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Four takeaways for each club from the 2026 NRL fixture

The NRL will return to Darwin's TIO Stadium (Marrara Oval) again in 2026.
The NRL will return to Darwin's TIO Stadium (Marrara Oval) again in 2026.DARRIAN TRAYNOR / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

An ANZAC Day Saturday triple-header, a Grand Final rematch in Round 3 and the traditional Good Friday blockbuster are just some of the things for league fans to look forward to in the early rounds of 2026.

The full 2026 NRL draw was published on Friday morning and we have broken down the schedule club-by-club further down to bring you some of the most notable features of the fixture.

The pre-season All-Stars clash (Indigenous v Maori) heads to Hamilton, New Zealand for a Sunday afternoon men's and women's double-header during the second leg of the three-week Pre-Season Challenge.

Pre-season trial games will spread their wings out to Queanbeyan, Mackay, Napier, Gosford, Mudgee and the Sunshine Coast as well as a Sunday night match at the iconic Henson Park in Marrickville between the Sharks and Eels.

State of Origin will be held on Wednesdays May 27, June 17 and July 8 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane respectively with an enormous crowd expected at the MCG for Game 2. 

Brisbane Broncos

- Five Friday night games and two Thursday night matches

- The club are pleased with 16 turnarounds of at least seven days

- Away derby against the Titans on Easter Saturday and ANZAC Day Eve (Friday night) game against the Bulldogs

- No trip to New Zealand - the Broncos will instead be playing the Warriors 'away' at Suncorp Stadium during Magic Round (R11)

Canberra Raiders

- 12 home games in Canberra including seven during family-friendly afternoon timeslots

- Two home games on Thursdays and three on Fridays

- A Round 1 game against Jamal Fogarty's Manly Sea Eagles and a trip to Perth in Round 6 to face South Sydney at Optus Stadium

- A 'Miracle of Mudgee' replay against Penrith in Round 22

Canterbury Bulldogs

- Season kicks off in Las Vegas against St George Illawarra

- Four Thursday and ten Friday matches

- Traditional Good Friday (South Sydney) and King's Birthday (Parramatta) matches

- 11 home games at Accor Stadium

Cronulla Sharks

- A Round 1 game against former coach Josh Hannay

- Ten games at Sharks Stadium, including eight on Saturday/Sunday

- Easter Sunday at home to the Warriors

- 16 turnarounds of at least seven days

Dolphins

- Two Redcliffe home games in Rounds 5 (Manly, Easter Thursday) and 19 (Cronulla)

- The first of three annual home games at TIO Stadium in Darwin

- An away trip to Wellington to face the Warriors

- Three games on Thursday and nine on Friday

Gold Coast Titans

- Away Queensland derbies in Rounds 2 (Dolphins) and 3 (Cowboys)

- They then host the Broncos in Round 5

- 11 home games at CBUS Super Stadium, eight of which are on Saturday/Sunday

- Only one Thursday match and three on Fridays all season

Manly Sea Eagles

- A season opener at 4 Pines Park against minor premiers Canberra

- 12 home games at Brookvale in total, five of them against Sydney-based opposition

- Four games on Thursday (two at home) and four on Friday (also two)

- Six turnarounds of six days or less compared with ten in 2025

Melbourne Storm

- 11 home games at AAMI Park and one in Perth (Indigenous Round v Manly)

- Clear air for a Round 1 home game (Eels) during AFL's northern states-based Opening Round as well as a home game v New Zealand during AFL's Gather Round in Adelaide

- Traditional ANZAC Day clash with South Sydney

- Home games against four 2025 finalists (SYD/CBR/CBY/PEN) between Rounds 13-25

New Zealand Warriors

- Back-to-back Friday night home games to start their season and meeting four 2025 finalists in the first six rounds

- An ANZAC Day home game in Wellington (Dolphins)

- A home game at Christchurch's new indoor stadium (Cowboys, Round 16)

- No Thursday games, five on Fridays (four at home 8:00pm local)

Newcastle Knights

- Just five matches outside of NSW/ACT in 2026

- No Thursday games and only four on Fridays

- Nine of the 11 home games at McDonald Jones Stadium to be Saturday afternoon slots

- Three consecutive home matches in Rounds 16-18 following a Round 15 bye

North Queensland Cowboys

- Knights in Las Vegas during opening week

- Big home games against Titans and Storm in Rounds 3-4

- Six of 12 home games to be played on Saturdays - other six split evenly between Thu/Fri/Sun

- Trips to Vegas, Sydney (x2) and Mackay before their first home game

Parramatta Eels

- 13 matches at Commbank Stadium after ending their agreement with Darwin in 2025

- Trips to Brisbane and Melbourne in the first two rounds before five straight games at Commbank

- Easter Monday (Round 5) v Wests Tigers

- Eels leave Sydney only once from Round 14 onwards (Round 25 v Dolphins)

Penrith Panthers

- A league-high total of six Thursday and seven Friday night matches - the primetime kings!

- Seven games at Commbank following their Round 12 bye and a Round 2 home game against Cronulla in Bathurst

- Three trips to Queensland

- Round 22 Saturday 5:30pm game at Mudgee

South Sydney Rabbitohs

- Eight home games at Accor Stadium, two at Allianz Stadium and one in Gosford (Round 3 v Wests)

- Three trips to Queensland in the first 12 rounds (and another in Round 26)

- Rabbitohs leave Sydney only twice from Rounds 14-27

- Three Thursday night games and seven on Fridays

St George Illawarra Dragons

- Kicking off against rivals Canterbury in Las Vegas

- Five home games in Wollongong and five in Kogarah

- No Thursday matches and only four on Friday

- Seven consecutive matches in Sydney/Wollongong to end the home and away season

Sydney Roosters

- 12 matches at Allianz Stadium, ten of them home fixtures

- Round 10 annual regional game at Gosford v Titans

- Three trips to Brisbane as well as away games in Perth, Melbourne, Townsville and Auckland

- Two games against the Storm, Panthers, Sharks and Broncos

Wests Tigers

- Another Round 1 bye means they don't play until March 14

- Three home games at Leichhardt and four at Campbelltown

- One Thursday night match and only two on Friday nights

- Easter Monday away to Parramatta at Commbank Stadium

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