{"id":284385,"date":"2025-11-14T17:15:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T17:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/284385\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T17:15:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T17:15:28","slug":"every-clubs-schedule-ranked-toughest-to-easiest-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/284385\/","title":{"rendered":"Every club\u2019s schedule ranked toughest to easiest"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bunnies have drawn heavyweights Melbourne, Canberra, Canterbury, Cronulla and the Roosters among teams they play twice. Those big games tend to fall in clumps of three- and four-week stretches, too, for Souths, whose past two seasons have been two of the more injury-riddled on record<\/a>. The Rabbitohs are on the road early in 2026 with trips to Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Suncorp Stadium before the Origin period.
Difficulty: 2nd<\/p>\n

Storm<\/p>\n

Melbourne will appreciate two byes during the Origin period and another after their round 23 home game against Manly in Perth. Especially considering clashes with Penrith, Brisbane and Cronulla round out their regular season. Only two of their last seven games are at AAMI Park, while they play their fellow top-four sides Brisbane, Canberra and Canterbury twice in 2026.
Difficulty: 3rd<\/p>\n

Tigers<\/p>\n

There is potential for early wins in the Tigers draw (they face the Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Eels and Knights in the first six weeks) \u2013 and they need them. The next two months brings arguably the toughest run for any side next season: Brisbane, Canberra, Cronulla, Melbourne, Manly, Canterbury and Penrith (with a bye in the middle) is nothing short of brutal.
Difficulty: Equal 4th<\/p>\n

\"Lachlan<\/p>\n

Lachlan Galvin and Jarome Luai will clash once more in round 13.Credit: NRL Photos<\/p>\n

Broncos<\/p>\n

Three byes during the State of Origin period is a blessing, with 12 games against last year\u2019s top eight. Marquee clashes against Penrith and Melbourne in the first three weeks are only trumped by what is effectively an early start to the finals \u2013 Brisbane have drawn the Warriors, Raiders, Storm and Bulldogs in rounds 24-27. The broadcast favourites have 13 games on free-to-air TV this season, equal with Melbourne, Canterbury and South Sydney.
Difficulty: Equal 4th<\/p>\n

Cowboys<\/p>\n

North Queensland play 11 games against last year\u2019s top eight and take on Queensland rivals Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Dolphins twice in 2026. The Cowboys have the equal most games (four) against teams coming off the bye, but unlike other sides in that scenario who have also had a bye, North Queensland will have played the week before.
Difficulty: 6th<\/p>\n

Titans<\/p>\n

Premiers Brisbane are the only top-four side the Gold Coast face twice next season, along with the Cowboys, Dolphins, Dragons, Sea Eagles, Knights, Sharks and Warriors. Their five-day turnaround at least falls between home games against the Warriors and Cowboys in rounds 22 and 23. The Titans have just two games on Channel Nine in 2026 – that Thursday night clash against North Queensland and a June 14 trip to Leichhardt Oval to play the Tigers.
Difficulty: Equal 7th<\/p>\n

Roosters<\/p>\n

Typically slow starters to a season, the Chooks face the Warriors (away), arch rivals South Sydney and Penrith in a tough opening. Two of their byes land before Origins I and III but in between it\u2019s a rough old run on the road with away trips to Melbourne, Canberra and Suncorp Stadium, where they play the Dolphins and then return a fortnight later against the Broncos.<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former teammates Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans will go head to head at 4 Pines Park in round four, 2026.Credit: Getty\/Michael Howard<\/p>\n

Difficulty: Equal 7th<\/p>\n

Bulldogs<\/p>\n

A round-two bye after hosting the Dragons in Las Vegas<\/a> is a godsend before a trip to Canberra. Canterbury\u2019s finish to the year is among the toughest of any team, with clashes against the Warriors, Storm, Roosters, Panthers and Broncos featuring in their last seven weeks. The caveat, though, is that after Magic Round in late May, the Bulldogs only leave Sydney twice for the rest of the season \u2013 a round 17 trip to the Gold Coast, and round 22 in Melbourne.
Difficulty: 9th<\/p>\n

Dolphins<\/p>\n

No five-day turnaround for Kristian Woolf\u2019s side and 12 games on free-to-air TV next year \u2013 a reflection of their growing popularity and entertainers status. Rounds 7-12, where the Dolphins face Penrith, the Warriors, Melbourne, Canterbury, Souths and Canberra, could either make or break their season. Especially given they will host the Panthers in Darwin and eight days later travel to Wellington, New Zealand.
Difficulty: Equal 10th<\/p>\n

Dragons\"Can<\/p>\n

Can the Dragons and coach Shane Flanagan defy wooden spoon predictions in 2026?Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

St George Illawarra only play Brisbane, Melbourne, Penrith, Canberra and the Roosters once in 2026 and their clash with the Broncos falls a few days after Origin I, when the premiers\u2019 biggest stars could well be rested. The Dragons\u2019 first bye isn\u2019t until round nine \u2013 even with a Las Vegas season-opener rolling into a home match against Melbourne in round 2 \u2013 but from round 19, they don\u2019t leave Sydney.
Difficulty: Equal 10th<\/p>\n

Knights<\/p>\n

Newcastle have 11 games against last year\u2019s top eight and five against the top four \u2013 Canberra are the only one of those heavyweights who they play twice. Two byes fall leading into Origin I and II while the Knights have a two-week turnaround from their season-opener in Las Vegas into a round-two trip to Brookvale. Six free-to-air games is among the fewest in the NRL, with only the Titans (two) and Warriors (three) getting fewer on Channel Nine.
Difficulty: Equal 10th<\/p>\n

\"Eels<\/p>\n

Eels coach Jason Ryles.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Eels<\/p>\n

Season starts don\u2019t get any tougher than Parramatta\u2019s \u2013 they\u2019ve drawn 2025 grand finalists Melbourne and Brisbane. Penrith await just around the corner as well in round four. That said, their run into the finals (and plenty fancy them as a smokey this year<\/a>) is favourable, with Cronulla the only top-eight side they\u2019ve drawn from round 22 onwards.
Difficulty: 13th<\/p>\n

Raiders<\/p>\n

Canberra have drawn the Panthers, Storm, Bulldogs and Sharks twice in 2026, and once again they\u2019ll be road warriors early on. Two home games follow a round-two trip to Auckland but three games in Newcastle, Perth (against South Sydney) and Canberra (against Melbourne) in 13 days is tough by any measure. A mid-season run with games against 2025 bottom nine sides Wests Tigers, Gold Coast, the Dolphins and Cowboys follows.
Difficulty: 14th<\/p>\n

\"Cronulla<\/p>\n

Cronulla have been blessed by the 2026 draw.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Sharks<\/p>\n

Along with Manly and the Warriors, Cronulla are the only side to draw seven games against 2025 also-rans Newcastle, Gold Coast, St George Illawarra and South Sydney. The Sharks\u2019 third and final bye lands in between Origins II and III this year, which will make for a long run home. But of the expected heavyweights, they will only play Brisbane, Melbourne, Penrith and Canterbury once.
Difficulty: 15th<\/p>\n

Sea Eagles<\/p>\n

Loading<\/p>\n

No complaints from Manly. They start the year with three home games at Brookvale, don\u2019t have a single five-day turnaround and play just 10 games against last year\u2019s top eight (equal fewest with Cronulla and the Warriors). Premiers Brisbane only feature once on their radar, as do Canberra, Canterbury, the Warriors, Panthers and Roosters, while Melbourne have moved their home game against the Sea Eagles from AAMI Park to Perth.
Difficulty: 16th<\/p>\n

Warriors<\/p>\n

The Warriors\u2019 draw always comes with the most travel of any side (once US jaunts are discounted) but is offset by playing the Raiders, Storm and Bulldogs just once. Along with 14 games against last year\u2019s bottom nine, it\u2019s a favourable run. Like Cronulla, their last bye comes before Origin III and is followed by a run home that features only the Bulldogs, Panthers and Broncos from last year\u2019s top eight in the final nine weeks of the regular season.
Difficulty: 17th<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Bunnies have drawn heavyweights Melbourne, Canberra, Canterbury, Cronulla and the Roosters among teams they play twice. Those…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-284385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}