2026 NRL Women's season

NRL Telstra Women's Premiership
Duration	2 July 2026 to 4 October 2026 (Unconfirmed dates)
Teams	12
Broadcast partners	Nine Network Fox League Sky Sport (NZ) Sky Sports (UK)
←  2025 2027  →

The 2025 NRL Women's season will be the ninth professional season of the NRL Women's Premiership.

Teams

The twelve teams that participated in the 2025 season will again compete in 2026.

Club	Season	Home ground(s)	Head coach	Captain(s)	Ref
Brisbane Broncos	9th season	Suncorp Stadium and Totally Workwear Stadium	Scott Prince	Ali Brigginshaw and Tamika Upton	[1]
Canberra Raiders	4th season	GIO Stadium	Darrin Borthwick	Simaima Taufa and Zahara Temara
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	2nd season	Accor Stadium and Belmore Sports Ground	Brayden Wiliame	Tayla Preston and Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa	[2] [3]
Cronulla Sharks	4th season	PointsBet Stadium	Tony Herman	Tiana Penitani-Gray
Gold Coast Titans	6th season	Cbus Super Stadium	Karyn Murphy	Georgia Hale
Newcastle Knights	6th season	McDonald Jones Stadium	Ben Jeffries	Yasmin Clydsdale	[4]
New Zealand Warriors	5th season	Mount Smart Stadium and FMG Stadium Waikato	Ronald Griffiths	Apii Nicholls	[5] [6]
North Queensland Cowboys	4th season	Queensland Country Bank Stadium	Ricky Henry	Kirra Dibb and Emma Manzelmann	[7]
Parramatta Eels	6th season	CommBank Stadium and Eric Tweedale Stadium	Steve Georgallis	Mahalia Murphy
St. George Illawarra Dragons	9th season	WIN Stadium and Netstrata Jubilee Stadium	Nathan Cross	Zali Hopkins	[8] [9]
Sydney Roosters	9th season	Allianz Stadium and Industree Group Stadium	John Strange	Isabelle Kelly
Wests Tigers	4th season	Leichhardt Oval Campbelltown Sports Stadium and Allianz Stadium	Craig Sandercock	Kezie Apps	[10] [11]

Notes:

• Craig Sandercock is to coach an NRLW side for the first time in 2026. ^[10]
• The Captain(s) column currently lists the 2025 captains.
  • An exception is Raecene McGregor, the Dragons co-captain in 2025 who has signed with the Wests Tigers for 2026.

Scheduling

The start, duration, and conclusion of the 2026 season will be influenced by several factors.

• A seven-week preparation period. ^[12]
• Two weeks of leave.
• A six teams over three weeks final series. Winners of 3rd place versus 6th place and 4th place versus 5th place in Week 1 meet 1st place and 2nd place in Week 2 semi-finals. Winners of the semi-finals meet in the Grand Final in Week 3.
• Decision on the length of the regular season. In 2025, eleven rounds were played, the minimum required for the twelve teams to play each of their opponents once.
• A three-match Women's State of Origin series.
• The NRL (men's) Grand Final Day, expected to be 4 October 2026.

Players and transfers

Main articles: List of current NRL Women's team squads and NRL salary cap

The 2026 season salary cap for clubs is $1,386,000 and the minimum wage for contracted players is $46,200. Squad size is 24 players plus 4 development players. ^[12] In the recent seasons of 2023, 2024, and 2025, Clubs were required to fill their 24-player roster by late May.
Players may be added to each club’s roster from outside the initial squad of 24 as injury replacements. This can be to cover season-ending injuries or a significant number of short-term injuries.

Transfers

Table last updated: 18 October 2025

2026 NRLW Transfers

Player	2025 Club	2026 Club	Announcement Date	Reference
Brooke Anderson	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	St George Illawarra Dragons	3 Apr 2025	[13]
Ella-Jaye Harrison-Leaunoa	Ipswich Jets (BMD)	Newcastle Knights	10 Sep 2025	[14]
Gayle Broughton	Brisbane Broncos	New Zealand Warriors	5 Oct 2025	[15]
Keilee Joseph	Brisbane Broncos	Parramatta Eels	6 Oct 2025	[16]
Raecene McGregor	St George Illawarra Dragons	Wests Tigers	8 Oct 2025	[17]
Mele Hufanga	Brisbane Broncos	New Zealand Warriors	8 Oct 2025	[18]
Annetta Nu'uausala	Brisbane Broncos	New Zealand Warriors	10 Oct 2025	[19]
Jesse Southwell	Newcastle Knights	Brisbane Broncos	13 Oct 2025	[20]
Lavinia Kitai	New Zealand Warriors	St George Illawarra Dragons	16 Oct 2025	[21]
Lillian Yarrow	North Queensland Cowboys	Brisbane Broncos	16 Oct 2025	[22]
Montana Clifford	Wests Tigers	St George Illawarra Dragons	17 Oct 2025	[23]

Players released

The following clubs announced the release of players after the conclusion of their 2025 season. The number in parenthesis alongside a player's name is the number of NRLW games played in the 2025 season.

Brisbane Broncos
The Broncos announced the departure of seven players. ^[24] Three of the seven had previously been announced as signings by their new club (Broughton, Hufanga, and Keilee Joseph). A fourth transfer (Nu’uausala) quickly followed. The other three players were:

• Lavinia Gould (0)
• Montaya Hudson (0)
• Shaylee Joseph (0)

Gold Coast Titans
The Titans have confirmed the release of one player.

• Shannon Mato (0) ^{[25] [26]}

Newcastle Knights
The Knights announced during their NRLW presentation awards evening the departure of six players. ^[27] Subsequently, Jesse Southwell was confirmed as signing with another NRLW club.

• Leilani Ah Sam (0)
• Sheridan Gallagher (13)
• Grace Kukutai (0)
• Leah Ollerton (0)
• Viena Tinao (5)

The Newcastle Herald reported that Gallagher was expected to sign with the Raiders. ^[27]

New Zealand Warriors
The Warriors announced the release of seven players. ^[28] Subsequently, Lavinia Kitai was confirmed as signing with another NRLW club.

• Avery-Rose Carmont (4)
• Emily Curtain (5)
• Makayla Eli (3)
• Kalyn Takitimu-Cook (2)
• Lydia Turua-Quedley (11)
• Sharnyze Pihema (0) (development)

Parramatta Eels
The Eels announced during their NRLW presentation awards evening the departure of ten players. ^{[29] [26]}

• Tyla Amiatu (1)
• Yasmine Baker (0)
• Rysh'e Fa'amausili (2)
• Ruby-Jean Kennard-Ellis (1)
• Jessica Kennedy (0)
• Chelsea Makira (0)
• Mia Middleton (2)
• Kiana Takairangi (2)
• Paige Travis (11)
• Madeline Jones (0)

Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers announced the release of 14 players, including three who had been on a development contract. ^[30] Subsequently, Montana Clifford was confirmed as signing with another NRLW club.

• Claudia Brown (0)
• Iemaima Etuale (5)
• Amelia Huakau (11)
• Evie McGrath (6)
• Claudia Nielsen (1)
• Salma Nour (7)
• Rebecca Pollard (0)
• Jessikah Reeves (3)
• Chelsea Savill (6)
• Tiana-Lee Thorne (1)
• Tallara Bamblett (0) (development)
• Aaliyah Bula (0) (development)
• Tiresa Leasuasu (0) (development)

References

1. "Brigginshaw & Upton Named NRLW Co-Captains". Brisbane Broncos. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
2. "Wiliame Named as Bulldogs NRLW Head Coach". Bulldogs.com.au. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
3. "Co-Captains to Lead Bulldogs in Inaugural NRLW Season". Bulldogs.com.au. 17 June 2025. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
4. "Captain Clydsdale: Yasmin named NRLW skipper". Newcastle Knights. 24 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
5. Becht, Richard (1 July 2024). "Griffiths to coach NRLW side". Warriors.Kiwi. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
6. Becht, Richard (23 June 2025). "Nicholls to lead Warriors in NRLW". Warriors.Kiwi. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
7. "Manzelmann elevated to captaincy". Cowboys.com.au. 1 July 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
8. "Dragons appoint Nathan Cross as NRLW Head Coach". Dragons.com.au. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
9. "McGregor, Hopkins named NRLW co-captains". Dragons.com.au. 22 June 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
10. "Craig Sandercock appointed as new Wests Tigers NRLW Head Coach". Wests Tigers. 22 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
11. "Kezie Apps locked in as NRLW Captain". Wests Tigers. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
12. "In principle agreement on key financial terms for NRLW CBA". NRL. NRL Media. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
13. "Anderson signs on for '26". Dragons.com.au. 3 April 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
14. "Knights extend NRLW trio". Newcastle Knights. 10 September 2025. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
15. Becht, Richard (5 October 2025). "NRLW premiership winner Broughton signed for two years". Warriors.Kiwi. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
16. "Parramatta Eels sign star forward Keilee Joseph". Brisbane Broncos. 6 October 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
17. "Wests Tigers secure signature of Raecene McGregor". Wests Tigers. 8 October 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
18. "Wests Tigers secure signature of Raecene McGregor". Wests Tigers. 8 October 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
19. Becht, Richard (10 October 2025). "Nuuausala third premiership winner signed in a week". Warriors.Kiwi. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
20. "Young Star Southwell Seals Broncos Deal". NRL. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
21. "Cook Islands international Lavinia Kitai joins Red V". Dragons.com.au. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
22. "Dream Comes True For Lillian Yarrow – Signing on with the Broncos". Brisbane Broncos. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
23. "Montana Clifford signs on with Dragons". Dragons.com.au. 17 October 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
24. "Broncos Bid Farewell To Group Of Departing Players". Brisbane Broncos. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
25. "Mato granted early release from Titans". Gold Coast Titans. 29 September 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
26. Whaley, Pamela (1 October 2025). "Titans rubber-stamp release request from pregnant prop". Gold Coast Bulletin. p. 31.
27. McKinney, Max (9 October 2025). "Gallagher, Southwell among Knights' confirmed NRLW departures". Newcastle Herald. p. 26.
28. Becht, Richard (29 September 2025). "Six players from Warriors' 2025 NRLW comeback squad farewelled". Warriors.Kiwi. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
29. "NRLW Signings Tracker". Parra Eels. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
30. "Wests Tigers farewell departing NRL & NRLW players". Wests Tigers. 30 September 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2025.

External links

• Official website