The 2023 NRL season was the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, the longest in league history, followed by a finals series contested by the top eight teams on the competition table. The Penrith Panthers were the 2023 minor and major premiers.
Teams For the 2023 season, the number of teams in the NRL increased from sixteen to seventeen with the inclusion of a fourth Queensland-based club, the Dolphins, based at Redcliffe. It is the first time the number of Premiership teams has changed since 2007 when the Gold Coast Titans joined the competition.
Colours Club Season Home ground(s) Head coach Captain(s) Brisbane Broncos 36th season Suncorp Stadium Kevin Walters Adam Reynolds Canberra Raiders 42nd season GIO Stadium Canberra Ricky Stuart Jarrod Croker & Elliott Whitehead Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 89th season Accor Stadium & CommBank Stadium Cameron Ciraldo Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Matt Burton, & Reed Mahoney Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 57th season PointsBet Stadium Craig Fitzgibbon Wade Graham & Dale Finucane Dolphins 1st season Suncorp Stadium, Kayo Stadium, & Sunshine Coast Stadium Wayne Bennett Jesse Bromwich Gold Coast Titans 17th season Cbus Super Stadium → Jim Lenihan (interim) Tino Fa'asuamaleaui Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 74th season 4 Pines Park Anthony Seibold Daly Cherry-Evans Melbourne Storm 26th season AAMI Park Craig Bellamy Christian Welch Newcastle Knights 36th season McDonald Jones Stadium Adam O'Brien Jayden Brailey & Kalyn Ponga New Zealand Warriors 29th season Go Media Stadium Mt. Smart Andrew Webster Tohu Harris North Queensland Cowboys 29th season Queensland Country Bank Stadium Todd Payten Jason Taumalolo & Chad Townsend Parramatta Eels 77th season CommBank Stadium Brad Arthur Clint Gutherson & Junior Paulo Penrith Panthers 57th season BlueBet Stadium Ivan Cleary Isaah Yeo & Nathan Cleary South Sydney Rabbitohs 114th season Accor Stadium Jason Demetriou Cameron Murray St. George Illawarra Dragons 25th season Netstrata Jubilee Stadium & WIN Stadium → Ryan Carr (interim) Ben Hunt Sydney Roosters 116th season Allianz Stadium Trent Robinson James Tedesco Wests Tigers 24th season Leichhardt Oval, Campbelltown Sports Stadium & CommBank Stadium Tim Sheens Apisai Koroisau
Collective bargaining agreement issues The start of the season was overshadowed by ongoing issues between the NRL and the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA). By February 2023, the RLPA and the NRL were at a stalemate following the expiration of the previous collective bargaining agreement in November 2022.
The NRL had announced an increased salary cap on 23 December 2022, surprising the RLPA who had yet to agree to terms with the NRL.
By February 2023, the possibility of a player's strike or other industrial action had yet to be ruled out by the RLPA.
In response to the stalled negotiations over the new agreement, in early July the RLPA took industrial action with players boycotting almost all broadcast and media engagements. The RLPA later publishing a list of frequently asked questions in response to media reporting.
In Round 22, the players took further action by covering the NRL logo on their jerseys.
Pre-season
Pre-season in 2023 saw the introduction of the NRL Pre-season Challenge in attempt to ensure each team had played an even number of matches before the start of the season. The annual All Stars match was still played, however the Pre-season Challenge saw a vast reduction in the number of trial played. As the 2023 World Club Challenge was hosted in Australia, the competition was incorporated into the final week of the Pre-season Challenge, which also resulted in St Helens participating in the NRL Pre-season Challenge in both weeks.
Matches were played between 4 February and 19 February 2023, before a 11-day lead up until the beginning of the regular season.
All Stars match
Rotorua hosted the All Stars match, which was the first time the match was played in New Zealand.
Trials Italics indicates a non-NRL club
DateTimeHomeScoreAwayStadiumAttendanceReport 4 February 2023 16:00 AEST (UTC+10:00) Wynnum Manly Seagulls 12–44 Brisbane Broncos Kougari Oval, Brisbane Report 4 February 2023 19:00 AEST (UTC+10:00) Central Queensland Capras 8–24 Dolphins Marley Brown Oval, Gladstone 4,500 Report
Pre-season Challenge
Regular season
Results
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 F1 F2 F3 GF Brisbane BroncosPEN+1NQL+12SGI+22DOL+6WTI+34CAN−6GCT+17PAR+10SOU−26MAN+26MEL−8PEN−11NZL+4CRO+8NEW+4XGCT−6DOL+8XCBY+20SOU+16SYD+22NQL+16PAR+44XCAN+11MEL−10MEL+26XNZL+30PEN–2 Canberra RaidersNQL−1DOL−6CRO+4NEW−10PEN−41BRI+6SGI+6XDOL+1*CBY+4PAR+8MAN−28SOU+7WTI+1NZL−22XSYD+2GCT+4SGI+10XNZL−1*NEW−22WTI+4MEL−46CBY+12BRI−11CRO−18NEW−2 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsMAN−25MEL+14WTI+4NZL−2NQL+1*SOU−34PAR−26CRO−13SGI+2CAN−4NZL−12GCT+2XSYD−1PAR−22CRO−38XNEW−66SOU+4BRI−20PEN−26DOL+1XNEW−36CAN−12MAN−18GCT−4 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksSOU−9PAR+4CAN−4SGI+32NZL−2XSYD+10CBY+13NQL+38DOL−20MAN+6NEW+20XBRI−8MEL−44CBY+38XSGI+36WTI+24NZL−32MAN−4PEN−28SOU+10GCT+30NQL+20NEW−26CAN+18SYD−1 DolphinsSYD+10CAN+6NEW+16BRI−6SGI−26NQL+10SOU−22GCT+2CAN−1*CRO+20XMEL−8SGI+14NZL−22MAN−40XPAR−28BRI−8GCT+2*PEN−10XCBY−1NEW−2SYD−16WTI−1NQL−24NZL+24 Gold Coast TitansWTI+12SGI−14MEL+4NQL−12XSGI+2BRI−17DOL−2MAN+16PAR+2NEW−20CBY−2XSOU−18WTI+16XBRI+6CAN−4DOL−2*PAR−1SYD−18NQL+9NZL−10CRO−30PEN−26MEL−21CBY+4 Manly Warringah Sea EaglesCBY+25XPAR+4SOU−1*NEW0*PEN−32MEL+10WTI+6GCT−16BRI−26CRO−6CAN+28NEW−10XDOL+40PAR−30MEL−18SYD+2XNQL−11CRO+4SGI+6SYD−10PEN−12NZL−7CBY+18WTI+42 Melbourne StormPAR+4*CBY−14GCT−4WTI+12SOU+8SYD+20MAN−10NZL+8XSOU−16BRI+8DOL+8XNQL−25CRO+44WTI+22MAN+18PEN−18XSYD+14NEW−8PAR+30PEN−20CAN+46SGI+10GCT+21BRI+10BRI−26SYD+5PEN−34 Newcastle KnightsNZL−8WTI+2DOL−16CAN+10MAN0*NZL+10PEN−1*NQL−2PAR−31XGCT+20CRO−20MAN+10XBRI−4SYD−2PEN−8CBY+66XWTI+16MEL+8CAN+22DOL+2CBY+36SOU+19CRO+26SGI+20CAN+2NZL−30 New Zealand WarriorsNEW+8SYD−8NQL+14CBY+2CRO+2NEW−10NQL+8MEL−8SYD−14PEN−12CBY+12XBRI−4DOL+22CAN+22XSGI+30SOU−22PAR+36CRO+32CAN+1*XGCT+10WTI+8MAN+7SGI+12DOL−24PEN−26NEW+30BRI−30 North Queensland CowboysCAN+1BRI−12NZL−14GCT+12CBY−1*DOL−10NZL−8NEW+2CRO−38SYD+14SGI+20WTI−48PAR−8MEL+25XPEN+4*SOU+25WTI+74XMAN+11PAR+8GCT−9BRI−16XCRO−20DOL+24PEN−32 Parramatta EelsMEL−4*CRO−4MAN−4PEN+1*SYD−8WTI+6CBY+26BRI−10NEW+31GCT−2CAN−8SOU+20NQL+8XCBY+22MAN+30DOL+28XNZL−36GCT+1NQL−8MEL−30SGI+6BRI−44SYD−22PEN+14X Penrith PanthersBRI−1SOU+6XPAR−1*CAN+41MAN+32NEW+1*SOU−2WTI−4NZL+12SYD+44BRI+11XSGI+8SYD+24NQL−4*NEW+8MEL+18XDOL+10CBY+26CRO+28MEL+20MAN+12GCT+26PAR−14NQL+32NZL+26XMEL+34BRI+2 South Sydney RabbitohsCRO+9PEN−6SYD−2MAN+1*MEL−8CBY+34DOL+22PEN+2BRI+26MEL+16WTI+20PAR−20CAN−7GCT+18SGI−6XNQL−25NZL+22CBY−4XBRI−16WTI+14CRO−10SGI+12NEW−19XSYD−14 St. George Illawarra DragonsXGCT+14BRI−22CRO−32DOL+26GCT−2CAN−6SYD−1CBY−2WTI−2NQL−20SYD+2DOL−14PEN−8SOU+6XNZL−30CRO−36CAN−10XWTI+4MAN−6PAR−6SOU−12MEL−10NZL−12NEW−20 Sydney RoostersDOL−10NZL+8SOU+2XPAR+8MEL−20CRO−10SGI+1NZL+14NQL−14PEN−44SGI−2XCBY+1PEN−24NEW+2CAN−2MAN−2XMEL−14GCT+18BRI−22MAN+10DOL+16PAR+22WTI+24SOU+14CRO+1MEL−5 Wests TigersGCT−12NEW−2CBY−4MEL−12BRI−34PAR−6XMAN−6PEN+4SGI+2SOU−20NQL+48XCAN−1GCT−16MEL−22XNQL−74CRO−24NEW−16SGI−4SOU−14CAN−4NZL−8DOL+1SYD−24MAN−42 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 F1 F2 F3 GF
Bold – Home game X – Bye * – Golden point game Opponent for round listed above margin
Ladder
Ladder progression Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top eight. Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round. Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round. Underlined numbers indicate that the team had a bye during that round.
Team1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526271 Penrith Panthers 0 2 4 4 6 8 10 10 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 40 422 Brisbane Broncos 2 4 6 8 10 10 12 14 14 16 16 16 18 20 22 24 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 423 Melbourne Storm 2 2 2 4 6 8 8 10 12 12 14 16 18 18 20 22 24 24 26 28 28 30 30 32 34 36 384 New Zealand Warriors 2 2 4 6 8 8 10 10 10 10 12 14 14 16 18 20 22 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 385 Newcastle Knights 0 2 2 4 5 7 7 7 7 9 11 11 13 15 15 15 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 356 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 0 2 2 4 4 6 8 10 12 12 14 16 18 18 18 20 22 24 26 26 26 26 28 30 32 32 347 Sydney Roosters 0 2 4 6 8 8 8 10 12 12 12 12 14 16 16 18 18 18 20 20 22 22 24 26 28 30 328 Canberra Raiders 0 0 2 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 16 18 18 20 22 24 26 28 28 28 30 30 32 32 329 South Sydney Rabbitohs 2 2 2 4 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 16 16 18 18 20 20 22 22 24 24 26 26 28 28 30 3010 Parramatta Eels 0 0 0 2 2 4 6 6 8 8 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 22 24 24 24 26 26 26 28 3011 North Queensland Cowboys 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 6 6 8 10 10 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 26 26 28 28 30 3012 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2 4 6 6 7 7 9 11 11 11 11 13 13 15 17 17 17 19 21 21 23 25 25 25 25 27 2913 Dolphins 2 4 6 6 6 8 8 10 10 12 14 14 16 16 16 18 18 18 20 20 22 22 22 22 22 22 2414 Gold Coast Titans 2 2 4 4 6 8 8 8 10 12 12 12 14 14 16 18 20 20 20 20 20 22 22 22 22 22 2415 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 0 2 4 4 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 10 12 12 12 12 14 14 16 16 16 18 20 20 20 20 2016 St. George Illawarra Dragons 2 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 10 12 12 12 12 14 16 16 16 16 16 16 1617 Wests Tigers 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 6 6 8 10 10 10 10 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 14 14 14
Finals series
HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and time (Local)VenueRefereeCrowd Qualifying and Elimination Finals Brisbane Broncos 26–0 Melbourne Storm 8 September, 7:50 pm Suncorp Stadium Grant Atkins 50,157 Penrith Panthers 32–6 New Zealand Warriors 9 September, 4:05 pm BlueBet Stadium Adam Gee 21,525 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 12–13 Sydney Roosters 9 September, 7:50 pm PointsBet Stadium Gerard Sutton 12,557 Newcastle Knights † 30–28 Canberra Raiders 10 September, 4:05 pm McDonald Jones Stadium Ashley Klein 29,548 Semi Finals Melbourne Storm 18–13 Sydney Roosters 15 September, 7:50 pm AAMI Park Ashley Klein 19,534 New Zealand Warriors 40–10 Newcastle Knights 16 September, 6:05 pm Go Media Stadium Adam Gee 26,083 Preliminary Finals Penrith Panthers 38–4 Melbourne Storm 22 September, 7:50 pm Accor Stadium Adam Gee 35,578 Brisbane Broncos 42–12 New Zealand Warriors 23 September, 7:50 pm Suncorp Stadium Gerard Sutton 52,273 † Match decided in extra time.
Chart
Grand final
Player statistics and records In Round 10, Wayne Bennett became the first coach to coach 900 games in the NRL and its predecessor competitions. In Round 22, Cameron McInnes broke the record for the most tackles in a game in the NRL era (1998–present) with 81. In the Grand Final, Ezra Mam tied the record for most tries by a five-eighth in a season, with 18.
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 27.
Top 5 point scorers PointsPlayerClubTriesGoalsField Goals244Jamayne IsaakoDolphins24732216Nick MeaneyMelbourne Storm10880183Nicho HynesCronulla-Sutherland Sharks5811182Adam ReynoldsBrisbane Broncos5793176Shaun JohnsonNew Zealand Warriors8712 Top 5 try scorers TriesPlayerClub24Jamayne IsaakoDolphins23Dominic YoungNewcastle Knights21Dallin Watene-ZelezniakNew Zealand Warriors21Alex JohnstonSouth Sydney Rabbitohs21Mikaele RavalawaSt. George Illawarra Dragons
Top 5 goal kickers GoalsPlayerClub88Nick MeaneyMelbourne Storm81Nicho HynesCronulla-Sutherland Sharks79Adam ReynoldsBrisbane Broncos73Jamayne IsaakoDolphins72Nathan ClearyPenrith Top 5 tacklers TacklesPlayerClub1,015Blayke BraileyCronulla-Sutherland Sharks1,014Damien CookSouth Sydney Rabbitohs986Reed MahoneyCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs968Nat ButcherSydney Roosters956J'maine HopgoodParramatta Eels956Reece RobsonNorth Queensland Cowboys
Attendances Club figures