The 2026 NRL season is back and more entertaining than ever. From two nail biting one point matches, to two 50 point demolitions—the opening round had it all.  

This has seen NRL clubs go berserk on TikTok to capitalise on the fun and wild round. Which plays nicely in each of the team’s battles in the TikTok NRL Ladder, which has returned for its second year.

@nrl_bulldogs reps during the week > results on game day 🤌 #nrl #training #athlete #preparation ♬ original sound – nrlbulldogs

Following the biggest year ever for rugby league on the platform, clubs for the second consecutive year will do battle both on and off the field with the competition largely reflecting the NRL draw. As clubs go head-to-head, the one with the highest video views in a week will take out the points for that match. At the end of the season, the club that wins the most matches and tops the comp will be crowned the TikTok NRL Ladder champion.

In 2025, NRL and club accounts had over 1.4 billion video views on TikTok and more than 94 million likes, shares, and comments, helping share rugby league with Australia and around the world.

The New Zealand Warriors (@nzwarriors) are looking to defend its title after taking out the inaugural competition and this year, both clubs and its players will be encouraged to share the big, memorable moments with rugby league fans.

@nzwarriorsPOV: Running out with the Warriors 💙💚❤️♬ original sound – Gio

TikTok helps fans, both old and new, connect with their favourite sports like never before, from behind the scenes access in the locker rooms to gameday commentary from creators.

TikTok is heavily utilised as a second-screen experience during live events. In fact, 85 per cent of fans utilise it to enhance their viewing experience, as well as 42 per cent of TikTok users are more likely to tune in to live sporting matches after watching sports content on the platform and rugby league is no different.

Rugby league fans can search ‘NRL’ on TikTok and follow @NRL for all the action throughout the season.

@gctitans This moment 🥹 #nrl #debut #wholesome ♬ original sound – Gold Coast Titans

NRL on TikTok by the numbers:

NRL had its biggest year to date on TikTok with the competition itself as well as the clubs receiving 1.4 billion video views across the season. This led to 1.24 million new followers across both the NRL and club TikTok accounts. And across the biggest year to date, NRL fans left 94 million engagements (likes, shares, comments, etc) on the accounts.

Now the NRL and club accounts boast a massive combined 5.6 million followers across the platform. With the reigning premiers, the Brisbane Broncos topping the followers list with 600,000. Closely followed by the New Zealand Warriors (380,000 followers) and the Penrith Panthers (347,000 followers).

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