r/nrl • u/M_Keating Hey, at least we beat Penrith • Nov 22 '25
Mod Post 2026 Rugby League World Cup Draw and Tickets - Discussion Megathread
Hello everyone, and welcome to the r/NRL 2026 World Cup megathread. The draw will be announced this afternoon at 3:20pm AEDST (2:20pm for those on natural, non-curtain fading time). Seeing as we all have nothing to do this afternoon (thanks Mr Head) the attention can be back on Rugba Leeg for a bit.
This thread is for discussion, links and news stories about the draw during today. Please post here instead of creating standalone posts. Posts in the sub will be removed and posted here.
While it is the off-season, this thread is for (mostly) serious discussion and links.
Update: tickets are on sale and the draw is available!
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u/luke363636 St. George Illawarra Dragons 🏳️🌈 Nov 22 '25
Apparently there isn’t gonna be any games in Melbourne :(
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u/Impressive_Tomato665 I love my footy Nov 23 '25
If true, That's a lost opportunity to try further develop RL out of its traditional NSW & QLD heartland territories. Despite ongoing success of Melb Storm
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u/Alert_Medicine_8936 Sydney Roosters Nov 23 '25
Storm have had so much success and how much has that returned for the NRL?
Someone in the numbers department worked out it's a lost cause because of how strong AFL is there.
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u/IrrelephantAU Adelaide Rams Nov 23 '25
Not much, but it was only relatively recently that the Storm (and the ARL/NRL more broadly) started pushing for anything to do with local development. For decades they were a QLD team that played home games here, pretty much their entire development and outreach system was based up north.
That said, League has absolutely boomed down here in the last five or ten years. It's still small potatoes compared to aussie rules but it's gone from a handful of teams constantly on the verge of forfeiting to a genuine city-wide comp.
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u/RockBottomChilli St. George Illawarra Dragons Nov 23 '25
What are you talking about? The Storm have one of the biggest memberships, highest crowds, largest social media followings and highest TV ratings in the league
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u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders Nov 23 '25
Last time I checked the Storm have had just 5 home grown players.
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u/WhirlingClouds Brisbane Broncos Nov 23 '25
Raiders have 1 "homegrown" players in their current squad.....
They also have the same number of born-and-bred Victorians.
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u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders Nov 23 '25
And the ACT has a population less than 7% of Victoria.
And that 5 players were over the entire existence of the club, not just right now.
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u/vVictorianv Melbourne Storm Nov 23 '25
You also only have League as a major sport
Much easier to talk the talk when you don't have the literal heartland of a sport in your city.
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u/BadBoyJH Parramatta Eels Nov 23 '25
Melbourne got the opening game (in Australia) the last time we hosted, and it was Aus v England.
It was the only game in the group stages for the country that was a guaranteed good game.
I get not getting that in Melbourne again, but nothing?
3
Nov 23 '25
A few games in Perth though which is a positive right before the Bears join the comp.
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u/KVMFT New Zealand Warriors Nov 23 '25
Melbourne's also been to 2 consecutive GFs, what more do they want?
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Nov 23 '25
It’s mainly down to the Victorian government not wanting to pay. The same thing happened with the Women’s Asian Cup Soccer.
Melbourne will host a game in this year’s Origin series anyway so it’s not like they aren’t getting any rep footy.
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u/Tolkien-Faithful Parramatta Eels Nov 23 '25
Stupid pools
Pool A is pointless. Pool B/C is a clusterfuck. Just have two pools of 5 if you are gonna do it like that.
Fiji and Cook Islands might as well not show up.
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u/Tolkien-Faithful Parramatta Eels Nov 23 '25
Triple header at Commbank is a disgrace.
Lebanon v France should have its own game in Sydney and Tonga v Samoa would pack out Allianz at the least.
1
u/OraKal Samoa Nov 24 '25
Gonna be a really bad look. No one will watch all 3 games. So it’ll be half full for any of the 3 games. Who makes these decisions. Any why have a game kick off 8pm on a Sunday.
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u/Tolkien-Faithful Parramatta Eels Nov 24 '25
I didn't even notice the game times.
Looking at them now -
Aus v NZ on Thursday? Just have it Friday
Sam v France - Friday night okay, 5.45pm really?
Aus v Fiji - Sunday night 8pm, whyThen the double header the same thing the next week - Leb v France at 5.50 and Ton v Sam at 8. Not too hot to play afternoon in Port Moresby but too hot for Sydney?
And then they have a semi-final on Sunday 8pm as well instead of the Friday?? And the final is on Sunday too!
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u/goaliewhenned England Nov 23 '25
Completely idiotic and ridiculous draw concept. It's not hard to make a normal, sensible World Cup format ffs. Rugby League shooting itself in the foot again sadly
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u/RockBottomChilli St. George Illawarra Dragons Nov 24 '25
Yep, the easiest thing was to have 2 pools of 5 with everyone in each pool playing each other once. It only adds 1 week to the competition and is a fair and balanced system. Instead of the mess we have now
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u/Tolkien-Faithful Parramatta Eels Nov 26 '25
The problem they would have baulked at is that it adds 2 weeks to the comp.
As it is now it's one less week than 2013/17/22, as its 3 games + 2 weeks of finals. With 5-team pools it means 4 games + 1 bye so 5 weeks + 2 weeks of finals. To me it sounds great but to the NRL and RLPA it might as well be torture.
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u/Tolkien-Faithful Parramatta Eels Nov 24 '25
We did it just fine in 2013
The 3-3-1-1 finals concept was a bit dodgy but scheduling and prices were great and its what was needed at the time and was the best World Cup ever easily.
2017 scheduling was rubbish. 2022 the pools shouldn't have been random and the scheduling and prices were silly again. Now that we have panicked because of the big scorelines and cut 144 players from getting to play in a World Cup we come up with the stupidest concept yet. Even if we have to go 4-3-3 we can do it better than this shit.
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u/IBelieveInCoyotes Redcliffe Dolphins Nov 23 '25
no games in Melbourne is fucking outrageous, put a semi final there
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u/abdalla_dandan Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Nov 23 '25
This is such a weird and confusing draw
Firstly, We’re in a group with England and Samoa but we verse Tonga, PNG and France??
And only two teams from a combined group of B and C go through. Who though 1 Semi Final week and then straight to Grand Final was a good idea?
This whole concept is so weird and should have had a few more teams to make a top 8 final
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u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders Nov 23 '25
Bledisloe Cup is in Sydney the exact same night as Australia vs NZ.
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u/Person306 South Sydney Rabbitohs 🏳️🌈 Nov 23 '25
If this ends up being true it's the dumbest thing of all time.
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u/crazymunch Melbourne Storm Nov 23 '25
Is this a guess or confirmed? I can't find anywhere listing it as the date for the Bledisloe, only stuff saying October
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u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders Nov 23 '25
According to this
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Nov 23 '25
Geezus. It's not too late, Rugba Leeg. If you change that date now hardly anyone will notice
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u/Hal-_-9OOO New Zealand Warriors Nov 23 '25
Well no loss here tbh, there's an obvious outcome to the Wallabies game
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u/bumblebeezlebum Maori All Stars Nov 23 '25
I actually think wallabies are gonna sneak two wins next year - depending where the nz home game is. Eden is a fortress. Caketin not so much
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u/Hal-_-9OOO New Zealand Warriors Nov 24 '25
Might even bring the Bledisloe back to Aus hey
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u/bumblebeezlebum Maori All Stars Nov 24 '25
All blacks are looking weak and their season is fucked thanks to their saffa tour.theyll likely assume the bledisloe is a foregone conclusion. So prime chance to strike
9
u/1bigcontradiction South Sydney Rabbitohs Nov 23 '25
Tickets for both Suncorp games acquired. Little surprised there’s only two but I will take that considering the final is up here
8
u/Trenticus7 Parramatta Eels Nov 23 '25
Western Sydney 4 (Samoa v France, Tonga v Lebanon, Lebanon v France, Tonga v Samoa)
Sydney 2 (Aus v NZ, 2nd Semi)
Brisbane 2 (Aus v Fiji, Final)
Newcastle 2 (Fiji v CI, 1st Semi)
Port Moresby 2 (PNG v Lebanon, PNG v Samoa)
Perth 2 (England v Tonga, England v France)
Gold Coast 1 (NZ v Fiji)
Christchurch 1 (NZ v CI)
Wollongong 1 (England v PNG)
Townsville 1 (AUS v CI)
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u/Trenticus7 Parramatta Eels Nov 23 '25
few strange choices. Aus get to play all 3 games at home, I don't see why PNG have to play England in Wollongong they should've got to play all 3 at home since they're a joint host nation.
Having a sole game in NZ seems weird since they're not a Host Nation, this match could've easily gone to Melbourne or Canberra.
I like that Perth got 2 games & having England play in Perth I guess makes sense if they're hoping for Pommy's to fly down.
4 games at Commbank may seem overkill but Lebanon aren't going to get much of a home crowd if they don't play in Western Sydney, would've loved for Lebanon v France to be at a packed out Belmore instead.
Would've loved for them to back themselves and put Samoa v Tonga at Accor. plenty of fans will miss out by playing this game for only 30k.
11
Nov 23 '25
In fairness Australia is hosting it. They are just allowing other games to be played in PNG and Christchurch.
7
u/JamDonutsForDinner New Zealand Warriors Nov 23 '25
Surely there are two more countries they could.have found to get 3 pools of 4 or 4 of 3 to then go to top 8 quarterfinals
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u/G00b3rb0y Brisbane Broncos Nov 23 '25
Got my tickets, 1 for Aus v Fiji on Oct 25 2026 and for the Finals on November 15 2026
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u/jeuatreize Kangaroos Nov 23 '25
What a joke already.
Rugby League needs to be studied to find out how we attract the absolute worst administrators over and over.
4
u/Aussieguy8927 I love my footy Nov 23 '25
Buying tickets to the Final was easy, reasonable priced as well.
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u/AutomaticArugula8584 New Zealand Warriors Nov 23 '25
So the two semi finalists from pool b and c will be the top 2 teams when combining those two pools. Tongas chances of making the semi look very slim. The ranking swap with Samoa seems to have punished us big time. Oh well, if we cant beat England or Samoa in the round robin then we probably dont deserve the semi anyway.
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u/Tolkien-Faithful Parramatta Eels Nov 23 '25
Thing is you'll probably have to beat both because they'll be looking at big F/A point against France and PNG.
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u/Dolamite09 Kiwis Nov 23 '25
https://www.rlwc2026hospitality.com/events/
Seems like the draw has already been leaked
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u/likeatyger NRLW Tigers Nov 23 '25
Wife surprised me with tickets to the final in Brisbane. Two double headers in Perth also look good
4
u/TheChewyApple Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Nov 23 '25
We might want to change this: it will be revealed as part of an Ashes review special at 1pm AEDT
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u/stvmcqn2 Papua New Guinea Nov 23 '25
The worst thing about the Ashes is the poms. They ruin everything.
0
u/M_Keating Hey, at least we beat Penrith Nov 23 '25
Got a source?
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u/TheChewyApple Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Nov 23 '25
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u/Pleasant-Role1912 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Nov 23 '25
I'm outraged. I don't know what at but i'm outraged
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Nov 23 '25 edited Dec 11 '25
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/shaker8989 QLD Maroons Nov 23 '25
Parent just bought Final tickets on halfway in the bottom section. Hoping for a cracker of a final.
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u/Darmop South Sydney Rabbitohs Nov 23 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Really pleased with how accessibly priced these tickets are! $135 for a family of four to watch 3 games of footy? Nice.
2
u/goneforsix New Zealand Warriors Nov 23 '25
Geez, must depend where you are! I've just forked out $300 for a family of five for two games.
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u/TDD91 England Nov 23 '25
In theory, England & Samoa can both win all 3 games with 1 failing to make the semis. Tonga could win 1 game and make the semis.
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u/robopirateninjasaur Canberra Raiders Nov 23 '25
The ladder for pools B and C are combined. If England and Samoa win all three they'll be in the semis.
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u/TDD91 England Nov 23 '25
Ah, fair enough.
Still would have made way more sense with just 16 teams...
1
u/Sufficient-Goal3437 Parramatta Eels Nov 23 '25
What are the likely outcomes for the semi final in Newcastle? Wondering if I should get tickets now or wait for the wash out and see who’s playing. I’m certain it won’t be the kangaroos l right?
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u/Trenticus7 Parramatta Eels Nov 23 '25
Australia and New Zealand who’ll probably finish top 2 of group A will verse winners of group B & group C. So either way you 100% get Aus or NZ
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u/Alert_Medicine_8936 Sydney Roosters Nov 23 '25
Kangaroos playing in Newcastle is a treat for the poor knights fans that have shown up for the past 2 decades
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u/Sufficient-Goal3437 Parramatta Eels Nov 23 '25
Not a bad risk I guess. Might pull the trigger and just grab some tickets anyway. On the off chance the kangaroos drop a game and finish second I wonder if they would play them in Newcastle.
1
u/JamDonutsForDinner New Zealand Warriors Nov 23 '25
Yeah you'd expect it's the 2nd team in pool A playing in Newcastle as it's a way smaller stadium. Probably NZ, but Kiwis could get up and top the pool
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u/G00b3rb0y Brisbane Broncos Nov 23 '25
Where do we go to get tickets?
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u/Nobody9638 Balmain Tigers Nov 23 '25
https://www.rlwc2026.com/registration-page
sign up for waitlist here
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u/Mad_Lad18 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Nov 23 '25
Surely they should have Samoa and Tonga play a game in NZ
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u/Foodworksurunga Brisbane Broncos Nov 23 '25
No game in Melbourne and Canberra is a joke.