NRL Finals 2026: Bracket, Fixtures & Odds

The 2026 NRL finals series is set: Penrith are minor premiers, eight teams remain and the Grand Final is at Accor Stadium on Sunday 4 October. Every finals fixture with dates, times and venues, the top eight and what each seed actually buys.

The 2026 NRL finals series is set. Penrith finished minor premiers, eight teams remain, and four weeks of sudden-death and double-chance football lead to the Grand Final at Accor Stadium on Sunday 4 October. This page carries the live bracket: every fixture with dates, times and venues, who each side plays, and what their ladder position actually buys them. For the rules of the system itself, see how NRL finals work.

NRL finals week 1 fixtures

Stage	Fixture	When (AEST)	Venue	At stake
Elimination final	Rabbitohs (6) v Knights (7)	Fri 11 Sep, 7:50pm	Allianz Stadium, Sydney	Loser out
Qualifying final	Warriors (2) v Dolphins (3)	Sat 12 Sep, 4:05pm	Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland	Winner to a preliminary final
Elimination final	Sharks (5) v Cowboys (8)	Sat 12 Sep, 7:50pm	Allianz Stadium, Sydney	Loser out
Qualifying final	Panthers (1) v Roosters (4)	Sun 13 Sep, 4:05pm	CommBank Stadium, Penrith	Winner to a preliminary final

Higher seeds host in every week of the NRL finals, which is why three of the four week-one games are in Sydney and the fourth is in Auckland. The Warriors’ qualifying final is 6:05pm NZST local.

The 2026 top eight and what each seed buys

#	Team	W-L	Diff	Pts	Position means
1	Penrith Panthers	18-6	+336	42	Minor premiers. Double chance, home qualifying final.
2	New Zealand Warriors	18-6	+310	42	Double chance, home qualifying final in Auckland.
3	Dolphins	17-7	+156	40	Double chance in their fourth season.
4	Sydney Roosters	16-8	+118	38	Double chance, but away to the minor premiers.
5	Cronulla Sharks	14-10	+149	34	Sudden death, at home.
6	South Sydney Rabbitohs	14-10	+113	34	Sudden death, at home.
7	Newcastle Knights	14-10	+42	34	Sudden death, away.
8	North Queensland Cowboys	13-11	-84	32	Sudden death, away. Worst differential of the eight.

The full 17-team final ladder is in our Round 27 results, along with how the minor premiership was decided.

How the bracket unfolds from here

Week one. The two qualifying finals carry a double chance: win and you go straight to a preliminary final with a week off, lose and you drop into a semi-final. The two elimination finals are sudden death.

Week two, semi-finals. The qualifying-final losers host the elimination-final winners. Which loser meets which winner depends on the seeds that survive, so the week-two fixtures are not knowable until week one is complete.

Week three, preliminary finals. The qualifying-final winners come back in against the semi-final winners, hosting.

Week four. Grand Final, Accor Stadium, Sunday 4 October. The full mechanics of the re-seeding are set out on our NRL finals format guide.

The storylines that matter

Penrith earned the shield in the last game of the season. They and the Warriors both finished 18-6 on 42 points; the Panthers took first place by 26 points of differential after winning by 28 while New Zealand won by one. First place buys them a home qualifying final against the Roosters and, if they win it, a home preliminary final.

The Warriors host a qualifying final in Auckland. Mt Smart in September is the hardest away trip in the competition, and the Dolphins have to make it in their fourth season as a club after finishing third.

North Queensland are in on points, not on numbers. The Cowboys qualified eighth with a differential of minus 84. Manly missed the eight on plus 99. It is the widest such gap in recent memory and the strongest argument going for anyone who wants the NRL to revisit how the eight is decided.

Three sides finished level on 34. Cronulla, South Sydney and Newcastle all landed on 34 points and were separated by differential alone, which is how Cronulla got a home elimination final and Newcastle got a trip to Allianz.

Betting the NRL finals

Premiership futures, each match’s head-to-head and line, and margin markets are all framed for every finals game. Two things change relative to the home-and-away season: the double chance materially affects how the top four are priced, because a qualifying-final loss does not end their season; and sudden-death games tend to be lower-scoring and tighter than the same fixture in August.

Current outright prices are on our NRL premiership odds page, the Grand Final market is on NRL Grand Final tips, and the Clive Churchill Medal market opens once the two Grand Final teams are known. Build a finals multi with our NRL multibet tips.

How to watch the NRL finals in Australia

Finals matches are broadcast on Channel 9 and 9Now free-to-air, with every game live on Fox League and Kayo Sports for subscribers. Most major Australian bookmakers also stream matches to funded accounts.

Looking for the best bookmakers to bet on the NRL finals?

Compare finals lines, same game multis and September promotions at our top-rated Australian bookmakers. For full reviews, see our best NRL betting sites guide.

NRL finals 2026 FAQs

When do the 2026 NRL finals start?

Finals week one runs from Friday 11 September to Sunday 13 September 2026, opening with South Sydney against Newcastle at Allianz Stadium on the Friday night.

Which teams made the 2026 NRL finals?

Penrith, the New Zealand Warriors, the Dolphins, the Sydney Roosters, Cronulla, South Sydney, Newcastle and North Queensland. Penrith finished minor premiers and the Cowboys took eighth.

When is the 2026 NRL Grand Final?

Sunday 4 October 2026 at Accor Stadium in Sydney.

Who won the 2026 NRL minor premiership?

Penrith, their sixth. They finished level with the Warriors on 42 points and 18-6, and took first place by 26 points of for-and-against.

Which NRL teams have the double chance?

The top four: Penrith, the Warriors, the Dolphins and the Roosters. Losing a qualifying final drops them into a semi-final rather than ending their season. Cronulla, South Sydney, Newcastle and North Queensland are all sudden death from week one.

Do higher seeds host in the NRL finals?

Yes, in every week of the series, which is why three of the four week-one games are in Sydney.

More NRL Content

• NRL Tips & Hub — all match tips and weekly previews
• How Do NRL Finals Work? — the McIntyre Final 8 system explained
• Round 27 Results & Final Ladder — how the eight was decided
• NRL Grand Final Tips · Clive Churchill Medal · Dally M Medal
• NRL Round-by-Round Predictions · NRL Ladder Predictor
• NRL Premiership Odds · NRL Match Predictions · NRL Multibet Tips
• Best NRL betting sites · Newest betting sites