NothingButLeague examines the highlights of the 2025 NRL Draw with a round-by-round guide to the season.
Embed from Getty ImagesROUND 1 (Las Vegas split round)
Embed from Getty Images- The 2025 season kicks off with a Vegas quadruple-header: Canberra vs New Zealand Warriors, Penrith vs Cronulla-Sutherland, Wigan vs Warrington, Australian Jillaroos vs England.
- The Sydney Roosters and Brisbane play the opening Thursday night game back in Australia.
- It’s a Friday night “Bennett Bowl”, with the Dolphins hosting South Sydney at Suncorp Stadium.
ROUND 2
- Penrith plays the Sydney Roosters in a Friday night blockbuster – the first CommBank Stadium home game for the Panthers.
- It’s a 2024 semi-final replay with North Queensland hosting Cronulla on Saturday night.
- Parramatta has the first of their two clashes with the Wests Tigers on Sunday afternoon at CommBank.
ROUND 3
Embed from Getty Images- It’s a Thursday night 2024 Grand Final rematch – Melbourne playing Penrith at AAMI Park.
- It’s a Friday night XXXX Derby – Brisbane hosting North Queensland at Suncorp Stadium.
- There’s a big western Sydney derby at Commbank Stadium on Sunday afternoon – Parramatta playing Canterbury.
ROUND 4
- It’s the fifth “Battle of Brisbane” on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium, with Brisbane looking for revenge after the Dolphins beat them for the first time in 2024.
- Canberra has the daunting task of travelling to Townsville to play the Cowboys on Saturday evening.
- It’s a big Sydney rivalry game on Sunday afternoon – Manly vs Parramatta at 4 Pines Park.
ROUND 5 (Multicultural Round)
- Canberra opens the round with their first and last Thursday night game for 2025 – hosting Cronulla.
- It’s the traditional “Souths vs Easts” rivalry at Accor Stadium on Friday night – with Souths playing the Sydney Roosters.
- A Saturday night Queensland double-header: Gold Coast vs the Dolphins, Brisbane vs Wests Tigers.
- The “Battle of Brookvale” is back – Manly hosting Melbourne at 4 Pines Park on Sunday.
ROUND 6
- There will be two games in 24 hours at Suncorp Stadium: the Dolphins vs Penrith on Thursday night and Brisbane vs the Sydney Roosters on Friday night.
- All three Saturday games will be played in Aussie Rules territory: a double header at Peth’s Optus Stadium (Cronulla vs Manly, Souths vs North Queensland), and Parramatta vs Canberra in Darwin.
ROUND 7 (Easter)
Embed from Getty Images- It’s going to be a big Good Friday: Canterbury plays Souths in the traditional Good Friday afternoon game, while the Dolphins host Melbourne (Suncorp Stadium) on Good Friday evening.
- The Warriors host Brisbane on Saturday evening – the “Wahs” (who played Brisbane in their first ARL premiership game) could use this game to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
- The Wests Tigers and Parramatta close out the long weekend with their traditional Easter Monday clash (at CommBank).
ROUND 8 (ANZAC Round)
- There’s another ANZAC Day triple-header: Sydney Roosters vs St George-Illawarra (Allianz Stadium), NZ Warriors vs Newcastle (Christchurch), and Melbourne vs Souths (AAMI Park).
- The Raiders will host another ANZAC Round game, with Canberra playing the Dolphins on Sunday, and will be hoping it’s not a repeat of last year’s 40-0 loss to Cronulla.
ROUND 9 (MAGIC ROUND)
Embed from Getty Images- The Sydney Roosters play the Dolphins in the prime-time Friday game.
- The NZ Warriors vs North Queensland Saturday 5:30pm game could be cracker, with both sides likely to have plenty of support at Suncorp Stadium.
- While they usually play Manly in Magic Round, this time the Broncos will play Penrith on Sunday afternoon.
ROUND 10 (Harvey Norman Women In League Round)
- Wayne Bennett coaches against another of his old clubs – with Souths hosting Brisbane on Friday night at Accor Stadium.
- North Queensland hosts Penrith on Saturday night – a game the Cowboys usually get up for.
- Manly and Cronulla close the weekend with a Sydney derby at 4 Pines Park.
- BYE: Sydney Roosters.
ROUND 11
- Two Queensland games on Saturday: the Dolphins vs the Warriors at Suncorp Stadium (3pm), and North Queensland vs Manly at Queensland Country Bank Stadium (5:30pm).
- The third Queensland game sees Brisbane playing St George Illawarra on Sunday afternoon.
ROUND 12 (Origin split round)
- Only five games in Round 12: Canterbury vs the Dolphins (Thursday night), Parramatta vs Manly (Friday night), Penrith vs Newcastle (Saturday night), Sydney Roosters vs Cronulla (Saturday night), NZ Warriors vs Canberra (Sunday afternoon).
ROUND 13
- On Saturday night, Manly will host Brisbane at 4 Pines Park for the first time since 2014.
- It’s a Sydney triple-header on Sunday: Souths vs NZ Warriors (2pm), Penrith vs Parramatta (4:05pm), and the Sydney Roosters vs Canberra (6:15pm).
ROUND 14
- Melbourne hosts North Queensland in the early Friday game.
- There’s another Queensland derby on Saturday night – with Brisbane hosting the Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium.
- Canterbury plays Parramatta at Accor Stadium on Monday – their traditional Queens/Kings Birthday clash.
ROUND 15 (Origin split round)
- The second Origin split round, with another five games: Cronulla vs St George Illawarra (Thursday night), Gold Coast vs Manly (Friday night), Newcastle vs the Sydney Roosters (Saturday night), North Queensland vs the Dolphins (Saturday night), Souths vs Canterbury (Sunday afternoon).
ROUND 16
- The Wests Tigers and Canberra enjoy the prime-time Friday spotlight at Campbelltown.
- We’re back to Perth on Saturday – this time at HBF Park as the Dolphins play Newcastle.
- Souths play Melbourne in the prime-time Saturday night game at Accor Stadium.
ROUND 17 (Beanie for Brain Cancer Round)
Embed from Getty Images- Canberra enjoys their second Friday night game in a row – hosting Newcastle.
- Brisbane host the Warriors at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with the second “Bennett Bowl” on Saturday night (Souths playing the Dolphins at Accor Stadium).
ROUND 18 (Origin split round)
- The last Origin spilt round opens with Canterbury hosting Brisbane on Friday night: the other four games are Canberra vs St George Illawarra (Saturday night), North Queensland vs Melbourne (Saturday night), Sydney Roosters vs Wests Tigers (Sunday afternoon), and Manly vs Souths (Sunday afternoon).
ROUND 19
- St George Illawarra hosts the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night, which is followed by North Queensland hosting Canterbury – the Cowboys could use this game as a 30th anniversary celebration (as their first ARL premiership game was against the Bulldogs).
- Two big Sunday derbies: Parramatta vs Penrith (CommBank Stadium) and Gold Coast vs Brisbane (Cbus Super Stadium).
ROUND 20
- Another Queensland derby to open Round 20: the Dolphins hosting North Queensland at Suncorp Stadium.
- Two big Saturday rivalry games: Canterbury vs St George Illawarra and Melbourne vs Manly.
ROUND 21
- It’s a Thursday night blockbuster with the Sydney Roosters playing Melbourne at Allianz Stadium.
- A Queensland double header on Friday: North Queensland vs St George Illawarra and Brisbane vs Parramatta.
- Canterbury will play Manly (in the 30th anniversary of the 1995 ARL Grand Final) on Sunday afternoon.
ROUND 22
- It’s another “Bennett vs Brisbane” game – with the Broncos hosting Souths on Friday night.
- Manly plays the Sydney Roosters at 4 Pines Park in the Saturday night prime-time game.
- The Wests Tigers have their third and final Commbank Stadium home game – playing Canterbury on Sunday afternoon.
ROUND 23 (Indigenous Round)
Embed from Getty Images- The first weekend of Indigenous Round opens with Melbourne hosting Brisbane on Thursday night.
- Canberra gets another Friday prime-time game – hosting Manly.
- It’s the big local derby between St George Illawarra and Cronulla on Saturday afternoon at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
ROUND 24 (Indigenous Round)
- The second weekend of Indigenous Round kicks off with another 2024 Grand Final rematch between Penrith and Melbourne, this time at CommBank Stadium.
- The Warriors have a prime-time Friday game in Auckland (hosting St George Illawarra at 8pm NZ time), while the Sydney Roosters play Canterbury at Allianz Stadium.
- It’s the second “Battle of Brisbane” for 2025 (Broncos vs Dolphins) at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday evening, while Souths have a rare home game at Allianz (hosting Parramatta on Saturday night).
ROUND 25 (Telstra Footy Country Round)
- The only game in Telstra Footy Country Round played in the country is Penrith vs Canberra in Mudgee on Friday.
- A big Super Saturday in NSW and Queensland: Manly plays the the Dolphins on Saturday afternoon at 4 Pines Park, the Gold Coast plays the Warriors on Saturday evening at Cbus Super Stadium, and Parramatta plays the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night at CommBank Stadium.
ROUND 26
- There’s two Queensland derbies in Round 26: North Queensland (in their final regular season game) hosting Brisbane on Saturday night and the Dolphins and Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
- Melbourne hosts the Sydney Roosters in the prime-time Friday game.
ROUND 27
Embed from Getty Images- The final regular season round begins with Brisbane hosting Melbourne on Thursday night.
- The second “Easts vs Souths” clash (this time at Allianz Stadium) is the final Friday prime-time game before the finals.
- The final day of the regular season sees the Dolphins playing Canberra at Kayo Stadium and Parramatta playing Newcastle at CommBank Stadium.
