Hello and welcome to the Herald’s live coverage of the first Friday night football of the 2026 NRL season. And it’s a great one to start with, as Daly Cherry-Evans and his new Roosters teammates take on the Warriors in Auckland before an absolute blockbuster between the Broncos and Panthers.

The Roosters may be the most talent-packed team heading into 2026, with Cherry-Evans joining possibly the most stacked attacking spine in the league alongside Sam Walker, James Tedesco and fellow recruit Reece Robson. Robson will miss the start of the campaign with a broken thumb but there’s still plenty of firepower at the Tricolours with rep stars Angus Crichton and Lindsay Collins leading the pack and human highlight reel Mark Nawaqanitawase starting his final season in the NRL before a return to rugby union. Kick-off for their clash with the Warriors is 6pm Sydney time.

Then there’s the main event at 8pm, with reigning premiers Brisbane facing the winner of the previous four grand finals, Penrith. The Broncos ended the Panthers’ 2025 campaign with a 16-14 comeback win in the preliminary finals, having trailed 14-0 at half-time. And that was sweet revenge after a Nathan Cleary-inspired Penrith had stormed home to win the 2023 grand final against the Broncos 26-24, having trailed 24-8 heading into the final 20 minutes of the season.

Will tonight’s game be another classic? Stay tuned for all the action as it happens.