With the full NRL draw out for 2026, teams and their fans will have circled dates in their calendars.
Must-win games, key outings, rivalry clashes.
No team is going to win 24 from 24 throughout the course of an NRL season that is wildly tough to predict at the best of times, but clubs will know the key games they must win.
For fans, neutral or supporters, here are the five biggest clashes to watch for each and every NRL side throughout the 2026 season, kicking off in Las Vegas on the first weekend of March and winding itself across Australia and New Zealand over the following six months.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Round 2, vs Sydney Roosters, at Allianz Stadium, Friday, March 13, 8pm
Round 5, vs Canterbury Bulldogs, at Accor Stadium, Friday, Arpil 3, 4:05pm
Round 8, vs Melbourne Storm, at AAMI Park, Saturday, April 25, 8:10pm
Round 11, vs The Dolphins, at Suncorp Stadium, Friday, May 15, 8pm
Round 22, vs Cronulla Sharks, at Sharks Stadium, Sunday, August 2, 2pm
The Rabbitohs head into the year with a number of big games to be played early.
Their first clash against arch rivals the Roosters comes in Round 2, before they tackle the Bulldogs on Good Friday, and the Storm on Anzac Day.
Magic Round presents the threat of the ever attacking Dolphins, before the Sharks away from home could be the pick of the games on the run home to tell us if the Maroubra-based club are a chance of enough improvement to sneak into the finals.
