2026 NRL season

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Duration28 February[a] – 4 October 2026
Teams17
Matches played64
Points scored2,823
2026 National Rugby League
Duration28 February[a] – 4 October 2026
Teams17
Matches played64
Points scored2,823
Average attendance22,952
Total attendance1,423,040
Biggest home win Storm 52–4 Eels
AAMI Park
5 March, Round 1
Biggest away win Dragons 16–62 Roosters
Allianz Stadium
25 April, Round 8
← 2025
2027 →

The 2026 NRL season is the 119th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 29th season run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The regular season will be followed by a finals series contested by the top eight teams on the competition ladder.

The lineup of teams in the league remained unchanged for the 4th and final consecutive year, with seventeen participating in the regular season: ten from New South Wales, four from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand.

Club Season Home ground(s) Head coach Captain(s)
Brisbane Broncos 39th season Suncorp Stadium Michael Maguire Adam Reynolds
Canberra Raiders 45th season GIO Stadium Ricky Stuart Joseph Tapine
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 92nd season Accor Stadium and Belmore Sports Ground Cameron Ciraldo Stephen Crichton
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 60th season Ocean Protect Stadium Craig Fitzgibbon Cameron McInnes and Blayke Brailey[1]
Dolphins 4th season Suncorp Stadium and Kayo Stadium Kristian Woolf Tom Gilbert and Isaiya Katoa[2]
Gold Coast Titans 20th season Cbus Super Stadium Josh Hannay[3] Tino Fa'asuamaleaui
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 77th season 4 Pines Park Anthony Seibold → Kieran Foran (interim)[4] Tom Trbojevic[5]
Melbourne Storm 29th season AAMI Park Craig Bellamy Harry Grant
Newcastle Knights 39th season McDonald Jones Stadium Justin Holbrook[6] Kalyn Ponga
New Zealand Warriors 32nd season Go Media Stadium Andrew Webster Mitchell Barnett and James Fisher-Harris
North Queensland Cowboys 32nd season Queensland Country Bank Stadium Todd Payten Reuben Cotter and Tom Dearden
Parramatta Eels 80th season CommBank Stadium Jason Ryles Mitchell Moses
Penrith Panthers 60th season CommBank Stadium[b] Ivan Cleary Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo
South Sydney Rabbitohs 117th season Accor Stadium Wayne Bennett Cameron Murray
St. George Illawarra Dragons 28th season St. George Venues Jubilee Stadium and WIN Stadium Shane Flanagan → Dean Young(interim)[7] Damien Cook and Clint Gutherson
Sydney Roosters 119th season Allianz Stadium Trent Robinson James Tedesco
Wests Tigers 27th season CommBank Stadium, Leichhardt Oval and Campbelltown Sports Stadium Benji Marshall Apisai Koroisau and Jarome Luai

Venues

Venues for the 2026 National Rugby League competition.

New South Wales
Sydney Parramatta Sydney Olympic Park Woolooware
Allianz Stadium CommBank Stadium Accor Stadium Ocean Protect Stadium
Capacity: 42,500 Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 83,000 Capacity: 15,000
Brookvale Leumeah Lilyfield Carlton
4 Pines Park Campbelltown Sports Stadium Leichhardt Oval St. George Venues Jubilee Stadium
Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 17,500 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 10,000
Newcastle Gosford Wollongong
McDonald Jones Stadium polytec Stadium WIN Stadium
Capacity: 33,000 Capacity: 20,059 Capacity: 23,750
Mudgee Bathurst
Glen Willow Oval Carrington Park
Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 11,500
Queensland
Brisbane Redcliffe Gold Coast Townsville
Suncorp Stadium Kayo Stadium Cbus Super Stadium Queensland Country Bank Stadium
Capacity: 52,500 Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 27,400 Capacity: 26,500
Australian Capital Territory Victoria Western Australia
Canberra Melbourne Perth
GIO Stadium AAMI Park Optus Stadium HBF Park
Capacity: 25,011 Capacity: 29,500 Capacity: 65,000 Capacity: 20,500
Northern Territory New Zealand
Darwin Auckland Wellington Christchurch
TIO Stadium Go Media Stadium Hnry Stadium One New Zealand Stadium
Capacity: 12,215 Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 34,500 Capacity: 30,000

Stadium locations

Venues used for the 2026 National Rugby League season.

2026 NRL season stadium locations (Australia and New Zealand)
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
1000km
621miles
22
Jubilee Stadium
22 St. George Illawarra Dragons
22 St. George Illawarra Dragons
21
Leichhardt Oval
21 Wests Tigers
21 Wests Tigers
20
Marrara Oval
20 Dolphins
20 Dolphins
19
One NZ Stadium
19 New Zealand Warriors
19 New Zealand Warriors
18
Sky Stadium
18 New Zealand Warriors
18 New Zealand Warriors
17
Go Media Stadium
17 New Zealand Warriors
17 New Zealand Warriors
16
Glen Willow Stadium
16 Penrith Panthers
16 Penrith Panthers
15
Carrington Park
15 Penrith Panthers
15 Penrith Panthers
14
Perth Stadium
14 South Sydney Rabbitohs
14 South Sydney Rabbitohs
13
AAMI Park
13 Melbourne Storm
13 Melbourne Storm
12
Queensland Country Bank Stadium
12 North Queensland Cowboys
12 North Queensland Cowboys
11
Cbus Super Stadium
11 Gold Coast Titans
11 Gold Coast Titans
10
Kayo Stadium
10 Dolphins
10 Dolphins
9
Suncorp Stadium
9 Brisbane Broncos
9 Brisbane Broncos
8
GIO Stadium
8 Canberra Raiders
8 Canberra Raiders
7
McDonald Jones Stadium
7 Newcastle Knights
7 Newcastle Knights
6
WIN Stadium
6 St. George Illawarra Dragons
6 St. George Illawarra Dragons
5
Accor Stadium
5 South Sydney Rabbitohs
5 South Sydney Rabbitohs
4
Campbelltown Stadium
4 Wests Tigers
4 Wests Tigers
3
Sydney Football Stadium
3 Sydney Roosters
3 Sydney Roosters
2
CommBank Stadium
2 Parramatta Eels
2 Parramatta Eels
1
BlueBet Stadium
1 Penrith Panthers
1 Penrith Panthers
1
Penrith Panthers
2
Parramatta Eels
3
Sydney Roosters
4
Wests Tigers
5
South Sydney Rabbitohs
6
St. George Illawarra Dragons
7
Newcastle Knights
8
Canberra Raiders
9
Brisbane Broncos
10
Dolphins
11
Gold Coast Titans
12
North Queensland Cowboys
13
Melbourne Storm
14
South Sydney Rabbitohs
15
Penrith Panthers
16
Penrith Panthers
17
New Zealand Warriors
18
New Zealand Warriors
19
New Zealand Warriors
20
Dolphins
21
Wests Tigers
22
St. George Illawarra Dragons

Pre-season

Trials

Italics indicates a non-NRL club

Date Time Home Score Away Stadium Report
7 February 202518:00 AEST (UTC+10:00) Central Queensland Capras16–26 DolphinsMarley Brown Oval, Gladstone
14 February 202519:10 AEST (UTC+10:00) Sunshine Coast Falcons14–26 Brisbane BroncosSunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast
22 February 2025 14:00 AEST (UTC+10:00) Souths Logan Magpies 22–58 Brisbane Broncos Davies Park, Brisbane

All Stars match

15 February 2026
15:00 AEST
Māori people Māori All Stars 16–16 Indigenous All Stars
Report
FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Attendance: 18,169
Referee: Adam Gee[c]

Pre-season Challenge

The 16-game pre-season challenge was played from 7 February to 22 February 2026 and was won by the Parramatta Eels, the first team to score the maximum 30 competition points.[8]

Regular season

Results

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 F1 F2 F3 GF
Brisbane Broncos PEN
–26		 PAR
–8		 MEL
+4		 DOL
+14		 GCT
+14		 NQL
–4		 WTI
+1		 CBY
+20		 SYD
 MAN
 NZL
 X SGI
 GCT
 SOU
 X SYD
 CRO
 X PEN
 NQL
 NEW
 DOL
 NZL
 CAN
 MEL
 CBY
Canberra Raiders MAN
+1*		 NZL
–34		 CBY
–4		 CRO
–12		 NEW
–20		 SOU
+2		 MEL
+4		 WTI
–19		 GCT
 PEN
 X DOL
 NQL
 SYD
 PAR
 MEL
 SGI
 X CBY
 SOU
 WTI
 PEN
 NEW
 CRO
 BRI
 X NQL
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs SGI
+1*		 X CAN
+4		 NEW
–8		 SOU
–8		 PEN
+16		 PAR
–18		 BRI
–20		 NQL
 DOL
 CRO
 MEL
 WTI
 PAR
 X MAN
 GCT
 X CAN
 WTI
 NZL
 MEL
 SYD
 SOU
 SGI
 PEN
 BRI
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks GCT
+40		 PEN
–20		 DOL
–28		 CAN
+12		 NZL
+14		 SYD
–12		 X NQL
–12		 WTI
 SOU
 CBY
 X MAN
 SGI
 NZL
 SYD
 X BRI
 DOL
 NEW
 MAN
 SOU
 SGI
 CAN
 GCT
 PAR
 MEL
Dolphins SOU
–10		 GCT
+4		 CRO
+28		 BRI
–14		 MAN
–34		 X PEN
–1*		 NZL
–2		 MEL
 CBY
 SOU
 CAN
 X NQL
 SYD
 WTI
 NZL
 NEW
 CRO
 NQL
 X SGI
 BRI
 MAN
 PAR
 SYD
 GCT
Gold Coast Titans CRO
–40		 DOL
–4		 NQL
–14		 SGI
+8		 BRI
–14		 PAR
+42		 NZL
–8		 X CAN
 SYD
 NEW
 MAN
 X BRI
 WTI
 PEN
 CBY
 X MEL
 MAN
 SGI
 NZL
 NQL
 NEW
 CRO
 SOU
 DOL
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles CAN
–1*		 NEW
–20		 X SYD
–17		 DOL
+34		 SGI
+10		 NQL
+32		 PAR
+15		 PEN
 BRI
 WTI
 GCT
 CRO
 SOU
 X CBY
 MEL
 PAR
 NQL
 GCT
 CRO
 X MEL
 DOL
 NEW
 SGI
 NZL
Melbourne Storm PAR
+48		 SGI
+26		 BRI
–4		 NQL
–4		 PEN
–40		 NZL
–24		 CAN
–4		 SOU
–42		 DOL
 WTI
 PAR
 CBY
 SYD
 NEW
 X CAN
 MAN
 X GCT
 SYD
 SOU
 CBY
 MAN
 X PEN
 BRI
 CRO
Newcastle Knights NQL
+10		 MAN
+20		 WAR
–26		 CBY
+8		 CAN
+20		 WTI
–20		 SYD
–14		 PEN
–32		 SOU
 SGI
 GCT
 X PAR
 MEL
 X SGI
 WTI
 DOL
 SOU
 CRO
 SYD
 BRI
 CAN
 GCT
 MAN
 NZL
 X
New Zealand Warriors SYD
+24		 CAN
+34		 NEW
+26		 WTI
–18		 CRO
–14		 MEL
+24		 GCT
+8		 DOL
+2		 PAR
 X BRI
 SGI
 PEN
 X CRO
 NQL
 DOL
 X WTI
 SGI
 CBY
 GCT
 PEN
 BRI
 SOU
 NEW
 MAN
North Queensland Cowboys NEW
–10		 WTI
–28		 GCT
+14		 MEL
+4		 SGI
+32		 BRI
+4		 MAN
–32		 CRO
+12		 CBY
 PAR
 SYD
 SOU
 CAN
 DOL
 X NZL
 PEN
 X MAN
 DOL
 BRI
 SYD
 GCT
 PAR
 X WTI
 CAN
Parramatta Eels MEL
–48		 BRI
+8		 SGI
+10		 PEN
–28		 WTI
–2*		 GCT
–42		 CBY
+18		 MAN
–15		 NZL
 NQL
 MEL
 X NEW
 CBY
 CAN
 X SOU
 MAN
 SYD
 X PEN
 WTI
 SOU
 NQL
 DOL
 CRO
 SGI
Penrith Panthers BRI
+26		 CRO
+20		 SYD
+36		 PAR
+28		 MEL
+40		 CBY
–16		 DOL
+1*		 NEW
+32		 MAN
 CAN
 SGI
 X NZL
 WTI
 X GCT
 NQL
 SOU
 X BRI
 PAR
 CAN
 NZL
 SYD
 MEL
 CBY
 WTI
South Sydney Rabbitohs DOL
+10		 SYD
–8		 WTI
+4		 X CBY
+8		 CAN
–2		 SGI
+18		 MEL
+42		 NEW
 CRO
 DOL
 NQL
 X MAN
 BRI
 X PAR
 PEN
 NEW
 CAN
 MEL
 CRO
 PAR
 CBY
 NZL
 GCT
 SYD
St. George Illawarra Dragons CBY
–1*		 MEL
–26		 PAR
–10		 GCT
–8		 NQL
–32		 MAN
–10		 SOU
–18		 SYD
–46		 X NEW
 PEN
 NZL
 BRI
 CRO
 X NEW
 CAN
 WTI
 X NZL
 GCT
 DOL
 CRO
 WTI
 CBY
 MAN
 PAR
Sydney Roosters NZL
–24		 SOU
+8		 PEN
–36		 MAN
+17		 X CRO
+12		 NEW
+14		 SGI
+46		 BRI
 GCT
 NQL
 X MEL
 CAN
 DOL
 CRO
 BRI
 X PAR
 MEL
 NEW
 NQL
 CBY
 PEN
 WTI
 DOL
 SOU
Wests Tigers X NQL
+28		 SOU
–4		 NZL
+18		 PAR
+2*		 NEW
+20		 BRI
–1		 CAN
+19		 CRO
 MEL
 MAN
 X CBY
 PEN
 GCT
 DOL
 NEW
 SGI
 NZL
 CBY
 CAN
 PAR
 X SGI
 SYD
 NQL
 PEN
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 F1 F2 F3 GF

Bold – Home game
X – Bye
* – Golden point game
Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder

Pos Team
 Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Penrith Panthers 8 7 0 1 0 273 106 +167 14 Advance to finals series
2 New Zealand Warriors 8 6 0 2 0 242 156 +86 12
3 Wests Tigers 7 5 0 2 1 209 127 +82 12
4 South Sydney Rabbitohs 7 5 0 2 1 222 150 +72 12
5 Sydney Roosters 7 5 0 2 1 215 178 +37 12
6 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 7 4 0 3 1 211 158 +53 10
7 Brisbane Broncos 8 5 0 3 0 186 171 +15 10
8 North Queensland Cowboys 8 5 0 3 0 211 215 −4 10
9 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 7 3 0 4 1 192 198 −6 8
10 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 7 3 0 4 1 133 166 −33 8
11 Newcastle Knights 8 4 0 4 0 190 224 −34 8
12 Dolphins 7 2 0 5 1 156 185 −29 6
13 Gold Coast Titans 7 2 0 5 1 146 176 −30 6
14 Canberra Raiders 8 3 0 5 0 155 237 −82 6
15 Parramatta Eels 8 3 0 5 0 180 279 −99 6
16 Melbourne Storm 8 2 0 6 0 188 232 −44 4
17 St. George Illawarra Dragons 8 0 0 8 0 114 265 −151 0
Updated to match(es) played on 26 April 2026. Source: National Rugby League

Ladder progression

  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top eight.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
  • Underlined numbers indicate that the team had a bye during that round.
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
1 Penrith Panthers246810101214
2 New Zealand Warriors2466681012
3 Wests Tigers24468101012
4 South Sydney Rabbitohs2246881012
5 Sydney Roosters0224681012
6 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles002246810
7 Brisbane Broncos002466810
8 North Queensland Cowboys002468810
9 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks22246688
10 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs24666888
11 Newcastle Knights24468888
12 Dolphins02444666
13 Gold Coast Titans00022446
14 Canberra Raiders22222466
15 Parramatta Eels02444466
16 Melbourne Storm24444444
17 St. George Illawarra Dragons00000000

Player statistics and records

  • In Round 2, Alex Johnston surpassed Ken Irvine's record of 212 tries in the NRL and its predecessor competitions.[9]
  • In Round 5, Thomas Jenkins became the first player to score 12 tries in their first 5 games of a season, having tied the record of 10 tries in the first 4 games the previous week.
  • In Round 7, Thomas Jenkins became the first player in the NRL era to score 2 or more tries in 7 consecutive games.

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of round 7.

Attendances

Club figures

Team Games Total 2026 Average 2025 Average Difference Highest Lowest
Brisbane Broncos 5 218,820 43,764 41,185 +2,579 45,882 39,015
Canberra Raiders 3 48,501 16,167 19,136 -2,969 17,457 13,723
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 3 90,275 30,092 30,688 -596 45,719 20,572
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 4 69,160 17,290 12,856 +4,434 33,404 11,096
Dolphins 4 58,780 14,695 21,820 -7,125 20,114 10,023
Gold Coast Titans 2 38,464 19,232 16,410 +2,822 26,223 12,241
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 4 67,831 16,958 16,393 +565 17,389 16,082
Melbourne Storm 4 98,670 24,668 21,677 +2,991 28,245 18,264
Newcastle Knights 4 114,389 28,597 20,891 +7,706 45,719 21,682
New Zealand Warriors 5 130,349 26,070 23,188 +2,882 34,812 23,067
North Queensland Cowboys 4 73,292 18,323 18,649 -326 20,931 16,999
Parramatta Eels 4 95,290 23,823 15,904 +7,919 29,397 14,382
Penrith Panthers 3 55,017 18,339 16,695 +1,644 22,813 12,000
South Sydney Rabbitohs 4 118,273 29,568 16,070 +13,498 49,813 15,116
St. George Illawarra Dragons 4 71,764 17,941 12,505 +5,436 40,381 8,491
Sydney Roosters 3 85,961 28,654 23,799 +4,855 41,424 22,128
Wests Tigers 4 67,327 16,832 15,176 +1,656 17,637 15,221

* = Magic Round home game not counted

Top regular season crowds

Rank Home team Away team Crowd Venue City Round
1 South Sydney Rabbitohs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 49,813 Accor Stadium Sydney 5
2 Brisbane Broncos Dolphins 45,882 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 4
3 Newcastle Knights North Queensland Cowboys 45,719 Allegiant Stadium Paradise 1
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs St. George Illawarra Dragons
4 Brisbane Broncos North Queensland Cowboys 45,582 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 6
5 Brisbane Broncos Penrith Panthers 45,566 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 1
6 Brisbane Broncos Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 42,775 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 8
7 Sydney Roosters South Sydney Rabbitohs 41,424 Allianz Stadium Sydney 2
8 St. George Illawarra Dragons Sydney Roosters 40,381 Allianz Stadium Sydney 8
9 Brisbane Broncos Parramatta Eels 39,015 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 2
10 New Zealand Warriors Dolphins 34,812 Hnry Stadium Wellington 8
11 South Sydney Rabbitohs Canberra Raiders 33,404 Optus Stadium Perth 6
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Sydney Roosters
12 Parramatta Eels Wests Tigers 29,397 CommBank Stadium Sydney 5
13 Melbourne Storm Brisbane Broncos 28,245 AAMI Park Melbourne 3
14 Melbourne Storm New Zealand Warriors 26,467 AAMI Park Melbourne 6
15 Gold Coast Titans Brisbane Broncos 26,223 Cbus Super Stadium Gold Coast 5
16 Parramatta Eels Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 25,938 CommBank Stadium Sydney 7
17 Melbourne Storm South Sydney Rabbitohs 25,694 AAMI Park Melbourne 8
18 Parramatta Eels St. George Illawarra Dragons 25,573 CommBank Stadium Sydney 3
19 New Zealand Warriors Wests Tigers 24,246 Go Media Stadium Auckland 4
=20 New Zealand Warriors Sydney Roosters 24,112 Go Media Stadium Auckland 1
Gold Coast Titans 7
22 Newcastle Knights Penrith Panthers 23,986 McDonald Jones Stadium Newcastle 8
23 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Penrith Panthers 23,984 Accor Stadium Sydney 6
24 New Zealand Warriors Canberra Raiders 23,067 Go Media Stadium Auckland 2
25 Newcastle Knights Canberra Raiders 23,002 McDonald Jones Stadium Newcastle 5

Match officials

Referee Games
Ashley Klein 8
Wyatt Raymond 8
Adam Gee 8
Todd Smith 7
Grant Atkins 7
Liam Kennedy 7
Gerard Sutton 7
Peter Gough 7
Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski 4
Belinda Sharpe 1

2026 transfers

References

Notes

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