Retro Rugby League be having a hernia at these classics being chopped up
Cool vid but not sure we needed a gang vest to be made with other clubs patches. A+ for creativity.
General 2026 Fixtures
- Thread starter Billyspleen75
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Retro Rugby League be having a hernia at these classics being chopped up
Cool vid but not sure we needed a gang vest to be made with other clubs patches. A+ for creativity.
NZWarriors.com
View: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRA6EkcgBEc/
This guy makes some good points. Raiders boss Don Furner has also criticised nrl on broncos favourable draw
On the gaps in our schedule where the club is away from Mt Smart. Like others have pointed out it is a bit of our own doing moving two games and then Magic Round.
It also felt this year we had a long stretch where the club was away from home.
The other thing with the draw. It seems every year we are listed as having an "easy" or "favourable" draw according to the experts. A lot of them seem to only take turn around days and travel into account for the Sydney teams who get a lot of games with the travel only being across town.
Last season we were coming off a poor season. Any draw would have been challenging.
Unless there are obvious weak sides or great runs of home games it's a bit hard to really assess. 2023 and 2025 we likely weren't thought of favourably going into the season. Every year there will be a few clubs that improve massively. This year Raiders and Warriors.
It's all content as it is the slow time of the year and they need to talk about the draw. A few months from now they will talk about most clubs are a top 8 sides. Into the season that gets used as dig for them failing "they should be top 8 with that roster" Some of them it seems like they have 14 teams in their top 8.
It also felt this year we had a long stretch where the club was away from home.
The other thing with the draw. It seems every year we are listed as having an "easy" or "favourable" draw according to the experts. A lot of them seem to only take turn around days and travel into account for the Sydney teams who get a lot of games with the travel only being across town.
Last season we were coming off a poor season. Any draw would have been challenging.
Unless there are obvious weak sides or great runs of home games it's a bit hard to really assess. 2023 and 2025 we likely weren't thought of favourably going into the season. Every year there will be a few clubs that improve massively. This year Raiders and Warriors.
It's all content as it is the slow time of the year and they need to talk about the draw. A few months from now they will talk about most clubs are a top 8 sides. Into the season that gets used as dig for them failing "they should be top 8 with that roster" Some of them it seems like they have 14 teams in their top 8.
NZWarriors.com
It’s easy to call any draw easy or hard based on the previous years performances but there’s no guarantee that will be the case the next season with some teams rising up the ladder and all sorts of factors
Anyone who watched us would have seen that 2024 was a lot of close results that if we were on the right side sees us finish much higher than we did, also I’ll always be of the belief AFB was a disruption on the season and was ready to leave. 2025 saw us on the right side of those close ones but injuries were too hard to overcome to key personnel. 2026 we need to cement ourselves as a top 8 team, better yet a top 4 team
'NZ' Warriors. It comes at a cost. A high one this year.
NZWarriors.com
Canberra boss Don Furner has taken a swipe at the Broncos by sensationally claiming the NRL “orchestrate” the season draw to give Brisbane more home games at Suncorp Stadium.
Finals tensions between the Broncos and Raiders have spilled over into the release of the 2026 season draw on Friday, with Furner suggesting the reigning premiers get a rails run with the NRL.
The Broncos are annually installed as the ‘away’ team for Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium _ despite the hallowed 52,000-capacity venue being Brisbane’s home ground.
That effectively guarantees Brisbane an extra home match, while their Dolphins derbies are also played at Suncorp, meaning the Broncos will play a whopping 14 games at their Queensland Fortress in 2026.
There is no love lost between the two clubs after the Broncos broke Canberra’s hearts with a pulsating 29-28 golden-point victory in this year’s epic qualifying final at GIO Stadium.
In what could be viewed as the ultimate farce, the Warriors, a New Zealand club, have been named as the ‘home’ side for their Magic Round clash next season against the Broncos at Suncorp in round 11
Furner lashed the construction of the NRL draw, questioning why the Broncos are the away team for Magic Round and pondering when Brisbane will be given a bye for the event.
The Raiders have received the bye for the seventh edition of Magic Round in 2026.
“Everybody has to take a turn (at missing Magic Round), so it will work it’s way around and we will get our turn in 2027,” Furner said.
“I can’t wait to see when the Broncos have their turn (to get a Magic Round bye).”
Asked if it’s surprising that the Broncos get an away game at Magic Round every year, Furner added: “No, that’s orchestrated for them.
“I think they end up playing 14 games at home because they also play Redcliffe there.
“They are very, very lucky but I can’t wait for the year they miss out on Magic Round.”
It’s understood the Broncos are contracted to play 12 home games at Suncorp Stadium, excluding Magic Round.
Furner found an ally in former Broncos skipper Corey Parker, who blasted the NRL for sidelining Canberra, the reigning minor premiers, for Magic Round.
“I’m having a dig at the NRL,” Parker said on his SEN radio show.
“The minor premiers, the best team, the most consistent team throughout the course of the season last year, are not there.
“(It is) an absolute disgrace ... to not see the Raiders, who were the best team last year
“Why aren’t we seeing the minor premiers this year, on the big stage here at Suncorp next year.
“I think it’s ridiculous.”
Furner, one of the longest-serving chief executives in the NRL, said the Raiders had a huge fan base in Queensland.
“It’s fine for us, but for our fans in Queensland, we are well supported up there,” he said.
“I think we are the second favourite team up there in Queensland.
“We are an exciting team to watch.
“I didn’t know this, but we have won five of our six games up there, so we play well up there.”
The rivalry between the two clubs took another twist during the week when this masthead revealed Broncos halfback young gun Coby Black would quit the club to join the Raiders in 2027.
Furner believes Queensland under-19s sensation Black, who has yet to play NRL, will relish his move to the nation’s capital.
“Coby is young,” Furner said.
“By the time he gets here in 2027, he will be at a good age.
“We do have a youth policy, we brought Ethan Sanders through and it paid dividends in the year just gone.
“It is a young person’s game, particularly in the backs, so we are excited about those guys.”
Finals tensions between the Broncos and Raiders have spilled over into the release of the 2026 season draw on Friday, with Furner suggesting the reigning premiers get a rails run with the NRL.
The Broncos are annually installed as the ‘away’ team for Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium _ despite the hallowed 52,000-capacity venue being Brisbane’s home ground.
That effectively guarantees Brisbane an extra home match, while their Dolphins derbies are also played at Suncorp, meaning the Broncos will play a whopping 14 games at their Queensland Fortress in 2026.
There is no love lost between the two clubs after the Broncos broke Canberra’s hearts with a pulsating 29-28 golden-point victory in this year’s epic qualifying final at GIO Stadium.
In what could be viewed as the ultimate farce, the Warriors, a New Zealand club, have been named as the ‘home’ side for their Magic Round clash next season against the Broncos at Suncorp in round 11
Furner lashed the construction of the NRL draw, questioning why the Broncos are the away team for Magic Round and pondering when Brisbane will be given a bye for the event.
The Raiders have received the bye for the seventh edition of Magic Round in 2026.
“Everybody has to take a turn (at missing Magic Round), so it will work it’s way around and we will get our turn in 2027,” Furner said.
“I can’t wait to see when the Broncos have their turn (to get a Magic Round bye).”
Asked if it’s surprising that the Broncos get an away game at Magic Round every year, Furner added: “No, that’s orchestrated for them.
“I think they end up playing 14 games at home because they also play Redcliffe there.
“They are very, very lucky but I can’t wait for the year they miss out on Magic Round.”
It’s understood the Broncos are contracted to play 12 home games at Suncorp Stadium, excluding Magic Round.
Furner found an ally in former Broncos skipper Corey Parker, who blasted the NRL for sidelining Canberra, the reigning minor premiers, for Magic Round.
“I’m having a dig at the NRL,” Parker said on his SEN radio show.
“The minor premiers, the best team, the most consistent team throughout the course of the season last year, are not there.
“(It is) an absolute disgrace ... to not see the Raiders, who were the best team last year
“Why aren’t we seeing the minor premiers this year, on the big stage here at Suncorp next year.
“I think it’s ridiculous.”
Furner, one of the longest-serving chief executives in the NRL, said the Raiders had a huge fan base in Queensland.
“It’s fine for us, but for our fans in Queensland, we are well supported up there,” he said.
“I think we are the second favourite team up there in Queensland.
“We are an exciting team to watch.
“I didn’t know this, but we have won five of our six games up there, so we play well up there.”
The rivalry between the two clubs took another twist during the week when this masthead revealed Broncos halfback young gun Coby Black would quit the club to join the Raiders in 2027.
Furner believes Queensland under-19s sensation Black, who has yet to play NRL, will relish his move to the nation’s capital.
“Coby is young,” Furner said.
“By the time he gets here in 2027, he will be at a good age.
“We do have a youth policy, we brought Ethan Sanders through and it paid dividends in the year just gone.
“It is a young person’s game, particularly in the backs, so we are excited about those guys.”
2 home games to start and 2 home games to end. I think most teams would snap that up if offered. Get to build momentum early in the season, then get to sure up our top 4 possie leading into playoffs. It's not a bad deal. There is that 4 away game streak that's going to test us. But either we're good enough or we're not. I think away support is going to help. Already booking my magic round tickets. Looking at one of the Commbank games too. Wellington and Christchurch are booked - really stoked at the deals I got.
Can’t get too wound up about stacking the draw for the brenkos, when a Sydney metro team might have 4 games all year that require more than a 40 minute bus ride
NZWarriors.com
We vs the dragons pre origin 1, and panthers back up against us.
Dragons might lose Su’a. Then depends if the panthers contingent back up against us, assume most will.
Then we vs the sharks pre origin 2, then back up against cowboys in chch. Sharks is difficult to say, assume none are selected, but a bunch of cowboys are unlikely to come to chch.
Then the tigers back up origin 3 against us. Cant assume many tigers play, maybe May, luai, api
Dragons might lose Su’a. Then depends if the panthers contingent back up against us, assume most will.
Then we vs the sharks pre origin 2, then back up against cowboys in chch. Sharks is difficult to say, assume none are selected, but a bunch of cowboys are unlikely to come to chch.
Then the tigers back up origin 3 against us. Cant assume many tigers play, maybe May, luai, api
Yeah it’s assuming all things are equal from year to year. Couple of the “lower” team we draw twice could conceivably have a change in fortunes. Dragons a lot of close losses, Dolphins had some key injuries and knights fortunes could change if certain players hit form
That's what I was getting at. Teams are going to improve due to change in coaching, recruitment, rookies debuting. Looking at who may be deemed "easy" could be way off.
A team that is picked to go well could also drop off a huge amount due to internal dramas or a huge injury toll.
Imagie if the journalists just reported on turn around time and travel. It would highlight a few teams that have it quite easy. Some probably have 1-3 games with inter state or travel to NZ. The rest all via a bus ride across town.
NZWarriors.com
When do tickets go on sale?
Wahs have good turn around times in 2026
NZWarriors.com
I get the desire to build the clubs fan base and reward out of town fans with a game every now and then. But.....When do we, as a club, make a call and say we are going to give ourselves the best chance of winning this season? No home game for magic round, no home games taken on the road. Pure focus on what gives us the best chance of winning, what makes it hardest for our opposition to win.
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We've won 3 on the trot in Wellington & 2 in a row in Chch so they've been happy hunting grounds in recent times
I am going to go in Wellington and we had 22,000 last time, We will have avid support for the warriors,. CHCH fans will be right in behind as well. It won't be much behind Mt Smart level support. Both games are very definitely home games.
Giving our two metropolis's a game staves off a 2nd NZ team somewhat and the warriors don't support a 2nd team.
It's Wellington's only game of the year we will flood in from the league heartlands of Greater Wellington, namely the Hutt and especially Wainuiomata where league is much bigger than union.
Don't worry too much Inruin, we have this and will come out in force.
NZWarriors.com
and our record at GoMedia Last season was piss poor
I'm not questioning the support we will get. I'm questioning the amount of time players are away from home for a team that travels the most and has the least amount of nights at home in familiar surroundings for our players
