Loved: Another Vegas success
On paper, the third year of Vegas games didn’t look relatively appealing. Canterbury-Bankstown finished third but exited the finals quickly, North Queensland were too inconsistent, and both St George Illawarra and Newcastle finished bottom four, with the Knights claiming the wooden spoon.
But both Vegas games were thoroughly entertaining: there were eight tries all up in the Knights’ win over the Cowboys and the Bulldogs had a controversial golden point win over the Dragons. Any fears that the novelty value was wearing off seemed unfounded, with an impressive crowd of 45,719 at Allegiant Stadium. Knowing the typical American sports fan's love of overtime periods, locals would have been besmitten with the ‘next score wins’ structure of golden point.
There has been a lot to love about Vegas so far: three games seem to be the sweet spot, various NRL content creators and journalists make the most of the lead up (recording panel shows and podcasts from Vegas), the players are given some freedom to explore before their work begins, and fans from Australia, New Zealand, and the UK enjoy the trip of a lifetime.
There’s five teams yet to play in Vegas (Wests Tigers, The Dolphins, Gold Coast, Parramatta, Melbourne), plus of course the incoming Perth Bears. Assuming everyone gets a run by the end of 2028, what happens after that?
The latest rumours have suggested that Peter V'Landys and Andrew Abdo have been plotting a global 'Opening Round' that would spread its wings to the UK, Middle East and South-East Asia, though who knows if this gets up or if it’s just another ambitious idea that goes nowhere
Right now, let’s focus on at least two more years of Vegas and go from there.
Loved: Melbourne's Round 1 streak appears invincible
For most NRL clubs, Round 1 is about shedding rust and working out combinations for the new season.
But not Melbourne. And especially not Craig Bellamy's Melbourne.
The Storm extended their Round 1 streak to 24 after belting Parramatta. They haven’t lost a Round 1 game since 2001 (Canterbury-Bankstown), including a Round 1 bye in 2004.
This record makes a mockery of Melbourne’s Pre-Season Challenge efforts: since it started in 2023, Melbourne have won two games from eight.
During that era, they were successful against Parramatta three times (16-12 in 2023, 56-18 in 2025, 52-4 in 2026) and shut out the Premiers-to-be Penrith 8-0 in 2024. It’s proof that, regardless of their opposition, Melbourne are always ready to go from Round 1.
Although Melbourne haven’t capitalised on their strong start, with a close win against St George Illawarra and losses to Brisbane and North Queensland (squandering double-digit leads in both games).
With Penrith already looking scarily good (four wins and a 140-30 differential), Melbourne will need to find form quickly to avoid falling too far behind, starting with a blockbuster Good Friday game against the Panthers.
Loved: AJ eclipsing Irvine
Entering the 2026 season, it was a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’, Alex Johnston would pass Ken Irvine as the Australian Rugby League’s greatest tryscorer, breaking a record that stood for more than half a century.
After one try against The Dolphins, Johnston needed two more against the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium, on the prime-time Friday game (which, to add a bit of extra drama, took place on Friday the 13th). The “Souths vs Easts” rivalry had been fairly calm in the preceding few years, so AJ breaking the record here would have been perfect.
The first one came after 30 minutes as Souths reined in a 12-0 deficit, with the 213th try coming in the Rabbitohs’ first set after the break. Any concerns about the Bunker potentially spoiling the moment were summarily dismissed, with Latrell Mitchell passing to Johnston for a 40-metre run. The scriptwriter of the most sentimental ‘underdogs win the championship on the final play’ sports movie would have been proud!
Then came the unforgettable scenes afterwards. Ignoring the pleas of a grumpy Souths coach Wayne Bennett to stay off the field, thousands of spectators jumped the fence and streamed onto the field to celebrate the occasion.
It could have descended into an ugly chaos with many of the 40,000+ spectators entering the field of play, but the fans celebrated peacefully, AJ got his deserved adulation, the players got off the field (and AJ got a special gold jersey), the ground staff cleaned up the rubbish, and play resumed after only 16 minutes with Mitchell’s successful conversion.
So, where to now? Johnston will have plenty more tryscoring opportunities in the next few seasons and could finish with over 250 tries, if not close to 300. Daniel Tupou (185) should pass 200 but probably won’t get close to AJ.
Hated: Six Again frustration
The revised Six Again rule (as part of a few rule changes for 2026) has been discussed on nearly every rugby league panel show/podcast. The official change read: “For certain infringements beyond the 20-metre line, the tackle count will restart, replacing the current 40-metre threshold.”
This re-revision led to 65 'Six Agains' in Round 1, 95 in Round 2, 78 in Round 3, and 78 in Round 4 (statistics courtesy of The Gurgler). There was perhaps no better example than the first ten minutes of the Round 1 game between the Sea Eagles and Raiders, where Manly had all the ball (about nine sets) and Canberra nothing. The Raiders did well to keep the damage to 8-0.
Rugby league prides itself on being a ‘simpler’ game than rugby union (where limitless and sometimes countless phases of possession are part of the game): Team A has six tackles, Team B has six tackles, they often kick on the last tackle for a score or field position, then rinse and repeat.
Before Six Agains became populous, multiple sets were earnt through goal-line drop outs, with playmakers using their kicking game to pin the opposition into their in-goal. Unfortunately, the change to the drop out rule meant the reward for earning a drop out (and the punishment for getting the drop out kick wrong) has been reduced.
The modern game now moves so quickly that it’s hard to keep up with what the Six Agains are for. Melbourne Storm captain Harry Grant dipped his toes into the debate after their loss to Brisbane, describing that match as "like touch footy at times ... it was pretty fast there. (The) Broncos would have felt that first half ... we probably felt the majority of that in the second half."
Whilst it wasn't a targeted condemnation of the Six Again rule, Grant's comments reflected the emerging discourse about how the Six Again overdrive was making rugby league too fast, and its product too high-scoring. The New Zealand Warriors certainly took advantage of it in the first three rounds when racking up big scores against the Roosters (42), Raiders (40) and Knights (38).
A more pessimistic outlook may suggest the revised Six Again rule is a ‘get square’ from the administrators after their mooted kick-off change was delayed until late 2026. While the kick-off rule was hammered almost unanimously by head coaches when first announced, in hindsight it doesn’t look so bad: the non-scoring team has the option to kick-off or receive, so it’ll mainly be used when teams are chasing tries or looking to stop a wave of points against them. It will be interesting to see how it works when it’s trialled in selected games later this season.
Some closer games in rounds 3 and 4 (six games decided by eight points or less) suggests that footy is slowly returning to normal. The Six Agains will seemingly always be there, but if most games are close and competitive, then fans should be happier. Nobody wants to see 40-30 scorelines all the time.
Hated: Autumn rain and busted drains
"Why does it always rain on me?"
Raiders fans could be forgiven for humming this 1999 classic from Travis after a wet opening three rounds across the east coast and New Zealand.
March rain is common as autumn sets in, but Canberra have copped the worst of the conditions so far. One game in the rain is fine, two is unlucky, but three is ridiculous!
After their dramatic finals exit last season, and an unproven Ethan Sanders at halfback, Canberra needed a strong start to silence the critics who piled on them last September and wrote them off for 2026.
Canberra played in constant rain against Manly Warringah (Sydney), the Warriors (Auckland), and Canterbury-Bankstown (Canberra). The ACT Brumbies were affected by the weather too, with lightning delaying their home game against the Queensland Reds on March 7 (the same time Canberra were playing Manly in the rain at Brookvale Oval).
The Raiders beat Manly in golden point (albeit only after squandering a 28-14 lead), were thumped by the Warriors, and lost by four points to Canterbury. If Sanders had scored that last-minute try against the Bulldogs, then Canberra would be 2-1, ‘The Colonel’ celebrated as a match-winner who backs himself in clutch moments, and Raiders fans singing happier tunes.
While the Raiders finally got a fine, sunny day at GIO Stadium against Cronulla, it didn’t matter as their poor defence, poor discipline, and silly errors cost them a vital win. Their 1-3 start leaves them with plenty of catch-up work.
The rain during the Bulldogs game (and Cameron Ciraldo’s hand injury) drew significant attention to the aging facilities at Canberra's Bruce Stadium, which next year will be acknowledging its 50th birthday and nearly 40 years of hosting Raiders matches.
Whilst the Raiders continue to be well supported, selling the 25,000-capacity venue out four times during last year's minor Premiership run, it's clearly in need of a revamp or refurbishment - and an online petition with more than 3,000 signatures is just the start of the public demand for a new stadium.
Rugby Australia recommitted to the nation's capital on Tuesday by announcing the Wallabies' first international in Canberra in a decade will take place against Ireland in 2027, but any major events beyond that will likely depend
Hated: An anniversary to forget
Manly-Warringah's 80th anniversary has gained headlines for all the wrong reasons so far (though they nailed the retro home and away jerseys).
It started over summer when Tom Trbojevic was named captain. While there's no potting his leadership credentials, Turbo's injury record has been a problem (in 11 completed seasons, he has played 20+ games only four times). Not to mention the announcement in a carpark looked like something a local footy club might do.
The decision to sign Jamal Fogarty to replace Daly Cherry-Evans also raised eyebrows. Despite being a popular member of the Raiders, the Milk didn't seem in a hurry to re-sign him, putting their future and their faith in Ethan Sanders instead.
There's also concerns over Jake Trbojevic's future, as he seems one or two head knocks away from being forced to retire, and the "Magneto" headgear doesn't seem to be helping. And will Joey Walsh eventually overtake Luke Brooks in first grade?
Manly started 2026 with three straight home games and a bye: against Canberra (an immediate "Fogarty Revenge Game"), Newcastle, and the Sydney Roosters. Three straight losses saw Anthony Seibold sacked. While few expected Seibold to last the season, the haste of his Round 4 sacking was a surprise, with Kieran Foran quickly named interim coach.
Seibold is an enigma. Anyone who has viewed The Game Plan NRL videos can see he knows his Xs and Os. But he's coached 142 games at three clubs (South Sydney, Brisbane, Manly) for a 47.9% winning rate. While he took Souths to the 2018 preliminary final, he only lasted two seasons at Brisbane: they finished eighth in 2019 (losing the elimination final) and last in 2020 (the club's first wooden spoon). He took Manly to a semi-final in 2024, but they missed the finals in '23 and '25. For whatever reason, Seibold hasn't translated his footy intelligence into results.
While Foran is a Manly legend (he was DCE's halves partner in the 2011 Grand Final and played 196 games for the Sea Eagles), and has been their assistant coach this season, being thrown into the fire of an interim coaching role so quickly is a big ask. Watch this space, Manly fans.