Magic Round is done and dusted for another year, and it'll be back in Brisbane again for at least the next two years.

The extension of the contract seemed a no-brainer for the NRL at the time, and it has turned that way again.

Despite concerns over the quality of the turf, tickets sold like hot cakes for the event to the point there were none left, and it was, all in all, a roaring success yet again for the NRL.

2027 will see an increase to nine games with the Perth Bears to join the competition, but there is one more year of eight games and a bye being involved in the structuring of the weekend to start with.

The fixtures for the weekend are keenly anticipated each year, and we are going to have an early crack at predicting what 2026 might look like for the NRL pilgrimage to Brisbane.

The Newcastle Knights, St George Illawarra Dragons and Manly Sea Eagles are all guaranteed to be there, having already had a bye over the three years where the NRL has been a 17-team competition.

The Brisbane Broncos, North Queensland Cowboys, Gold Coast Titans and Dolphins, as Queensland teams, are also going to be there. So too are the Melbourne Storm, who are an honorary Queensland team, and you'd expect the New Zealand Warriors and Canberra Raiders, who both have a solid supporter base in Brisbane.

That leaves a handful of Sydney teams in the mix for the Magic Round bye, with the Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury Bulldogs all likely to feature.

Given reports suggest the Wests Tigers have a contract to play a home game in Brisbane until 2027, it's going to come down to the Sharks and Eels.

Given the Sharks are hosting this year, it's likely they too have a contract, leaving the blue and gold as the most likely team to sit out next year.

With that out of the way, the actual match ups can be theorised.

The NRL will want to go back to the well with certain fixturing policies, but the one thing that should be clear is a Queensland team playing on each day.

The idea of the Broncos playing on Sunday afternoon should come across as a winner, allowing the Dolphins to retain their Friday night spot.

The Melbourne Storm have traditionally played the Saturday night game, and it's a game they should move back into next year, while the Cowboys can also be used to attract crowds in one of the key time slots on Saturday or Sunday.

Assuming we have the same eight home teams next year as those who hosted this year, these are the fixtures we want to see for 2026 at Magic Round.

Predicted 2026 Magic Round fixtures

Friday, 6pm - Gold Coast Titans vs St George Illawarra Dragons
Friday, 8:05pm - Penrith Panthers vs The Dolphins
Saturday, 3pm - Sydney Roosters vs Newcastle Knights
Saturday, 5:30pm - South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Manly Sea Eagles
Saturday, 7:45pm - Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs
Sunday, 1:50pm - Cronulla Sharks vs Canberra Raiders
Sunday, 4:05pm - New Zealand Warriors vs Brisbane Broncos
Sunday, 6:25pm - Wests Tigers vs North Queensland Cowboys
Bye: Parramatta Eels