Customise ESPN
Stocks: Panthers crush the Broncos, while the Eels plummet
What an incredible opening round of the 2026 NRL season, with two golden point thrillers, plenty of tries scored, several blow-outs and a couple of upsets.
Getty Images / ESPN
TOP HEADLINES
IWD: Fairer, safer and more equitable sporting culture for women? Not just yet
Stars fire Souths to high-scoring win over Dolphins
South Sydney talismen Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell came up with the big plays when needed in an entertaining 40-30 win over the Dolphins.
ROUND 1
SATURDAY'S GAMES
NRL
ROUND 1
'Big Three' lead Penrith to statement win over Brisbane
Penrith's dynasty is very much alive and kicking after their proven stars orchestrated a dominant 26-0 win over woeful defending premiers Brisbane.
Losing to the Storm was inevitable, complete capitulation was not
Once again Melbourne Storm have beaten a Round 1 opponent, and for the third time in four years it was the Parramatta Eels, who showed concerningly little fight.
Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
NRL
ROUND 1
Sharks to topple Titans, Panthers in a coin toss, Rabbitohs the roughies
The 2026 NRL season is underway, and looks likely to provide plenty of headaches for tippers throughout the year, so we'll give you some extra help with three standout games.
ESPN / Getty Images
NRL teams: DCE to debut for Roosters at No.6
The 2026 NRL season is underway after the first two games were completed under the bright lights of Las Vegas. Now the rest of the competition has an opportunity to put two early points on the board.
NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE
Zac Lomax's Storm move blocked, Eels win payout
Zac Lomax's audacious bid to join Melbourne has been blocked after the star winger agreed his NRL fate would remain in the hands of former club Parramatta for two years.
Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
NRL
2026 SEASON
Vegas opener reveals early premiership identities
The NRL's third venture to Las Vegas didn't just deliver highlight finishes and fairytale debuts - it delivered clarity.
Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images
Top Headlines
- Penrith hopeful on Martin as clubs await injuries
- Code switch complete: Lomax joins Western Force
- 'Live with it': Bennett's reality check for Lomax
- Car ride and hugs sealed Titans skipper Tino
- The day Fogarty broke news of defection to Ricky
- Eels' Matterson hits out over failed Lomax bid
- Raiders recruit at centre of NRL investigation
- V'landys maintains there's life left in Las Vegas
- 'Maybe they're watching': Burton could crack NFL
- Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
ESPN's way-too-early NRL predictions
ESPN's NRL experts have turned their attention to 2026 for their way-too-early predictions.
- ESPN
Subscribe to the ESPN Australia Newsletter
Keep up to date with the latest news from across the sporting world. Be it at home or abroad, we've got it covered in our weekly newsletters.
- Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
Must-see games of the first four rounds of the 2026 season
The 2026 NRL draw has been released. So, to whet your appetite for the upcoming season, we've picked out the must-watch games from the opening four rounds.
- Koki Nagahama/Getty Images
Rugby's rebel league explained: Everything you need to know about R360
R360's start date has officially been kicked down the road to 2028. Perhaps now we will start to see some of the detail it currently lacks. So what exactly do, and don't we know about, it?
- Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
State of Origin: The all-time records and statistics
The State of Origin series started in 1980 and since that very first encounter we have witnessed 129 games and seen plenty of amazing rugby league.
