What will NRL benches look like in 2026?

The NRL are set to change the size of benches from four to six in 2026, with match-day squads to be raised to 19 players.

It's a much-needed change, of that there can be no doubt.

With the increasing prevalence of head knocks, general speeding up of the game leading to additional injuries, and number of contests which were all but decided because of the number of players able to be used by teams during the second half of contests in 2025, it simply had to happen.

The change will certainly be a good way in taking away the luck factor of injuries, but there is more to it than that.

Tactically, it gives teams a litany of extra options, but exactly how the extra two faces are used each week around the competition remains to be seen.

Coaches will spend the next two or so months coming to grips with exactly how they use a six-man bench, and how they then go about spreading their 8 interchanges between the playing group each week, and indeed across the 80 minutes.

There is a very good chance that with the number of interchanges not changing, at least one, or even two, of the named players each week are not going to feature unless injuries strike.

Typically, recent years have seen teams go away from the blanket four-forward interchange line up that was commonplace some years ago.

The bottom line is that with injuries and concussions more prevalent, and forwards ultimately playing bigger minutes in a modern, sped up and more agile game, most clubs could get away with three forwards, being two middles and an edge, to go with a utility.

Whether that utility was genuine, or was able to play a mix of hooker, lock and the halves in a pinch, was a club-by-club basis and often depended on the mix of fit players available for selection each week.

But moving forward, that balancing act of trying to cover extra positions disappears provided the NRL do confirm the extension of match day squads out to 19 players.

But that will still leave questions.

Teams will undoubtedly want to name an extra forward as part of the injury cover plan.

Things can go disastrously wrong. Maybe the most pressing example last season was the St George Illawarra Dragons' game against the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland where three forwards were ruled out prior to halftime.

That game saw the Dragons wind up losing an early lead, but a six-man bench and an extra forward would have made all the difference.

Ultimately, four forwards being named means players will sit and watch the entire 80 minutes if there aren't injury issues, but with concussion issues leading to free interchanges, there is no doubt that clubs will be naming four forwards.

In what combination remains to be seen, but at the very least, two middles and an edge, with potentially another who could slot in at either position.

If teams do elect to burn interchanges, it could also mean some players - known for their powerhouse ability to flip the game - could well play one short stint per week.

The changing of the bench could in fact create an entirely new role within the game where certain players simply don't need to play big minutes, although the eight-interchange limit still will need to be factored in.

With four spots decided, you could imagine the other two spots are both going to be backline capable utility type players.

At least one would be able to play at hooker and in the halves, while you'd expect the other to be a specialist fullback, wing or centre, allowing for greater flexibility when injuries do strike in the outside backs.

It will mean teams no longer have to place second-rowers, or indeed other forwards, into the backline, improving the competitiveness of games for the most part when injuries do strike.

The lingering eight-interchange limit means coaches are still going to need to be careful about the way they do things, but the greater flexibility could well mean coaches hold their interchanges up their sleeve for the later part of games, increasing fatigue towards the end of the first half and actually creating a faster game with more opportunities for the creative types.

Some clubs are going to be blessed even with the six player bench - think the Roosters with Connor Watson for example or the Eels with Dylan Walker, who can do just about everything on the park. That is going to provide Trent Robinson and Jason Ryles with even greater flexibility over his bench than a number of other clubs.

The new bench for 2026 is going to change the game, of that there can be no doubt.

Whichever clubs and coaches come to grips with it first will be at a huge advantage.