As the NRL returns to action in Las Vegas, we take a look at the big questions ahead of the new season, as well as the players to keep an eye on.
Is Penrith’s dynasty over?
The Panthers kept the premiership trophy under lock and key between 2021 and 2024, Brisbane finally wrenched the silverware out of Penrith last season.
Those two teams enter 2026 as the top two contenders for the crown, as the men in black plot their revenge.
Ivan Cleary’s side suffered a spluttering start to their last campaign, winning just three of their first 11 outings to sit rock bottom after 12 rounds.
They recaptured top form to storm into seventh by the end of the home-and-away season, and were only eliminated from the playoffs by a Reece Walsh-inspired Broncos comeback.
But a game short of the decider isn’t where Nathan Cleary and co. are happy finishing. If the game’s premier playmaker maintains form and fitness in 2026, this Penrith dynasty may have plenty of life left in it yet.
Are the Bunnies about to bounce back?
Injury destroyed South Sydney’s hopes of a productive 2025.
Cameron Murray, Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Jack Wighton, Tevita Tatola, Campbell Graham and Brandon Smith all spent long stretches in the casualty ward while the remaining Rabbitohs battled without their experienced leaders.
Wrecking-ball back-rower David Fifita is a big-name off-season recruit, and while Hakeem (né Payne) Haas won’t arrive until 2027, securing signature is a boost.
But the biggest lift will come from just having that existing personnel fit and firing.
Mitchell is their talisman. With Jye Gray impressing at fullback in his absence, Mitchell looks likely to start at centre, forming a sizzling left-edge combination with Fifita, Walker and Alex Johnston en-route to the all-time try-scoring record.
Souths are not a young side. Just ask 76-year-old coach Wayne Bennett. This is a squad built for now — and with a clean bill of health, they’d expect to return to September.
Will the Roosters age like fine wine?
Souths’ arch rivals the Roosters are no spring chickens themselves.
With 37-year-old halfback Daly Cherry-Evans making the move from Manly, the Tricolours are signposting their intention to contend for the trophy this year.
33-year-old fullback James Tedesco fresh off a second Dally M Medal and 34-year-old winger Daniel Tupou bearing down on 200 tries firmly sit in the veteran category, while Angus Chrichton, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Lindsay Collins, Connor Watson, Spencer Leniu plus Cowboys recruit Reece Robson are rep stars.
Trent Robinson’s side haven’t missed the finals since 2016, but they haven’t felt like one of the absolutely elite title hopes since going back-to-back in 2018-19.
The injection of Cherry-Evans — hunting more honours in the twilight of his career — threatens to change that.
Can Cronulla become a serious contender?
Another team looking to graduate from perennial finalist to premiership threat are the Cronulla Sharks.
The Sharks haven’t missed the top eight since Craig Fitzgibbon took charge in 2022. But their playoff record isn’t flattering: three wins, six losses.
Importantly, two of those wins came last September before pushing the Storm in a preliminary final — a solid launching pad to take another step in 2026.
With no major gains or losses, Fitzgibbon will be relying on improvement from the same squad that has been slowly building for four years now.
The biggest question mark hangs over mercurial halfback Nicho Hynes, whose ability to dominate important matches remains under the microscope.
Will the Tigers end their long finals drought?
When the Wests Tigers last made the NRL finals, Lewis Martin had just turned seven, the Crusaders were still in the Super League and Benji Marshall was less than halfway through his glittering career.
Fifteen years on, Marshall has swapped his boots for the clipboard, and now has the job of steering his club back into September as coach.
Progress has been steady over Marshall’s first two years at the helm. Despite claiming a third straight wooden spoon in 2024, six wins showed development.
Then powered by the arrival of Jarome Luai and Terrell May last year, the joint venture climbed off the bottom of the ladder with nine victories.
If they keep up that rate of improvement, they’ll be knocking on the door of the top eight — exactly what their long-suffering supporters deserve.
How do the Raiders respond?
Heading into last year’s finals campaigns, Canberra looked like the team to beat.
The Green Machine finished two wins clear of the next best side to clinch the minor premiership and tee up a tilt at their first premiership since 1994.
But Reece Walsh weaved his magic in an epic golden-point loss to eventual premiers Brisbane before the Sharks produced an upset to send them out in straight sets.
Ricky Stuart now has the job of picking his men off the canvas for another run in 2026.
They’ve also lost halfback Jamal Fogarty to Manly, meaning 21-year-old standoff Ethan Strange will team up with either Ethan Sanders (22) or Coby Black (19) in a youthful halves pairing.
Where are the Warriors?
The New Zealand Warriors could finish anywhere from first to 17th and it wouldn’t be a surprise.
Under coach Andrew Webster, they’ve yo-yoed from fourth to 13th to sixth, producing performances that thrill and frustrate in equal measure.
Last year, the Kiwi club were entrenched in the top four before losing six of their last eight to tumble to sixth … running into the rampant Panthers in an elimination final.
The slump coincided with losing halfback Luke Metcalf to a crushing ACL injury, which will keep him sidelined for the first two months of 2026.
Having re-signed until the end of 2028 this off-season, Metcalf’s recovery is key to the Warriors’ 2026 hopes.
Will the Dragons or Sea Eagles claim their first wooden spoon?
Newcastle and Gold Coast held up the foot of the ladder with six wins apiece last year, costing Adam O’Brien and Des Hasler their jobs.
Under new management — Justin Holbrook at the Knights and Josh Hannay at the Titans — both sides should improve.
The two teams who look most vulnerable to fill their spots at the bottom of the table are Manly and St George Illawarra: proud clubs who’ve never ‘won’ the dreaded wooden spoon.
At Brookvale, Jamal Fogarty has Daly Cherry-Evans’ huge boots to fill, and so much depends on the injury-prone Tom Trbojevic.
For the Saints, a string of narrow losses left them 15th in 2025, and they’re hoping Sharks recruit Daniel Atkinson is the man to turn things around.
Is Todd Payten in trouble?
Joining Manly’s Anthony Seibold and St George Illawarra’s Shane Flanagan in the hot seat is North Queensland coach Todd Payten.
The Cowboys reached a preliminary final in Payten’s first full season in 2022, then returned to the finals in 2024.
But three losses to kick off last year set the tone for a miserable 2025 where they never really joined the finals race.
The attacking brilliance of Scott Drinkwater and Tom Dearden couldn’t paper over the cracks of their forward pack, who sorely missed the injury-riddled Jason Taumalolo.
Out of contract at year’s end, Payten will be desperate to turn it around in 2026.
Will Peter V’landys hand out a 20th licence?
With the Perth Bears joining the NRL next year and the Papua New Guinea Chiefs coming in 12 months later, the NRL will have 19 teams by 2028.
It seems only natural for club number 20 to follow … although the NRL has reportedly shelved expansion plans until after the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
That won’t stop fans and journalists from speculating about where the competition will head next. A third Brisbane team? A second New Zealand team? A return to Adelaide or a foray into Fiji?
Whenever Peter V’landys is behind a microphone, the question will be asked.
FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2026
Reece Walsh
Walsh became the biggest name in rugby league at the end of last season.
A finals campaign for the ages. Perhaps the greatest ever grand final display to earn the Clive Churchill Medal. A starring role in the Kangaroos’ commanding Ashes victory.
The 23-year-old now enters 2026 as rugby league’s greatest attraction, a live-wire sensation both on the park and on social media.
If the Broncos get their hands on a second straight premiership trophy, Walsh’s fingerprints will be all over it.
Dylan Brown
Newcastle attracted plenty of criticism when they signed Parramatta standoff Dylan Brown on a 10-year deal worth $13 million (£6.6 million) last March.
At the Eels, Brown was seen as Robin to Michell Moses’ Batman — but the Knights were prepared to fork out main-man money.
Brown produced a terrific 2025 with Moses often out injured, culminating in a sparkling Pacific Championships with New Zealand.
If he carries that form to his new club, he’ll be worth every cent.
Jonah Pezet
Rookie playmaker Jonah Pezet made a name for himself filling in for Storm half Jahrome Hughes late last year, sparking a post-season race for his signature.
In one of the most bizarre contract moves in NRL history, the Eels signed Pezet for 2026, while the Broncos snared him for 2027 onwards.
Filling Brown’s boots alongside Moses, Pezet will get his first look at a full NRL season … and with Parramatta on the way back up under Jason Ryles, his one year in blue-and-gold promises to be a memorable one.
Lachlan Galvin
Canterbury sat on top of the table when Lachlan Galvin arrived from the Tigers last June.
They only won half their regular season games with their new playmaker, before exiting the finals in straight sets.
With the dust now settled on his controversial mid-season move, all eyes are on Galvin as the Bulldogs shoot for their first playoff win since 2015.
Morgan Knowles
Having achieved pretty much everything there is to achieve at St Helens, Morgan Knowles is trading Merseyside for Moreton Bay to take up a two-year deal with the Dolphins.
The hard-working back-rower links up with former Saints coach Kristian Woolf and England team-mate Herbie Farnworth in a Phins side targeting their maiden top-eight berth, having finished ninth in 2025.
Australian crowds love an aggressive English forward — just ask Adrian Morley, Sam Burgess, James Graham and Gareth Ellis — and Knowles has everything it takes to be the next name on that list.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 518 (March 2026)