The 2007 NRL season consisted of 25 weekly regular season rounds, starting from 16 March and ending on 2 September, followed by four weeks of play-offs that culminated in a grand final on 30 September.
All times in fixture listings are Australian Eastern Standard Time.
Round 1 Bulldogs' forward Sonny Bill Williams was sent off in the fourth minute of his 2007 season in the match against Newcastle, having made a hit on Newcastle captain Andrew Johns which was deemed to be a reckless high tackle. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary, and received a two-week suspension. A number of high-profile players were injured in this round, including Newcastle's Andrew Johns, Manly's Steve Menzies, Matt Orford and Steve Matai, and Brisbane's Darren Lockyer. Penrith were held scoreless for the first time since Round 18, 1999. A total 185,051 people witnessed these eight matches, making this the round with the highest total attendance in the history of the competition (previous record was 171,526 for Round 22, 1995). HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Brisbane Broncos16–23 North Queensland Cowboys16 March 2007, 7:30 pmSuncorp StadiumSteve Clark50,416 Melbourne Storm18–16 Wests Tigers16 March 2007, 7:30 pmOlympic ParkSean Hampstead13,535 New Zealand Warriors34–18 Parramatta Eels17 March 2007, 5:30 pmMt Smart StadiumGavin Badger13,587 Cronulla Sharks18–0 Penrith Panthers17 March 2007, 7:30 pmToyota ParkBen Cummins9,032 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles32–6 Canberra Raiders17 March 2007, 7:30 pmBrookvale OvalJared Maxwell13,522 Newcastle Knights25–24 Bulldogs18 March 2007, 2:00 pmEnergyAustralia StadiumTony Archer18,791 Gold Coast Titans18–20 St George Illawarra Dragons18 March 2007, 3:00 pmSuncorp StadiumShayne Hayne42,030 Sydney Roosters6–18 South Sydney Rabbitohs19 March 2007, 7:00 pmSydney Football StadiumPaul Simpkins24,127
Round 2 South Sydney recorded two victories to open the season – the first time they have done so since being reinstated into the competition earlier in the decade. The New Zealand Warriors defeated the premiers from season 2006, Brisbane. This victory marks the first time in the club's history that the Warriors have won the first two games of a season. The Gold Coast Titans recorded their maiden victory, defeating the Cronulla Sharks. HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd St George Illawarra Dragons12–16 Newcastle Knights23 March 2007, 7:30 pmOKI Jubilee StadiumSteve Clark12,340 Penrith Panthers40–10 Bulldogs23 March 2007, 7:30 pmCUA StadiumBen Cummins16,652 Wests Tigers8–19 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles24 March 2007, 5:30 pmLeichhardt OvalTony Archer15,185 Canberra Raiders16–32 Melbourne Storm24 March 2007, 7:30 pmCanberra StadiumJared Maxwell9,556 North Queensland Cowboys43–6 Sydney Roosters24 March 2007, 8:30 pmDairy Farmers StadiumGavin Badger21,396 New Zealand Warriors24–14 Brisbane Broncos25 March 2007, 2:00 pmMt Smart StadiumPaul Simpkins16,738 South Sydney Rabbitohs31–6 Parramatta Eels25 March 2007, 3:00 pmTelstra StadiumSean Hampstead15,165 Gold Coast Titans18–16 Cronulla Sharks26 March 2007, 7:00 pmCarrara StadiumShayne Hayne17,946
Round 3 Both Friday night games went into golden point extra time, with Penrith winning by one point and Parramatta winning by two points. It was just the 2nd time there were 2 Golden Point games on the same day, the other occasion was Round 19 2004 on the Sunday afternoon. The Roosters lost their third match in as many rounds, marking the club's worst start to a season since 1994. Broncos player, Justin Hodges, found himself in the rare situation of scoring 4 tries (equal club record) for a losing side. The Broncos also recorded their worst start to a season since 1999, and the worst start to a season by a defending premier since 2000. Contrastingly, Souths continued with their third straight win, the Rabbitohs' best start to a season since 1972. The Canberra Raiders, who were listed as wooden spoon favourites by numerous betting organisations, pulled out a 30-point trashing of Newcastle with young back, William Zillman scoring a hat-trick of tries. HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Brisbane Broncos28–29 Penrith Panthers30 March 2007, 7:30 pmSuncorp StadiumTony Archer24,582 Parramatta Eels22–20 Wests Tigers30 March 2007, 7:30 pmParramatta StadiumSteve Clark18,142 St George Illawarra Dragons18–22 North Queensland Cowboys31 March 2007, 5:30 pmWIN StadiumJarred Maxwell10,232 Cronulla Sharks16–26 South Sydney Rabbitohs31 March 2007, 7:30 pmToyota ParkPaul Simpkins17,866 Melbourne Storm30–12 New Zealand Warriors1 April 2007, 12:00 pmOlympic ParkShayne Hayne12,874 Bulldogs22–6 Gold Coast Titans1 April 2007, 2:00 pmTelstra StadiumGavin Badger14,675 Sydney Roosters8–30 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles1 April 2007, 3:00 pmSydney Football StadiumSean Hampstead11,976 Canberra Raiders48–18 Newcastle Knights2 April 2007, 7:00 pmCanberra StadiumBen Cummins13,109
Round 4 Australia's Channel 9's televised game of South Sydney vs Bulldogs was the first time Souths had a prime-time televised Friday night match since 2002. The 34,315 crowd was a record at Telstra Stadium, and the highest for a regular season game in Sydney since Round 1, 2002 (when South Sydney were readmitted into the competition). Cronulla's winning margin of 36 over the St George Illawarra was Cronulla's highest against that club or its predecessors. South Sydney co-captain and kiwi international David Kidwell tore ligaments in his knee during the weekend at a family barbecue, an injury which ended Kidwell's season. HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd South Sydney Rabbitohs10–34 Bulldogs6 April 2007, 7:30 pmTelstra StadiumShayne Hayne34,315 Sydney Roosters10–32 Brisbane Broncos6 April 2007, 7:30 pmSydney Football StadiumPaul Simpkins11,476 Newcastle Knights12–22 Melbourne Storm7 April 2007, 5:30 pmEnergyAustralia StadiumSteve Clark20,051 North Queensland Cowboys25–24 Wests Tigers7 April 2007, 7:30 pmDairy Farmers StadiumJarred Maxwell21,879 Parramatta Eels38–6 Canberra Raiders7 April 2007, 7:30 pmParramatta StadiumGavin Badger10,091 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles13–10 New Zealand Warriors8 April 2007, 2:00 pmBrookvale OvalBen Cummins16,418 Penrith Panthers22–24 Gold Coast Titans8 April 2007, 3:00 pmCUA StadiumSean Hampstead15,022 Cronulla Sharks40–4 St George Illawarra Dragons9 April 2007, 7:00 pmToyota ParkTony Archer19,137
Round 5 On Tuesday 10 April, Newcastle halfback, Andrew Johns announced his retirement from rugby league because of a bulging disc in his neck. Bulldogs winger, Hazem El Masri played in his 250th first-grade match for the club. The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles remained undefeated after their win over the Bulldogs and marked the best start to a season by the club since 1997. A penalty try was awarded to the Cronulla Sharks in the club's golden-point loss to the Wests Tigers, the first time a penalty try had been awarded since Round 26 in the 2005 season. HomeScore AwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Penrith Panthers14–27 Parramatta Eels13 April 2007, 7:30 pmCUA StadiumShayne Hayne18,756 Gold Coast Titans28–16 Brisbane Broncos13 April 2007, 7:30 pmSuncorp StadiumSteve Clark47,686 St George Illawarra Dragons10–24 Melbourne Storm14 April 2007, 5:30 pmOki Jubilee StadiumBen Cummins9,011 Bulldogs14–16 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles14 April 2007, 7:30 pmTelstra StadiumPaul Simpkins20,269 New Zealand Warriors34–14 North Queensland Cowboys15 April 2007, 2:00 pmMt Smart StadiumTony Archer11,260 South Sydney Rabbitohs22–23 Newcastle Knights15 April 2007, 2:00 pmBluetongue Central Coast StadiumGavin Badger18,321 Wests Tigers14–12 Cronulla Sharks15 April 2007, 3:00 pmCampbelltown StadiumSean Hampstead17,566 Canberra Raiders37–28 Sydney Roosters16 April 2007, 7:00 pmCanberra StadiumJarred Maxwell15,862
Round 6 Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the home game against Brisbane, renaming the East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the "Andrew Johns Stand". In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with half back Jarred Mullen wearing number 18. The Gold Coast Titans were fined $5,000 after coach John Cartwright and football manager Scott Sattler approached the video referee during the team's loss to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Melbourne Storm30–20 Penrith Panthers21 April 2007, 5:30 pmOlympic Park, MelbourneSteven Clark9,909 Cronulla Sharks26–0 Canberra Raiders21 April 2007, 7:30 pmToyota ParkJason Robinson9,844 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles20–6 Gold Coast Titans22 April 2007, 2:00 pmBrookvale OvalTony Archer16,887 Parramatta Eels18–21 Bulldogs22 April 2007, 3:00 pmParramatta StadiumSean Hampstead18,285 Newcastle Knights16–20 Brisbane Broncos22 April 2007, 7:00 pmEnergyAustralia StadiumShayne Hayne25,524 North Queensland Cowboys6–10 South Sydney Rabbitohs23 April 2007, 7:00 pmDairy Farmers StadiumBen Cummins17,678 St George Illawarra DragonsBYE Sydney Roosters Wests TigersBYE New Zealand Warriors
Round 7 After their worst start to a season since 1994 the Sydney Roosters became the last team to win a game in the 2007 season, beating the St George Illawarra Dragons on the traditional ANZAC day match on Wednesday. It was the 1,000th win in the club's history, the first club to achieve the milestone. In a re-match between the two teams of the 2006 grand final, the Melbourne Storm defeated the Brisbane Broncos, leaving the Storm as the only remaining undefeated team in 2007. Two South Sydney players reached significant career milestones: David Peachey played his 250th first grade game, and captain Peter Cusack played his 150th game. Daniel Wagon played his 200th game for the Parramatta Eels. HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Sydney Roosters18–4 St George Illawarra Dragons25 April 2007, 7:30 pmSydney Football StadiumPaul Simpkins18,240 Brisbane Broncos18–28 Melbourne Storm27 April 2007, 7:30 pmSuncorp StadiumSean Hampstead33,750 Bulldogs18–34 Wests Tigers27 April 2007, 7:30 pmTelstra StadiumShayne Hayne18,066 Penrith Panthers18–34 Canberra Raiders28 April 2007, 5:30 pmCUA StadiumGavin Badger8,494 North Queensland Cowboys30–26 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles28 April 2007, 7:30 pmDairy Farmers StadiumSteve Clark18,682 South Sydney Rabbitohs16–18 New Zealand Warriors29 April 2007, 2:00 pmTelstra StadiumJason Robinson13,044 Gold Coast Titans38–12 Parramatta Eels29 April 2007, 3:00 pmCarrara StadiumTony Archer18,021 Newcastle Knights20–16 Cronulla Sharks30 April 2007, 7:00 pmEnergyAustralia StadiumJared Maxwell15,423
Round 8 Melbourne lost its first game of the season, meaning every team had won and lost at least 1 game. HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Brisbane Broncos8–4 South Sydney Rabbitohs4 May 2007, 7:30 pmSuncorp StadiumPaul Simpkins27,387 St George Illawarra Dragons28–16 Penrith Panthers4 May 2007, 7:30 pmOKI Jubilee StadiumSean Hampstead9,057 New Zealand Warriors20–22 Cronulla Sharks5 May 2007, 5:30 pmMt Smart StadiumGavin Badger13,587 Wests Tigers30–12 Melbourne Storm5 May 2007, 7:30 pmBluetongue Central Coast StadiumTony Archer19,111 Parramatta Eels28–10 Sydney Roosters5 May 2007, 7:30 pmParramatta StadiumTony De Las Heras13,021 Canberra Raiders30–46 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles6 May 2007, 2:00 pmCanberra StadiumJared Maxwell14,387 Bulldogs30–16 Newcastle Knights6 May 2007, 3:00 pmEnergyAustralia StadiumSteve Clark12,654 Gold Coast Titans10–24 North Queensland Cowboys7 May 2007, 7:00 pmCarrara StadiumBen Cummins17,806
Round 9