2026 NRL season

2026 National Rugby League
Duration	28 February Local time in Las Vegas. – 4 October 2026
Teams	17
Matches played	213
←  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.

Teams

The lineup of teams in the league will remain 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 [1]	Adam Reynolds
Canberra Raiders	45th season	GIO Stadium	Ricky Stuart	Joseph Tapine [2]
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	92nd season	Accor Stadium and Belmore Sports Ground	Cameron Ciraldo	Stephen Crichton
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	60th season	Sharks Stadium	Craig Fitzgibbon	Cameron McInnes
Dolphins	4th season	Suncorp Stadium and Kayo Stadium	Kristian Woolf [3]	Tom Gilbert [4] → Isaiya Katoa & Felise Kaufusi Gilbert suffered a season-ending injury in Round 11. Vice captain Kaufusi initially filled in as sole captain before sharing the duties with Isaiya Katoa.
Gold Coast Titans	20th season	Cbus Super Stadium	Josh Hannay	Tino Fa'asuamaleaui
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	77th season	4 Pines Park	Anthony Seibold	TBA
Melbourne Storm	29th season	AAMI Park	Craig Bellamy	Harry Grant
Newcastle Knights	40th season	McDonald Jones Stadium	Justin Holbrook	Kalyn Ponga [5]
New Zealand Warriors	32nd season	Go Media Stadium	Andrew Webster	Mitchell Barnett and James Fisher-Harris [6]
North Queensland Cowboys	32nd season	Queensland Country Bank Stadium	Todd Payten	Reuben Cotter and Tom Dearden
Parramatta Eels	80th season	CommBank Stadium	Jason Ryles [7]	Mitchell Moses [8]
Penrith Panthers	60th season	CommBank Stadium [a]	Ivan Cleary	Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo
South Sydney Rabbitohs	117th season	Accor Stadium	Wayne Bennett	Cameron Murray → Cody Walker Murray suffered a season-ending injury in the pre-season. When available, Walker filled in as captain.
St. George Illawarra Dragons	28th season	Jubilee Stadium and WIN Stadium	Shane Flanagan	Damien Cook and Clint Gutherson [9]
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 [10]

Ladder

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.

Notes

1. Penrith's usual home ground, BlueBet Stadium, is not usable due to ongoing renovations

References

1. "Michael Maguire Appointed Brisbane Broncos Head Coach". broncos.com.au. 30 September 2024.
2. "Tapine pays tribute to family and club after captain announcement". raiders.com.au. 16 September 2024.
3. Crawley, Paul (18 December 2023). "NRL 2024: Kristian Woolf opens up on succession plan for Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett". theaustralian.com.au.
4. "Tom Gilbert announced as Dolphins captain". dolphinsnrl.com.au. 28 February 2025.
5. "Ponga to Roosters whispers, $13m Brown plunge and roster culls: Inside dramatic Knights upheaval". foxsports.com.au. 24 February 2025.
6. Becht, Richard (11 February 2025). "Co-captains appointed for 2025". warriors.kiwi.
7. "Parramatta Eels appoint Jason Ryles as Head Coach for four seasons from 2025". parraeels.com.au. 8 July 2024.
8. "Parramatta Eels announce new Captain". parraeels.com.au. 30 January 2025.
9. "Dragons announce co-captains for 2025 season". dragons.com.au. 13 January 2025.
10. "Koroisau and Luai named 2025 captains". weststigers.com.au. 22 January 2025.