The pre-season betting odds have the Broncos favourites to go back-to-back followed by the Panthers, Roosters, Storm and Bulldogs as the key contenders for the 2026 premiership title.
The Broncos are bidding to become the first Brisbane side since 1993 to go back-to-back, while the Panthers are looking to get their dynasty back on track.
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The Roosters have been boosted by the arrival of Daly Cherry-Evans and Reece Robson to rocket into third favourites, while the Storm are looking to avenge two Grand Final losses in a row and the Bulldogs are looking to take the next step after finishing third and going out of the finals in straight sets.
Read on for the key questions facing the five leading contenders for the 2026 title.
2026 NRL PREMIERSHIP ODDS (TAB)
Broncos — $5.50
Panthers — $6.50
Roosters — $7
Storm — $7.50
Bulldogs — $13
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BRONCOS — Can the Broncos ride the wave and go back-to-back?
Has a coach who won the premiership the season before ever come under so much scrutiny before their title defence has even begun?
We can’t remember one, outside of Michael Maguire ahead of the 2026 season.
Rumblings of player unrest have already emerged following Brisbane’s pre-season campaign, with legendary forward Mark Geyer making staggering comments on 2GB.
“What I do keep hearing a lot is Madge’s name being mentioned … I’m not gonna say (in) unfriendly (ways), but not in positive ways,” Geyer said.
“That makes me think that someone like Michael Maguire has a shelf life as a coach in the NRL of around three years, because he is so intense.
“Then it is time for him to take his powers and move on somewhere else that needs his help.”
Last season, heading into the Broncos’ Round 12 bye, Maguire’s side had lost five of their preview six games.
Pressure was mounting, which ultimately subsided after their late surge which resulted in a premiership.
But once again, where there’s smoke, there’s fire and there is a possibility that all the outside noise could derail Brisbane’s premiership defence.
However, given their roster, Braith Anasta believes the Broncos can dominate the competition this season.
“It wouldn’t surprise us if the Broncos just dominate this year, they have got the players and they have only lost Hetherington and Smoothy,” Anasta said on the Kayo NRL Podcast.
“There is some really young guns there in key positions in Carrigan, Haas, Walsh and Mam. We saw Walsh and Mam in the Grand Final were spectacular.
“They have still got the experience of Reynolds and Hunt and they have got speed and athleticism on their edges.
“They really should dominate this year. It is hard to say dominate when there are teams like Penrith, but really with their roster and the way they performed at the back end of last year, they are going to be there.
“The only real concern would be the hangover after a Grand Final. It is just that one or two per cent that you haven’t won a premiership and you want to win one, so can they win it again?”
In saying that, Anasta conceded that Maguire would play a massive role in his ability to get his players up for the fight of going back-to-back, which the club hasn’t done since 1993.
“A lot will come down to the inner sanctum and Michael Maguire,” Anasta said.
“It will come down to how he coaches them and how he gets them back up after that premiership win.
“Do the systems they have got in place hold up year after year or did they just have a golden run to win a premiership? That will all be told and seen this year.”
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Eels and Storm face off amid Lomax drama | 03:58
PANTHERS — What does the second year of the Talagi-Cleary combination look like?
For the first time in what feels like a long time, the Panthers enter a season having not lost a major name to a rival club.
Instead, there is much-needed roster stability that has the once four-time defending premiers primed for another tilt at the title again, and that starts in the halves.
Last year, Blaize Talagi was thrust into the spotlight as the long-term replacement for Jarome Luai and while he struggled at times early in the season, Talagi continued to grow in confidence as the year progressed and pick his moments more to complement Cleary at halfback.
What was particularly promising was to see the way Talagi started to really dig into the line and lean into his strengths as a runner of the football, not deferring as much and instead starting to find his feet alongside one of the most dominant playmakers in the game.
Cleary had a similar experience himself when playing with James Maloney, and while Cleary is not going to be retiring or leaving the club anytime soon like Maloney did, the Panthers halfback said the simple fact that both he and Talagi didn’t enter this pre-season carrying any niggling injuries has them well set up for 2026.
“I’m really excited to not only see Blaize develop, but also our combination develop as well,” Cleary told NRL.com last month.
“It was starting to go really well last year and that was with only one year together.
“Last year’s pre-season we were both in rehab pretty much the whole time so we’re both fit this year and able to work on that combination from day one. I’m hoping to build on that and go out there and see how it goes.”
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There will still be the same defensive concerns given Talagi’s slighter frame, but that wasn’t isolated to the 20-year-old’s game anyway given he was part of a new-look left edge alongside Casey McLean, who also emerged as a key difference maker for the Panthers down the stretch.
Talagi will be better for the run against the Broncos in the preliminary final last year, even if he perhaps was guilty of going into his shell a bit where the Panthers of old would have benefited from having a genuine game-breaker in the energetic Luai to pick them back up as the contest slipped away.
Premiership-winning halfback Cooper Cronk told foxsports.com.au he expects the Talagi-Cleary combination to “go further”, while Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said the lack of player turnover more broadly will only help Penrith in its bid to win another premiership.
“It’s definitely a positive (not to lose anyone),” Cleary said earlier this week.
“Last year we sort of had a few changes in the team, particularly some young guys throughout the season they become more familiar with the team.
“So to be able to have a good pre-season together as a team definitely (helps) feel (more) connected and hopefully they show that on the field.
“That’s all to happen yet but again, happy with our pre-season has gone and those sorts of connections have only grown which are important.”
ROOSTERS — Will their halves live up to the hype?
Daly Cherry-Evans and Sam Walker.
Their names have been said together in the same sentence more than any other two players this pre-season, and rightly so.
Cherry-Evans arrives at the Roosters as one of the club’s most high-profile recruits, having departed the Sea Eagles, a club he looked destined to end his career at.
The veteran wanted a new challenge, namely winning a premiership with a new club, a glamour one at that, alongside one of the game’s most exciting halfbacks.
But as we know of big-name signings, they don’t always work out and Walker is urging fans to be patient.
“Hopefully it clicks straight away but we know most likely it’s going to take a little bit of time,” he said to AAP.
“But as long as we work hard at our fundamentals, work hard with what we can control at the start of the year, that’s going to be a really important step for us to win games while we’re still building our combination.”
However, the question stands — how patient can you be with a 37-year-old playmaker, who has a one-year contract with an option for another?
The Tricolours have a small premiership window if DCE is their missing piece, and Trent Robinson will be desperate for his halves to click.
To make sure they do the most damage, he also has a plan — a roving halves… trio.
James Tedesco is set to play a ball-playing role alongside Walker and Cherry-Evans, who won’t be boxed in to rigid halves positions.
“We won’t be the traditional six or seven, that’s for sure,” Walker said to News Corp.
“At different times, we’re going to share the load a fair bit.
“We both have the freedom to roam around, I won’t be stuck on one side of the field, as a footballer I can’t do that, and he’s very similar as well.”
Meanwhile, Tedesco echoed that sentiment, saying: “The thing with Chez and Sammy is they can both play the first receiver, second receiver or third receiver.
“All three of us can interchange into those different roles, and I like it because it gives us a bit of freedom.
“I feel like with Sammy and Chez, they’re not a genuine halfback, they’re not a genuine five-eighth, they can fit between both and that’s going to add to our game.”
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STORM — Can they overcome a mass exodus?
The Storm have been gutted coming into the 2026 season.
It began with Nelson Asofa-Solomona being granted a release from his lucrative contract and superstar fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen followed, ending his stint with the Melbourne club.
Bronson Garlick (Rabbitohs), Grant Anderson (Broncos) and Jonah Pezet (Eels) had already signed elsewhere, while Dean Ieremia was also released.
Throw in the mix an Achilles injury to Xavier Coates and Eliesa Katoa suffering a season-ending string of head knocks — and it’s fair to say Melbourne are in uncharted territory.
Not often do you see the Storm start the season with question marks surrounding a number of positions, although they do benefit from having their No.6, No.7 and No.9 locked in.
At fullback also, rising star Su’a Fa’alogo looks set to get first crack, although there’s no certainty he remains in that position for the full 2026 season if he gets off to a rocky start.
While Melbourne are gunning to recruit Zac Lomax, who would slot straight into Coates’ vacant wing spot — should they not have the former Eels gun available, Bellamy has two largely unknown commodities to pick from.
Moses Leo is one, having played two NRL games to date after joining the club in 2025 fresh off a Paris Olympics campaign with the All Blacks 7s.
Hugo Peel is the other, with the 20-year-old impressing during pre-season and earning a starting wing spot in the Storm’s last trial.
Ultimately, Leo got the nod and solved one issue in the centres, with Nick Meaney shifting to the wing.
The other problem was in the back row, with Katoa’s omission shaping as a huge loss considering he is one of the NRL’s premier forwards.
Joe Chan and Ativalu Lisati will slot into those roles, with Shawn Blore also sidelined to start the season.
But overall, it’s unusual for Melbourne to lose so many players and have such a big turnover — but Bellamy has a plan according to Cooper Cronk.
The master coach, after years of speculation surrounding his future, signed a contract until the end of the 2028 season, having previously only extended his stay for one year at a time.
In his past two campaigns, the Storm have lost in the grand final.
Cronk believes, had they have won, Bellamy may have made a different contract decision, with a big goal in mind to achieve across his next three years.
“I don’t know this, but if he had won one of the last two, I am pretty certain he retires,” Cronk said on the Kayo Sports NRL podcast.
“The fact that he hasn’t signed on for one year tells me that (he is thinking ) ‘alright guys, we have gone so close in the last two years, I am all in, you’re all in with me. Lets get it done’.
“Because the Storm haven’t been under pressure for a long time, they are so consistent… they will be in the top four again, but they have lost two grand finals in a row.
“Harry Grant, Jahrome Hughes, Cameron Munster. I am telling you, I have lost a few grand finals, and you second guess yourself.”
So can they reach a grand final again? For Cronk it comes down to the spine, not the loss of the players around them.
“The key to the Melbourne Storm is they have got arguably the best coach, arguably the best five-eighth, halfback and No.9 in the game, those are the guys that are going to deliver on premiership day,”
“So if I’m those three guys, I have checked myself are losing a grand final. You have got to get better and stare that challenge in the face again.
“The rest of the team will follow Hughes, Munster and Grant do.”
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BULLDOGS — Can Cameron Ciraldo make two five-eighths in the halves work?
The Bulldogs can be a top four team again in 2026, but their ability to be a genuine premiership contender will depend on their halves combination firing in attack.
The Bulldogs have one of the best defences in the NRL under Cameron Ciraldo, but unless Lachlan Galvin owns the No.7 jersey or the team reshuffles Matt Burton to bring in Sean O’Sullivan, it will be hard for the team to go all the way.
Braith Anasta believes the Bulldogs are heading in the right direction, but their changes in the spine last season hurt their momentum.
“I still see the Bulldogs on the right track,” Anasta said on the Kayo NRL Podcast.
“They had the hiccups last season with the changing key positions and we’re not sure if it unsettled them or not. We’re not sure if it impacted the back end of the year or not.
We’ll never know because unfortunately, they weren’t as good at the back end as they were to start or mid-season.”
Anasta warned the ability of the Bulldogs to go from a top four team to a premiership contender will come down to their halves combination clicking, adding that story is “going to be big” like it was last season.
“It’s not going anywhere,” he said.
“And whether Bulldogs fans like it or not the first month is going to be high pressure.
“The first eight weeks and all eyes will be on Galvin. All eyes will be on Burton. All eyes will be on that combination.
“Mitch Woods coming through. What do they do with him? And then it’ll be, they’re either going to go great and if they do go great, they can win a comp. Or they’re going to be having to change it all around again and there’s going to be pressure on Ciraldo. There’s going to be pressure on Gould.
“But that’s the reality.”
Anasta feels Galvin has all the makings of a superstar player, but the question remains which position is he best suited too?
The former Tigers playmaker showed strong signs in the team’s opening game against the Dragons, digging right into the line and forming a lethal combination with Jacob Preston.
Halves partner Matt Burton, on the other hand, didn’t offer much in attack and may be under more pressure considering the Bulldogs have a genuine, organising halfback in Sean O’Sullivan waiting in the wings.
But that again goes back to whether Galvin would benefit from having a more traditional halfback next to him, freeing him up to play more off-the-cuff.
“Is he a five-eighth or is he a No.7? Can he make that No.7 his own? Can he run a football team? Does he know where to get to the right spots on the field to execute the right plays to therefore bring the best out of the players around him?” Anasta asked of Galvin.
“His short kicking game, I think is really good. Can he get his long kicking game right?
“Now they’ve had a full pre-season I think he will be a lot better for it, and I think it can work. It’s just we’re going to find out.”
On the evidence of the first game against the Dragons, the Bulldogs’ halves still have work to do and their decision making down the stretch in the lead-up to the 15-14 Golden Point win was called into question.
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Fox League’s Paul Crawley is adamant the Bulldogs are still trying to fit two five-eighths into a halves combination with no genuine halfback.
“Yes Lachie Galvin was great in the first half and Matt Burton was terrific in the second half, but what we spoke about all last year continues to be the theme,” Crawley said.
“If you didn’t have all this controversy coming out about the Dragons being robbed about the refs, this is the big issue coming out of that game.
“You’ve still got, I don’t care what they try and tell you, they’ve still got two genuine five-eighths trying to team up.
“That moment where you’ve got four minutes to go and you don’t set up, they have no one taking charge of the team.
“What happened last year threatens to happen this year. Sure in time Lachie Galvin, give him 40 to 60 games as a halfback, he will probably develop.
“But I don’t think that’s their plan. I think their plan is to bring through Mitchell Woods as their No.7 and they have also got (Sean) O’Sullivan sitting there.”
To that point, Crawley said he feels the Bulldogs played their best footy this season in the trial when O’Sullivan came on at halfback and Galvin moved to five-eighth with Burton at centre.
So, will there be a point where the Bulldogs will be forced to make another tough decision? Ciraldo proved he was willing to do it last year with Toby Sexton. Will he do it again?
“(O’Sullivan) hasn’t got Galvin’s flare and he hasn’t got his talent, but he is just a natural seven. That seems to be what they’re lacking,” Crawley said.
“So will they swallow their pride?”
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