The Manly Sea Eagles qualified for the finals in 2025, and while they find some elements of their fixture list for 2025 more than to their liking, there are others that will hand them a sizeable challenge.
Here is everything you need to know for the Sea Eagles' run through the 2025 NRL season.
Teams to play twice
North Queensland Cowboys (Round 1, 11), New Zealand Warriors (Round 2, 27), Canberra Raiders (Round 3, 23), Parramatta Eels (Round 4, 12), Melbourne Storm (Round 5, 20), Cronulla Sharks (Round 6, 10), St George Illawarra Dragons (Round 7, 26), Wests Tigers (Round 17, 24)
The Sea Eagles find themselves ranked in the easier half of fixtures when numbers are run based on last year's ladder.
They do have to play the Sharks and Storm twice, but avoid the rest of the top four, and with the exception of the Cowboys, the entirety of the top eight twice.
They also clash with the Raiders and Dragons who are among the vast majority's wooden spoon favourites, while their double-up list features games hard to pick against the Tigers and Eels, both of whom will be out for rapid improvement in 2025.
Travel schedule
The Sea Eagles are well and truly under the NRL average when it comes to kilometres travelled and the amount of times they will have to step on a plane in 2025, but that said, of their five trips requiring air travel, one is to New Zealand, and another is to Perth, all within the first six rounds.
Once they are past a Round 11 trip to Townsville, the club only leaves the state twice more, with one of those matches being in Canberra, and the other in Melbourne.
Turnaround times
The Sea Eagles face two of the dreaded five-day turnarounds in 2025 with those coming ahead of Round 7 against the Dragons at home and Round 14 against the Newcastle Knights on the road.
The fact neither of those require significant travel is helpful and so to is the fact neither of them come against likely competition heavyweights.
They face an above average eight six-day turnarounds as well, so recovery will be a tricky part of the challenge in 2025 for Manly, particularly when they face back-to-back six-day turnarounds against the Cowboys and Eels in Rounds 11 and 12. They face another of those back-to-back six-day turnarounds in Rounds 22 and 23 against the Roosters and Raiders.
Start of the season
The Sea Eagles kick off their season at home with a difficult clash against the Cowboys, then hit the road to play the Warriors on a six-day turnaround.
After that, it's a run of home games against the Raiders, Eels and Storm before they head to Perth to clash with the Sharks.
A real mix of teams over the first six weeks, but with four of their first five at home, there will be little in the way of excuses for a slow start.
The Origin period
The Sea Eagles face one of the trickier runs through the Origin period. They play before all three games, without any players who are selected, clashing with the Eels (Game 1), Titans (Game 2) and Rabbitohs (Game 3).
They do have byes after Games 2 and 3, avoiding short turnarounds for their representative players, but face the Broncos after Game 1, albeit at home.
The run home
The Sea Eagles could be able to race into the finals with a full head of steam given their final six weeks of the season.
The Roosters and Raiders kick it off, albeit on short turnarounds, but then they play the Tigers, Dolphins, Dragons and Warriors (at home) in the final month of the campaign.
Toughest stretch
Attached to the end of the State of Origin period, the Sea Eagles play the Storm away and the Bulldogs away in back-to-back weeks, before facing the Roosters at home on a six-day turnaround, and the Raiders away on a second straight six-day turnaround.
By that stage, the Roosters should be back to full strength, and Canberra could be desperately pursuing a finals spot.
Easiest stretch
There is no standout easy stretch for the Raiders in 2025, but certainly they will be targeting their run through the middle of the Origin period as one where they might be able to pick up some results.
Between Round 12 and 17, they clash with the Eels, Broncos, Knights, Titans and Tigers, with the Rabbitohs tacked onto the end of that before Origin 3.
They might lose a few to Origin, but if Daly Cherry-Evans hangs up his representative boots, it could be a fruitful period for Manly.
Games to watch
Round 1, vs North Queensland Cowboys, at 4Pines Park, Sat, Mar 8, 7:35pm
Round 5, vs Melbourne Storm, at 4Pines Park, Sun, Apr 6, 4:05pm
Round 10, vs Cronulla Sharks, at 4Pines Park, Sun, May 11, 4:05pm
Round 13, vs Brisbane Broncos, at 4Pines Park, Sat, May 31, 7:35pm
Round 22, vs Sydney Roosters, at 4Pines Park, Sat, Aug 2, 7:35pm
The must-win games
Round 3, vs Canberra Raiders, at 4Pines Park, Sun, Mar 23, 6:15pm
Round 4, vs Parramatta Eels, at 4Pines Park, Sun, Mar 30, 4:05pm
Round 7, vs St George Illawarra Dragons, at 4Pines Park, Thu, Apr 17, 7:50pm
Round 17, vs Wests Tigers, at 4Pines Park, Fri, Jun 27, 6pm
Round 25, vs The Dolphins, at 4Pines Park, Sat, Aug 23, 3pm
Full fixtures
Round | Opponent | Date | Time (AEDT) | Venue |
1 | Cowboys | Sat, Mar 8 | 7:35 pm | 4 Pines Park |
2 | Warriors | Fri, Mar 14 | 6:00 pm | Go Media Stadium |
3 | Raiders | Sun, Mar 23 | 6:15 pm | 4 Pines Park |
4 | Eels | Sun, Mar 30 | 4:05 pm | 4 Pines Park |
5 | Storm | Sun, Apr 6 | 4:05 pm | 4 Pines Park |
6 | Sharks | Sat, Apr 12 | 3:00 pm | Optus Stadium |
7 | Dragons | Thu, Apr 17 | 7:50 pm | 4 Pines Park |
8 | Panthers | Sat, Apr 26 | 7:35 pm | CommBank Stadium |
9 | Bye | |||
10 | Sharks | Sun, May 11 | 4:05 pm | 4 Pines Park |
11 | Cowboys | Sat, May 17 | 5:30 pm | Queensland Country Bank Stadium |
12 | Eels | Fri, May 23 | 8:00 pm | CommBank Stadium |
13 | Broncos | Sat, May 31 | 7:35 pm | 4 Pines Park |
14 | Knights | Thu, Jun 5 | 7:50 pm | McDonald Jones Stadium |
15 | Titans | Fri, Jun 13 | 8:00 pm | Cbus Super Stadium |
16 | Bye | |||
17 | Wests Tigers | Fri, Jun 27 | 6:00 pm | 4 Pines Park |
18 | Rabbitohs | Sun, Jul 6 | 4:05 pm | 4 Pines Park |
19 | Bye | |||
20 | Storm | Sat, Jul 19 | 7:35 pm | AAMI Park |
21 | Bulldogs | Sun, Jul 27 | 4:05 pm | TBA |
22 | Roosters | Sat, Aug 2 | 7:35 pm | 4 Pines Park |
23 | Raiders | Fri, Aug 8 | 8:00 pm | GIO Stadium |
24 | Wests Tigers | Sun, Aug 17 | 2:00 pm | Allianz Stadium |
25 | Dolphins | Sat, Aug 23 | 3:00 pm | 4 Pines Park |
26 | Dragons | Sat, Aug 30 | 5:30 pm | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium |
27 | Warriors | Fri, Sep 5 | 6:00 pm | 4 Pines Park |