Official 2026 NRL General Discussion

bort said:
So invite him once he’s cleared

If he’s found to be not guilty they can invite him then if they like. He wouldn’t have to suffer through a loss to dragons then either.

Same goes for any accused killers - they can be innocence until proven guilty* but I’m happy for them to stay out of the Sharks sheds until they get it resolved.

*the accusations against him have been found to be true, just not in criminal court
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The accusation was not found to be true at all.

Do you understand the burden of proof in a criminal case?

The defamation case is irrelevant.

He is innocent at present according to Law, but Bort knows all?
 
Chopper said:
Bort knows all?
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You got there in the end

Anything further repeating what has been found to be true in civil court and not criminal court, and you countering by bringing up criminal court, is beyond pointless
 
apezza said:
From the Financial Review (which Nine owns).

At this early stage, it looks like its going to either be:
1. A Ch9 / Stan combo, Or
2. Fox and Ch7 and / or Ch10

Fox can't go it alone due to the anti siphoning laws (can't be just pay TV).

Both Nine and Fox don't want duplicate broadcasts with each other like we have now.

Foxtel has launched a high-stakes bid to protect its decades-long relationship with the NRL, offering to buy the sport’s entire suite of free-to-air and streaming rights to counter, and cut out, media rival Nine Entertainment.

The pay television and sports streaming giant behind Kayo Sports, Binge and the Foxtel cable business pitched its plans to Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys and outgoing NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo last Tuesday morning. Hours later, Nine did the same.


The NRL is one of Australia’s most valuable sporting assets, and is split across the free-to-air Nine Network and Foxtel until the end of the 2027 season.

The Australian Financial Review revealed last week that Nine chief executive Matt Stanton and broadcast chief Amanda Laing wanted all the rights to boost its paid streaming platform Stan, cutting Foxtel off from the sport for the first time in 30 years. Nine is the publisher of the Financial Review.

Now Foxtel, which is owned by international sports streaming platform DAZN, is hitting back. Two people with knowledge of Foxtel’s NRL negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the bid, said the media company had pitched for all the NRL rights and had then spoken over the past week to both the Seven and Ten television networks about them broadcasting some of the games on free-to-air.

The strategy would remove the Nine Network as an NRL broadcaster. Seven and Ten declined to comment.

Foxtel may bid for the NRL rights, but cannot go it alone due to Australia’s anti-siphoning laws, which are designed to prevent major sporting events from going entirely behind paywalls. It must find a free-to-air network willing to broadcast some NRL games.


The anti-siphoning laws list certain sports – the Olympic Games, NRL, AFL, major cricket matches, the FIFA World Cup and the Australian Open tennis tournament, among others – that “should be available to the general public”. Not all of them are.

For example, Foxtel bought the rights to the entire Formula 1 race schedule for the next few years. It then struck a deal for Network Ten to broadcast the Australian Grand Prix (which is on the anti-siphoning list).

V’landys has said that he wants the NRL’s deal to be comparable to the AFL’s record $4.5 billion agreement with Foxtel and Network Seven, which covers seven years from the 2025 season. He has promised the clubs as much. The NRL’s current deal is worth $2 billion over five years – $400 million a year, about $130 million of which comes from Nine. V’landys wants to effectively double that.

To achieve that, he has added two new teams: the Perth Bears, who join the competition in 2027, and the Papua New Guinea Chiefs, who join in 2028. Adding new teams means more games and opportunities for broadcasters to run ads, increasing the overall value of the code.

The rights are crucial for both Foxtel and Nine. For Nine, sport audiences are large and an effective way to promote upcoming shows – State of Origin games and the NRL grand final were among the most-watched events of 2025.

Free-to-air television revenue may be eroding and shifting to tech giants like YouTube, Netflix and Meta, but it still accounted for 46 per cent of Nine’s $2.7 billion in revenue last year. Free-to-air revenue is tracking down at 12 per cent over the year to April, investment bank UBS told clients.

The NRL is critical for Foxtel because both major football codes are necessary to maintain the company’s sporting dominance. DAZN acquired Foxtel in 2025, and the Australian arm is key to its efforts to reach profitability – the company has lost billions of dollars over the past five years buying up sporting rights to create a Netflix or Spotify for sporting codes.

Foxtel is the single biggest investor in sport in Australia (it spends more than $1 billion each year). Its chief executive, Patrick Delany, is slated for a promotion within DAZN. Foxtel declined to comment.

There is no guarantee either Foxtel or Nine will succeed in their bid for all the rights, and both broadcasters may end up working together – as they currently do. V’landys threatened to “take the rights elsewhere” late last year if the two media companies put forward a joint bid.

The unknown players in the mix are Amazon, which was planning a bid of some sort for its Prime Video platform, and Paramount, which owns Network Ten and the Paramount+ streaming service.

Foxtel made $2.9 billion in revenue in the year to June 30, 2025, about 85 per cent of which came from streaming and cable subscriptions. Accounts lodged with Australia’s corporate regulator show the company posted a $214 million loss for the year.

V’landys declined to comment on the NRL’s broadcast rights discussions with Nine, Foxtel or any other player. “Bids have been encouraging,” he replied over text.
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I prefer dot points please
 
Born&bred said:
I prefer dot points please
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Here you go:

From the Financial Review (which Nine owns).

At this early stage, it looks like its going to either be:
  • A Ch9 / Stan combo, Or
  • Fox and Ch7 and / or Ch10

Fox can't go it alone due to the anti siphoning laws (can't be just pay TV).

Both Nine and Fox don't want duplicate broadcasts with each other like we have now.

Foxtel has launched a high-stakes bid to protect its decades-long relationship with the NRL, offering to buy the sport’s entire suite of free-to-air and streaming rights to counter, and cut out, media rival Nine Entertainment.

The pay television and sports streaming giant behind Kayo Sports, Binge and the Foxtel cable business pitched its plans to Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys and outgoing NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo last Tuesday morning. Hours later, Nine did the same.


The NRL is one of Australia’s most valuable sporting assets, and is split across the free-to-air Nine Network and Foxtel until the end of the 2027 season.

The Australian Financial Review revealed last week that Nine chief executive Matt Stanton and broadcast chief Amanda Laing wanted all the rights to boost its paid streaming platform Stan, cutting Foxtel off from the sport for the first time in 30 years. Nine is the publisher of the Financial Review.

Now Foxtel, which is owned by international sports streaming platform DAZN, is hitting back. Two people with knowledge of Foxtel’s NRL negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the bid, said the media company had pitched for all the NRL rights and had then spoken over the past week to both the Seven and Ten television networks about them broadcasting some of the games on free-to-air.

The strategy would remove the Nine Network as an NRL broadcaster. Seven and Ten declined to comment.

Foxtel may bid for the NRL rights, but cannot go it alone due to Australia’s anti-siphoning laws, which are designed to prevent major sporting events from going entirely behind paywalls. It must find a free-to-air network willing to broadcast some NRL games.


The anti-siphoning laws list certain sports – the Olympic Games, NRL, AFL, major cricket matches, the FIFA World Cup and the Australian Open tennis tournament, among others – that “should be available to the general public”. Not all of them are.

For example, Foxtel bought the rights to the entire Formula 1 race schedule for the next few years. It then struck a deal for Network Ten to broadcast the Australian Grand Prix (which is on the anti-siphoning list).

V’landys has said that he wants the NRL’s deal to be comparable to the AFL’s record $4.5 billion agreement with Foxtel and Network Seven, which covers seven years from the 2025 season. He has promised the clubs as much. The NRL’s current deal is worth $2 billion over five years – $400 million a year, about $130 million of which comes from Nine. V’landys wants to effectively double that.

To achieve that, he has added two new teams: the Perth Bears, who join the competition in 2027, and the Papua New Guinea Chiefs, who join in 2028. Adding new teams means more games and opportunities for broadcasters to run ads, increasing the overall value of the code.

The rights are crucial for both Foxtel and Nine. For Nine, sport audiences are large and an effective way to promote upcoming shows – State of Origin games and the NRL grand final were among the most-watched events of 2025.

Free-to-air television revenue may be eroding and shifting to tech giants like YouTube, Netflix and Meta, but it still accounted for 46 per cent of Nine’s $2.7 billion in revenue last year. Free-to-air revenue is tracking down at 12 per cent over the year to April, investment bank UBS told clients.

The NRL is critical for Foxtel because both major football codes are necessary to maintain the company’s sporting dominance. DAZN acquired Foxtel in 2025, and the Australian arm is key to its efforts to reach profitability – the company has lost billions of dollars over the past five years buying up sporting rights to create a Netflix or Spotify for sporting codes.

Foxtel is the single biggest investor in sport in Australia (it spends more than $1 billion each year). Its chief executive, Patrick Delany, is slated for a promotion within DAZN. Foxtel declined to comment.

There is no guarantee either Foxtel or Nine will succeed in their bid for all the rights, and both broadcasters may end up working together – as they currently do. V’landys threatened to “take the rights elsewhere” late last year if the two media companies put forward a joint bid.

The unknown players in the mix are Amazon, which was planning a bid of some sort for its Prime Video platform, and Paramount, which owns Network Ten and the Paramount+ streaming service.

Foxtel made $2.9 billion in revenue in the year to June 30, 2025, about 85 per cent of which came from streaming and cable subscriptions. Accounts lodged with Australia’s corporate regulator show the company posted a $214 million loss for the year.

V’landys declined to comment on the NRL’s broadcast rights discussions with Nine, Foxtel or any other player. “Bids have been encouraging,” he replied over text.
 
Sevshark said:
www.smh.com.au

Players’ union wants rule changes wound back after overwhelming negative feedback

Players fear referees are deciding games and they are more susceptible to injury now the NRL is being played at warp speed.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au


Players’ union wants rule changes wound back after overwhelming negative feedback

Dan Walsh
June 1, 2026
The Rugby League Players Association will push for the NRL’s contentious 2026 rule changes to be wound back after 84 per cent of leading players said they believe referees are having a greater impact on results and two-thirds fear they are more susceptible to injury in the high-octane modern game.

Amid the ongoing fallout from Kalyn Ponga’s controversial Origin I send-off, and in a season in which almost 50 points are scored on average each game and matches are decided by an average of 17.2 points, the players union released eyebrow-raising feedback from players based on the first 10 rounds of 2026.



The survey results showed 96.5 per cent of the 57 players (drawn from RLPA advisor roles at all 17 clubs) felt overall match speed had increased or significantly increased compared to 2025, thanks largely to the expanded remit of set restarts.

The most notable flow-on effect of the perceived faster contests is 61.5 per cent of players surveyed believe they are more susceptible to injury as a result, with 39 per cent also getting less enjoyment from the game than last season.



With set restarts or “six agains” now called from the 20-metre line for ruck breaches and defenders being offside, the NRL’s average of 8.8 set restarts a game is a 49 per cent increase on the 5.9 set restarts a match awarded in 2025.


Numerous players and coaches – with Queensland captain Cameron Munster and Raiders coach Ricky Stuart most vocal – have spoken of their growing frustration with the consistency of set restarts and the lack of explanation offered when they are awarded.

Extended runs of possession and points have grown increasingly common as well. RLPA chief executive Clint Newton declared player feedback pointed to the NRL risking an eventual “disengagement” from fans if they feel games are over-officiated or manipulated by referees.

“It’s clear that the rule changes are having an impact, and what I will say is [ARL Commission chairman] Peter V’landys and [outgoing NRL chief executive] Andrew Abdo have always been willing to meet with the players,” Newton said.



“We’ll keep trying to move the game forward and keep coming up with solutions, and potentially it’s just a matter of making some slight adjustments back to give everyone what I think they know and love.

“I don’t think it can ever be forgotten that our fans are incredibly educated about the game.



Ashley Klein’s decision to send off Kalyn Ponga turned Origin I on its head.Getty Images
“I think our game is easy to understand by comparison to rugby, AFL and different American codes, which is why we’re able to attract new markets.

“But, we’ve got to be very careful about not creating a situation where fans start to disengage because referees either get too involved in the game or they actually don’t feel like they understand the game any more because there’s a lack of clarity on why decisions are being made.


“I think that’s certainly a serious risk and one the broadcasters especially are mindful of.”

The NRL can in turn point to strong crowd attendances and TV ratings this season and a 6 per cent year-on-year increase in Origin I’s total TV audience of 3.995 million viewers.

Winning margins have dropped significantly in the past two weeks since Magic Round as well, with five of the seven games in round 13 decided by six points or less.

The governing body presented its own statistics to a meeting of club CEOs and the RLPA last month covering game speed, which pointed to injuries and ball-in-play time falling from 2025 in the first seven rounds this year.



Alex Johnston (30 tries), Tom Trbojevic (28) and Josh Addo-Carr (23) scored four-pointers for fun in 2021 before set restart rules were wound back.Getty, NRL Photos


As the NRL pursues a record $4 billion in its next broadcast deal and ramps up negotiations with broadcasters, including free-to-air rights holder Nine Entertainment, the publisher of this masthead, a reduction in ball-in-play time has at least some genesis in significantly more tries being scored in the first 13 rounds this season.

A seven per cent increase in tries scored (857 this season against 790 at the same stage last season) translates to more advertising breaks on free-to-air TV. Some club figures privately believe this to be a motivation behind the new rule introductions.

Fears Origin I would be marred by a spate of six-again calls proved unfounded with just three set restarts in the first half as Queensland dominated.

Forty-eight hours later though, referee Todd Smith awarded 12 set-restarts in the first half of Cronulla’s win over Manly alone, just the second time that high-water mark has been hit in one 40-minute stanza. The Sharks and Sea Eagles conceded one set-restart each after halftime.

Along with angst around how ruck rules are applied, the RLPA and NRL clubs have previously voiced concern over the belated announcement of this year’s rule changes, which were only locked in a month out from the start of the 2026 season.



The NRL’s long-standing policy on rule changes and interpretations is to conduct an extensive review at the end of each season.

The last time the NRL expanded its six-again remit – which resulted in a 2021 season of blowout scores and record points being scoring – was wound back that summer with the concession game-play had grown too fast and haphazard.

Newton said the RLPA’s survey response pointed to a similar feeling among players, particularly given the added physical and mental strains that typically only increase as a season wears on.

“What we don’t want is to have players red-lining throughout the season as much as I think they are feeling right now,” Newton said.


“We want the best players available for as many games as possible and as many seasons as possible. And again, I’m confident we can get the balance right for the game.

“The NRL has already said they didn’t get the process right with engaging stakeholders and how quickly the rules were introduced. We’ve got a commitment from the NRL that won’t happen again this year.”
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Are the ARL under pressure from broadcasters to produce a " better end product" for TV ? . Game doesn't need to be continually sped up and bombarded with petty rules that petty ref's like to interpret differently every week or sometimes in the same game. I find myself watching less and less games because of the bureaucracy of it, ref's, rules, MRC, judiciary, broadcasters, etc, who seem to think they are the main attraction instead of a 80 minute contest. Or maybe I'm just a dinosaur, either way I will always be a Shark and want nothing but the best for the club, supporters and players.
 
TownsvilleTigerShark said:
Are the ARL under pressure from broadcasters to produce a " better end product" for TV ? . Game doesn't need to be continually sped up and bombarded with petty rules that petty ref's like to interpret differently every week or sometimes in the same game. I find myself watching less and less games because of the bureaucracy of it, ref's, rules, MRC, judiciary, broadcasters, etc, who seem to think they are the main attraction instead of a 80 minute contest. Or maybe I'm just a dinosaur, either way I will always be a Shark and want nothing but the best for the club, supporters and players.
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Pretty obvious answer mate.
 
TownsvilleTigerShark said:
Are the ARL under pressure from broadcasters to produce a " better end product" for TV ? . Game doesn't need to be continually sped up and bombarded with petty rules that petty ref's like to interpret differently every week or sometimes in the same game. I find myself watching less and less games because of the bureaucracy of it, ref's, rules, MRC, judiciary, broadcasters, etc, who seem to think they are the main attraction instead of a 80 minute contest. Or maybe I'm just a dinosaur, either way I will always be a Shark and want nothing but the best for the club, supporters and players.
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There was an article the other week that high, lop sided scores don't help the likes of Ch9 as they rely on large viewers watching until the end to lead into the news etc.

All of a sudden, this week saw majority close games. Go figure...
 
apezza said:
There was an article the other week that high, lop sided scores don't help the likes of Ch9 as they rely on large viewers watching until the end to lead into the news etc.

All of a sudden, this week saw majority close games. Go figure...
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Don't know what's worse, 50 nil blow-outs every game or manufactured close finishes decided by a prick with a whistle
 
Tiger Shark said:
I only watch via Kayo but am hating the tweaks they have made to the App. It’s pretty bad
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I agree. It’s so bloody clunky. The vision is ok when the game is on but if I’m watching a game on delay, it suddenly stops and starts on something else that’s live.

For example, it seems to know I watch the golf, so if I’m watching one of the NRL games on delay, it’ll suddenly stop and change programs when the live golf starts. It’s so bloody annoying because if you try to get back to the footy, it just lags forever and you have you go watch something else for ten minutes and come back to it.

My wife gets the shits, she says it’s the most expensive streaming service we have and it doesn’t bloody work. What’s even more infuriating is that she reminds me every time it happens!
 
Sir Chadley said:
My wife gets the shits, she says it’s the most expensive streaming service we have and it doesn’t bloody work. What’s even more infuriating is that she reminds me every time it happens!
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Sounds like its time for a new wife streaming service!
 
Tiger Shark said:
I only watch via Kayo but am hating the tweaks they have made to the App. It’s pretty bad
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I have WatchNRL (the international version) and I suppose it suffers from most of the same issues.
NRL Mini (the 18 minutes recap) have completely disappeared for example.
 
Sir Chadley said:
I agree. It’s so bloody clunky. The vision is ok when the game is on but if I’m watching a game on delay, it suddenly stops and starts on something else that’s live.

For example, it seems to know I watch the golf, so if I’m watching one of the NRL games on delay, it’ll suddenly stop and change programs when the live golf starts. It’s so bloody annoying because if you try to get back to the footy, it just lags forever and you have you go watch something else for ten minutes and come back to it.

My wife gets the shits, she says it’s the most expensive streaming service we have and it doesn’t bloody work. What’s even more infuriating is that she reminds me every time it happens!
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Interesting, I've had no issues at all.
 
Sir Chadley said:
I agree. It’s so bloody clunky. The vision is ok when the game is on but if I’m watching a game on delay, it suddenly stops and starts on something else that’s live.

For example, it seems to know I watch the golf, so if I’m watching one of the NRL games on delay, it’ll suddenly stop and change programs when the live golf starts. It’s so bloody annoying because if you try to get back to the footy, it just lags forever and you have you go watch something else for ten minutes and come back to it.

My wife gets the shits, she says it’s the most expensive streaming service we have and it doesn’t bloody work. What’s even more infuriating is that she reminds me every time it happens!
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I have a similar problem with mine. I contacted the manufacturers but they wouldn’t take her back.
 
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