The 2026 NRL Women's season will be the ninth professional season of the NRL Women's Premiership. The website League Unlimited reported that the 2026 NRLW season will follow the same format of the 2025 season, with twelve teams playing eleven rounds, with the Grand Final to be held on the same day as the men's NRL Grand Final, on Sunday, 4 October 2026 at Accor Stadium.
Teams The twelve teams that participated in the 2025 season will again compete in 2026: seven from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one each from the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand.
Club Season Home ground(s) Head coach Captain(s) Brisbane Broncos 9th Suncorp Stadium and Totally Workwear Stadium Scott Prince Tamika Upton 4 Canberra Raiders 4th GIO Stadium Darrin Borthwick Simaima Taufa (10: Rounds 1 to 10) and Zahara Temara (13) 0 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2nd Accor Stadium and Belmore Sports Ground Brayden Wiliame Tayla Preston (11) and Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa (11) 0 Cronulla Sharks 4th Ocean Protect Stadium Tony Herman Tiana Penitani-Gray (8) also Quincy Dodd (3: Rounds 1, 3 & 4) 0 Gold Coast Titans 6th Cbus Super Stadium Karyn Murphy Georgia Hale 0 Newcastle Knights 6th McDonald Jones Stadium Ben Jeffries Yasmin Meakes (3) also Kayla Romaniuk (9: Rounds 4 to 11 & ) 2 New Zealand Warriors 5th Go Media Stadium and FMG Stadium Waikato Ronald Griffiths Apii Nicholls (8) also Kaiyah Atai (3: Rounds 8 to 10) 0 North Queensland Cowboys 4th Queensland Country Bank Stadium Ricky Henry Emma Manzelmann (6) also Bree Chester (5: Rounds 7 to 11) 0 Parramatta Eels 6th CommBank Stadium and Eric Tweedale Stadium Steve Georgallis Mahalia Murphy (11) 0 St. George Illawarra Dragons 9th WIN Stadium Jubilee Stadium and Allianz Stadium Nathan Cross Brooke Anderson (11) 0 Sydney Roosters 9th Allianz Stadium and Polytec Stadium John Strange Isabelle Kelly 2 Wests Tigers 4th Leichhardt Oval, Campbelltown Sports Stadium, CommBank Stadium and Allianz Stadium Craig Sandercock Kezie Apps (10) also Raecene McGregor (2: Rounds 7 & 11) 0 Notes: Craig Sandercock is to coach an NRLW side for the first time in 2026. In late October 2025, the St George Illawarra Dragons announced the extension of Head Coach Nathan Cross until the end of the 2027 NRLW season. New Zealand Warriors joined forces with the Rabbitohs in a NRLW Pathways partnership for season 2026. As part of the agreement, Warriors players who were not picked to play NRLW we eligible to play for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership.
Ladder After Game 6 of Round 11
Club Qualification 1 Sydney Roosters 11 11 0 0 434 116 +318 22 Advance to second round of finals series (first-round bye) 2 Gold Coast Titans 11 10 0 1 342 158 +184 20 3 Brisbane Broncos 11 8 0 3 340 182 +158 16 Advance to finals series 4 Wests Tigers 11 7 0 4 239 296 −57 14 5 Canberra Raiders 11 6 0 5 265 161 +104 12 6 Newcastle Knights 11 5 0 6 284 192 +92 10 7 New Zealand Warriors 11 4 0 7 240 310 −70 8 8 Parramatta Eels 11 4 0 7 198 314 −116 8 9 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 11 3 0 8 188 278 −90 6 10 North Queensland Cowboys 11 3 0 8 178 375 −197 6 11 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 11 3 0 8 174 374 −200 6 12 St George Illawarra Dragons 11 2 0 9 138 264 −126 4
Ladder progression
Pos Club 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 111 Sydney Roosters2468101214161820222 Gold Coast Titans 024681012141618203 Brisbane Broncos2468101010101214164 Wests Tigers24 4 46810121414145 Newcastle Knights22446 6 6 6810106 Canberra Raiders2444 468101010127 New Zealand Warriors2 2466888 8 8 88 Parramatta Eels 0 0 0 0002 4 4 6 89 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 0 0 2 4 4 6 6 6 6 6 610 North Queensland Cowboys0000 2 2 4 6 6 6 611 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 22 4 612 St George Illawarra Dragons 0 2 2 2 2 2 22 444
Scheduling The start, duration, and conclusion of the 2026 season will be influenced by several factors. A seven-week preparation period. Two weeks of leave. A six teams over three weeks final series. Winners of 3rd place versus 6th place and 4th place versus 5th place in Week 1 elimination finals then meet 1st place and 2nd place in Week 2 semi-finals. Winners of the semi-finals meet in the Grand Final in Week 3. Decision on the length of the regular season. In 2025, eleven rounds were played, the minimum required for the twelve teams to play each of their opponents once. A three-match Women's State of Origin series to be played on 30 April (Newcastle), 14 May (Brisbane), and 28 May (Gold Coast) 2026. The NRL (men's) Grand Final Day, expected to be 4 October 2026.
Trial matches Trial matches were announced in the days prior to the weekend of June 19, 20 and 21, 2026. HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeFormatVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Parramatta Eels 366 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Friday 19 June6:15 PM NRLW(Only) Eric Tweedale Stadium Brayden Hunt Canberra Raiders 1022 Newcastle Knights Saturday 20 June11:30 AM NRLW(Only) Raiders Belconnen Dillane Wells North Queensland Cowboys 2416* Gold Coast Titans Saturday 20 June12:30 PM NRLW(Only) Jack Manski Oval, Kirwan Sydney Roosters 284* Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Saturday 20 June6:00 PM (time TBC) NRLW(Only) Leichhardt Oval Ethan Klein New Zealand Warriors 1012 Brisbane Broncos Sunday 21 June9:00 AM NRLWNRL One NZ Stadium,Christchurch Jack Feavers St. George Illawarra 1232* Wests Tigers Sunday 21 June2:45 PM NRLW(Only) St George Venues Jubilee Stadium Tom Stindl Conversions were not attempted in three of the six matches.
Regular season The draw for NRLW Magic Round was announced on 13 November 2025 and will be in Round 5. The full NRLW draw was published alongside the men's NRL full draw the following day, 14 November 2025.
The regular season will consist of a grand total of 66 matches.
The schedule includes 30 double-headers. In all 30 instances: The home club is the same. The away clubs are different. In 2025, 18 double-headers featured away teams from the same club. The NRLW game is played prior to the NRL game. In 2025, double-headers had some NRLW games being played second.
Round 1
HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeFormatVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 418 Newcastle Knights Thursday 2 July7:45 PM NRLW Ocean Protect Stadium Liam Kennedy 2,109 Gold Coast Titans 1034 Sydney Roosters Saturday 4 July12:45 PM NRLW Cbus Super Stadium Tori Wilkie 1,380 St. George Illawarra Dragons 420 Canberra Raiders Saturday 4 July3:15 PM NRLWNRL Jubilee Stadium Peter Gough 3,631 Brisbane Broncos 504 North Queensland Cowboys Saturday 4 July5:15 PM NRLWNRL Suncorp Stadium Belinda Sharpe 14,371 Parramatta Eels 1628 Wests Tigers Sunday 5 July11:50 AM NRLWNRL CommBank Stadium Kasey Badger 7,547 New Zealand Warriors 3210 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Sunday 5 July1:45 PM NRLW FMG Stadium Waikato Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski 4,928
Round 2 HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeFormatVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks1622 Brisbane Broncos Thursday 9 July7:45 PM NRLW Ocean Protect Stadium Belinda Sharpe 1,496 North Queensland Cowboys1830 Wests Tigers Saturday 11 July12:45 PM NRLW Queensland Country Bank Stadium Tori Wilkie 2,109 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 1036 Gold Coast Titans Saturday 11 July3:15 PM NRLWNRL Accor Stadium Liam Kennedy 8,649 Sydney Roosters 1210 Newcastle Knights Saturday 11 July5:15 PM NRLWNRL Allianz Stadium Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski 7,219 Canberra Raiders 4216 New Zealand Warriors Sunday 12 July12:00 PM NRLW GIO Stadium Kieren Irons 1,646 St. George Illawarra Dragons 228 Parramatta Eels Sunday 12 July1:45 PM NRLW WIN Stadium Kasey Badger 1,801
Round 3 HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeFormatVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Canberra Raiders 1822 Sydney Roosters Saturday 18 July12:45 PM NRLWNRL GIO Stadium Kasey Badger 4,060 New Zealand Warriors 424 North Queensland Cowboys Saturday 18 July3:15 PM NRLWNRL Go Media Stadium Belinda Sharpe 12,611 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2418 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Saturday 18 July5:15 PM NRLWNRL Accor Stadium Rochelle Tamarua 8,010 Gold Coast Titans 5012 Parramatta Eels Sunday 19 July11:50 AM NRLWNRL Cbus Super Stadium Tori Wilkie 4,230 Brisbane Broncos 4012 Wests Tigers Sunday 19 July1:45 PM NRLW Totally Workwear Stadium Kieren Irons 1,884 Newcastle Knights 380 St. George Illawarra Dragons Sunday 19 July6:15 PM NRLW McDonald Jones Stadium Liam Kennedy 1,897
Round 4 HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeFormatVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Canberra Raiders 1022 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Saturday 25 July12:45 PM NRLWNRL GIO Stadium Liam Kennedy 5,305 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 288 St. George Illawarra Dragons Saturday 25 July3:15 PM NRLWNRL Accor Stadium Ethan Klein North Queensland Cowboys 634 Gold Coast Titans Saturday 25 July5:15 PM NRLWNRL Queensland Country Bank Stadium Peter Gough 10,093 Parramatta Eels 1214 New Zealand Warriors Sunday 26 July12:00 PM NRLW Eric Tweedale Stadium Rochelle Tamarua 622 Brisbane Broncos 3012 Newcastle Knights Sunday 26 July1:45 PM NRLW Totally Workwear Stadium Kasey Badger 2,017 Wests Tigers 1048 Sydney Roosters Sunday 26 July6:15 PM NRLW Leichhardt Oval Belinda Sharpe 834
Round 5 (Magic Round) HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeFormatVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2032 Wests Tigers Saturday 1 August11:35 AM NRLWNRLWNRLW Geohex Park, Wagga Wagga Tori Wilkie 7,142 St. George Illawarra Dragons 838 Sydney Roosters Saturday 1 August1.25 PM Dillan Wells Canberra Raiders 1618 North Queensland Cowboys Saturday 1 August3:15 PM Kasey Badger Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 434 Brisbane Broncos Sunday 2 August11:35 AM NRLWNRLWNRLW Rochelle Tamarua 6,908 New Zealand Warriors 1618 Gold Coast Titans Sunday 2 August1:25 PM Belinda Sharpe Parramatta Eels 1232 Newcastle Knights Sunday 2 August3:15 PM Ethan Klein
Round 6 HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeFormatVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2826 North Queensland Cowboys Saturday 8 August12:45 PM NRLW Belmore Sports Ground Tori Wilkie 565 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1024 Gold Coast Titans Saturday 8 August3:15 PM NRLW Ocean Protect Stadium Kasey Badger 1,325 New Zealand Warriors 2214 Newcastle Knights Saturday 8 August5:15 PM NRLW FMG Stadium Waikato Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski 6,186 Canberra Raiders 284 Brisbane Broncos Sunday 9 August11:35 AM NRLWNRL GIO Stadium Belinda Sharpe 4,000 St. George Illawarra Dragons 1216 Wests Tigers Sunday 9 August1:35 PM NRLWNRL Jubilee Stadium Ethan Klein Sydney Roosters 466 Parramatta Eels Sunday 9 August6:15 PM NRLW Polytec Stadium Peter Gough 2,016
Round 7 HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeFormatVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Gold Coast Titans 2610 St. George Illawarra Dragons Saturday 15 August12:45 PM NRLW Cbus Super Stadium Tori Wilkie 1,007 Parramatta Eels 3018 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Saturday 15 August3:15 PM NRLWNRL CommBank Stadium Karra-Lee Nolan Brisbane Broncos 2034 Sydney Roosters Saturday 15 August5:15 PM NRLWNRL Suncorp Stadium Kasey Badger 10,828 Newcastle Knights 1825 Canberra Raiders Sunday 16 August11:50 AM NRLWNRL McDonald Jones Stadium Rochelle Tamarua Wests Tigers 3022 New Zealand Warriors Sunday 16 August1:45 PM NRLWNRL CommBank Stadium Belinda Sharpe 2,733 North Queensland Cowboys 3018 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Sunday 16 August6:15 PM NRLW Queensland Country Bank Stadium Josh Eaton 1,230
Round 8