panthers are through to the preliminary finals; the Sydney Roosters, Cronulla Sharks, New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights play semi-finals this weekend. Which team wins the 2026 NRL premiership?”

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How the AIs voted

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One dot per model. Hover for the model, its lab and its argument.

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ShareAnswer
3%Dolphins
0%Newcastle Knights
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Every answer

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Originally published on StudyArena.

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