The rest of the NRL Round 1 gets underway this weekend in plain old regular locations like Melbourne, Brisbane and Manly, far away from the glitz and shiny excitables of Las Vegas and sadly for the second week in a row, too far from the Vegas of the West – Rooty Hill RSL. Talking of a lack of glitz, our 2026 NRL Round 1 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview Part Two is simply taking care of business and working overtime.
Each week this season we will offer up a quick preview glance for each match, throw in a bunch of barely interesting stats, and mix in a pinch of opinion, plus throw in our weekly predictions like chicken salt on hot chips and you have something that seagulls and humans will fight over.
2026 NRL Round 1 Tips – Part Two
Here are our tips for the week ahead. How did we get to here? By going through all the visuals and stats below.
MELBOURNE by 8
WARRIORS by 2
PENRITH by 4
GOLD COAST by 8
CANBERRA by 6
DOLPHINS by 12
2026 NRL Round 1 Tips Part Two Weekly H2H Stats Summary Cheat Sheets
Looking for a cheat sheet for the weekend’s upcoming games?
Here’s as much information that we could cram into one size fits all visual.
Plus our famed barely interesting stats all in the one place for this week of fewer games.
2026 NRL Round 1 Tips Part Two – Weekly Barely Interesting Stats
Our famed barely interesting stats all in the one place for you convenience and arguments.
THURSDAY 8pm – MELBOURNE v PARRAMATTA
Melbourne last lost a Round 1 clash in 2001, a mere 23 wins in a row.
Melbourne have won six in a row v Parramatta, and passed 40 points three times in that run.
Melbourne have won 15 of their last 17 Thursday games since 2023. Their overall record of W38 L8 since 1998 is pretty good too.
But Melbourne’s home Thursday record can’t be beat, and it hasn’t. 20 wins from 20 games.
Parramatta lead Melbourne 3-2 in the Thursday night H2H. All five of those games were at CommBank Stadium.
FRIDAY 6pm – WAHS v ROOSTERS
Roosters have won nine of their last 10 games v Warriors, but not the last game in 2025 where the Wahs won 14-6 on a Friday.
Fridays are a good day for the Warriors to play the Roosters, they are unbeaten in three games.
The Warriors have lost their only two Round 1 games at Mt Smart Stadium on a Friday.
Roosters Round 1 form isn’t great with four wins from their last 13 Round 1 games. And they have lost their last three Roun 1 games away.
Roosters are W3 L4 away on a Friday last season, Warriors were W4 L2 at home on a Friday last season.
FRIDAY 8pm – BRISBANE v PENRITH
Penrith have won only one of their ten Round 1 away games, that was in 2006. Brisbane’s 50-50 record at home for Round 1 is better.
Broncos were W2 L2 at home on a Friday last season. On any day at home they finished the season with a W7 L1 record from June.
Since Covid in 2020, Penrith are W9 L2 v Broncos.
Last season’s 16-14 Finals win over Penrith broke a run of six straight losses at Suncorp Stadium for the Broncos v Penrith.
Broncos have won six of the last eight games v Penrith at Suncorp Stadium on a Friday.
Penrith (W1 D1 L2) won just one game of four away to Queensland team last season.
SATURDAY 5:30pm – CRONULLA v GOLD COAST
Gold Coast have won 1/7 Round 1 games on a Saturday. Cronulla have lost their last four Round 1 clashes on a Saturday.
Cronulla have won 12 of their last 13 games v Gold Coast going back to 2018.
Sharks have won their last seven games at Shark Park.
Cronulla won all three home games v Qld sides in 2025 by a combined 110-46.
Sharks were W5 L2 on a Saturday at home in 2025.
Gold Coast were W1 L5 away to Sydney teams in 2025. Since 2022, the Titans are W4 L20 away to Sydney teams.
Gold Coast have won just one of their last 10 games away to Sydney teams on a Saturday.
SATURDAY 7:30pm – MANLY v CANBERRA
Manly have won their first round clash, which has been at home, for the last three seasons. Canberra have lost their last six Round 1 away clashes on a Saturday, with their last win coincidentally at Manly in 2006.
It’s six wins piece on a Saturday between these sides. And it’s three wins a piece at Manly on a Saturday.
Manly finished the season by winning five of their last six home games.
Manly also finished the season by winning six of their last seven at home on a Saturday.
SUNDAY 4pm – DOLPHINS v SOUTH SYDNEY @ Suncorp Stadium
South Sydney have lost their last five games at Suncorp Stadium, with a last win in 2023.
Souths are W2 L4 at Suncorp on a Sunday. Dolphins are W5 L3 on a Sunday at Suncorp Stadium.
Dolphins have a decent W8 L3 record at Suncorp Stadium v Sydney teams. It’s 2/2 on a Sunday v Sydney teams, one of those wins was their first ever game in 2023.
Souths have won just two of their past ten games on a Sunday.
Unlike 2025, there should be no cyclone to affect this game.
Bonus Round 1 Stats
Some key stats ahead of the other first games of the NRL season.
READ MORE: THE GURGLER’S FULL NRL 2026 GEAR
We’ve been working hard for you to bring you the 2026 NRL Season Previews from every angle and angel possible. But never Jo Angel.
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NRL 2026 RATINGS PREDICTIONS
2026 NRL JERSEY RATINGS WITH AI GREK NORMAN
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2026 NRL DRAW ANALYSIS – TEAM BY TEAM
THE A TO Z OF THE 2025 NRL SEASON
