Once again, in a bid to grow the game outside of the metropolitan areas, the NRL have scheduled several games in locations such as Mackay, Queanbeyan, Gosford, Mudgee and the Sunshine Coast. <\/p>\n
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WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n
The four Vegas-bound teams will kick off the pre-seasons with a double header on Saturday, February 7 (Bulldogs v Cowboys, Dragons v Knights).<\/p>\n
The Broncos, who have won the previous two Pre-Season Challenges, won\u2019t be able to defend their crown due to their involvement in the World Club Challenge against Hull KR in England on February 20.<\/p>\n
FULL SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES AEDT)<\/p>\n
Pre-Season Challenge Round 1<\/p>\n
Saturday, February 7<\/p>\n
Bulldogs vs. Cowboys @ Jubilee Stadium 5:30pm<\/p>\n
Dragons vs. Knights @ Jubilee Stadium 7:30pm<\/p>\n
Pre-Season Challenge Round 2<\/p>\n
Thursday, February 12<\/p>\n
Dolphins vs. Titans @ Kayo Stadium 8:00pm<\/p>\n
Friday, February 13<\/p>\n
Raiders vs. Storm @ Seiffert Oval, Queanbeyan 5:30pm<\/p>\n
Cowboys vs. Panthers @ BB Print Stadium, Mackay 8:00pm<\/p>\n
Saturday, February 14<\/p>\n
Warriors vs. Sea Eagles @ McLean Park, Napier 1:40pm<\/p>\n
Wests Tigers vs. Roosters @ McDonald Jones Stadium 3:50pm<\/p>\n
Knights vs. Bulldogs @ McDonald Jones Stadium 6:00pm<\/p>\n
Dragons vs. Rabbitohs @ WIN Stadium 8:10pm<\/p>\n
Sunday, February 15<\/p>\n
Sharks vs. Eels @ Henson Park (Fox) 6:00pm<\/p>\n
Pre-Season Challenge Round 3<\/p>\n
Friday, February 20<\/p>\n
Warriors vs. Dolphins @ Leichhardt Oval (Fox) 6:00pm<\/p>\n
Wests Tigers vs. Panthers @ Leichhardt Oval (Fox) 8:10pm<\/p>\n
Saturday, February 21<\/p>\n
Sharks vs. Raiders @ Polytec Stadium, Gosford (Fox) 3:50pm<\/p>\n
Roosters vs. Eels @ Polytec Stadium, Gosford (Fox) 6:00pm<\/p>\n
Storm vs. Titans @ Sunshine Coast Stadium (Fox) 8:10pm <\/p>\n
Sunday, February 22<\/p>\n
Rabbitohs vs. Sea Eagles @ Glen Willow Stadium, Mudgee (Fox) 4:00pm<\/p>\n
RULES<\/p>\n
There are no changes to the Pre-Season Challenge rules or points system.<\/p>\n
Points system<\/p>\n
Teams will be awarded 12 points for a win, and six for a draw, with several ways to score bonus points ensuring no contest is a dead rubber.<\/p>\n
If a team scores five or more tries, they earn one extra bonus point, while earning the same amount for five or more linebreaks and 10 or more offloads.<\/p>\n
The maximum a team can score with a win is 15 points, while three points are still on offer for the losing side.<\/p>\n
How many players can each team name?<\/p>\n
The NRL will once again allow clubs to field as many as 28 players in the pre-season challenge with unlimited interchanges.<\/p>\n
What happens if teams are tied on points?<\/p>\n
In the event of a tie after all games are completed, a system has been laid out to ensure the pre-season challenge will always have a victor.<\/p>\n
The team with the highest points differential will stake the money home, but in the event teams are still level it comes down to a percentage.<\/p>\n
The winner becomes the team with the greater percentage of points scored for and against, from tries and goals.<\/p>\n
If somehow there is still a deadlock at the top of the ladder, the winner is decided by these statistics, in order \u2014 most tries, scores, most goals kicked, most field goals kicked, least amount of penalties conceded \u2014 and ultimately, the toss of a coin.<\/p>\n
PREVIOUS WINNERS<\/p>\n
2023 \u2013 Sea Eagles<\/p>\n
2024 \u2013 Broncos<\/p>\n
2025 \u2013 Broncos<\/p>\n
WHAT\u2019S ON THE LINE?<\/p>\n
The winning team of the Pre-Season Challenge wins a $100,000 cash prize.<\/p>\n
The season proper begins Sunday the 1st of March (AEDT) when the Knights take on the Cowboys from Las Vegas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fans will get their first taste of NRL action for 2026 in just three weeks when the Witzer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[2095,64,63,689,219794,190939,11101,1208,2057,220237,162977,2105,220236,7681,113209,2623,13217,32917,761,762,2627,2041,764,2067,3583,158,677,14224,109461,132836,4523,85,3598,2614,4515,40620],"class_list":["post-417634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-america","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-bears-roster-build","tag-bonus-points","tag-cooper-cronk","tag-england","tag-europe","tag-event-teams","tag-game-outside","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-highest-points-differential","tag-ian-hitchcock","tag-key-aspect","tag-las-vegas","tag-matt-burton","tag-michael-ennis","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nevada","tag-north-america","tag-north-queensland-cowboys","tag-northern-america","tag-northern-europe","tag-nrl","tag-oceania","tag-points-scored","tag-points-system","tag-pre-season-challenge","tag-sea-eagles","tag-sports","tag-time-offer","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-wests-tigers","tag-world-club-challenge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417634","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=417634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}