NRLW draw: Blockbuster matches, new teams and an expanded finals format highlight NRLW season

The Sharks will have to wait until the final round for grand final revenge after the NRLW draw was released on Thursday featuring three prime-time Thursday night matches and the competition’s first Magic Round.

While they have to wait until round 11 to play the Roosters at Allianz Stadium, the Sharks have the honour of opening the 2025 season at home against the Eels on July 3.

Every club hosts five games in the new 12-team competition, with at least one NRL-NRLW double-header per team.

There will be 33 NRL-NRLW double-headers in 2025, with 18 of those to feature the same teams in both fixtures to ensure big crowds at both games.

The arrival of the Bulldogs and the Warriors means the finals will be expanded to a top six and run for three weeks in 2025.

“In 2025 there will be more teams, more matches and more innovation in the NRL Telstra Women’s Premiership,” NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said.

“The 12-team competition, now including the Bulldogs and the Warriors, will be the biggest in NRLW history. The addition of the NRLW Magic Round will be a unique opportunity for fans to see all the players and teams together in Newcastle in round 5, and the extended finals series will add another dimension to the competition.

“We have some of the best female athletes on the planet and they’ll now be showcasing themselves in the best women’s competition in Australia and now New Zealand.

“The competition takes huge strides every year and I have no doubt that the eighth NRLW premiership will be the best yet.”

The NRL also confirmed the third instalment of the pre-season challenge, with matches to be played in Sydney, Brisbane Auckland and in regional areas like Mudgee and Toowoomba.

The four teams going to Las Vegas will play their opening game a week earlier to avoid a repeat of this year’s tournament in which clubs named new-look squads given their players had already flown overseas.

It didn’t stop the Broncos from winning the $100,000 this year, with Brisbane to take on the Titans and Bulldogs in their two pre-season matches.