Top of the bill status has been handed to the One New Zealand Warriors for the NRL’s 2026 Magic Round with confirmation of a mouth-watering clash against premiership winners the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
Ahead of the full draw being announced tomorrow, the NRL has released details of the competition’s seventh annual football festival scheduled for May 15-17 next year.
The standout feature is the second of the three games on the third day when the Warriors meet the Broncos; as is the case for the Magic Round, the Broncos will again be the “away” team at their home ground.
Brisbane will be the Warriors’ sixth different opponent since the Magic Round concept was introduced in 2019.
That year they beat the Dragons 26-18, there was no round in 2020 and then they lost 18-34 to the Eels in 2021, 30-32 to the Rabbitohs in 2022 and 6-18 on the Panthers in 2023. Stunning back-to-back wins have followed over Penrith (22-20) last year and the Cowboys (30-26) this season.