2024 NRL draw fans guide: How club supporters, members are affected by schedule
Fox Sports stats expert Aaron Wallace reveals how supporters and members from every NRL club are affected by the 2024 draw.
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The NRL has released the full draw for 2024, Aaron Wallace reveals how every club’s supporters are set to be affected by the draw.
PANTHERS
Good: Home stretch – four of their six games to finish the season are in Penrith.
Bad: Where are they? – have a six-week stretch between rounds 4 and 9 where they do not play in Penrith (their home game in that period is against the Tigers in Bathurst).
BRONCOS
Good: A good state to be in – play outside of Queensland just once in the last nine games of the regular season.
Bad: No tan – their fans will be disappointed to have just one game on a Sunday (Round 12 v Titans).
STORM
Good: No need for sunscreen – Melbourne play just two day games all season, easily the fewest of any team.
Bad: No easy outs – face last season’s bottom-four teams just once each, the only team to do so. Long weekends – play seven Thursday games, the most of any team.
WARRIORS
Good: Stable – have 11 games with a seven-day turnaround – easily the most of any team.
Play just their second Anzac Day game in New Zealand against the Titans in round 8.
Bad: Heavy hitters — opening four games are against top-eight teams from 2023 — and their fifth is against the Rabbitohs. Play just one of their final four games of the regular season in New Zealand. No home flow – only have consecutive games in New Zealand twice all season (rounds 3-4 and 21-22). Have five one-off home games, have to fly in and out of New Zealand either side back to Australia.
KNIGHTS
Good: Traditionalists – have 13 Sunday afternoon games in the regular season, easily the most of any team. Play just one game not in NSW from round 15 onwards, and that’s the Raiders in Canberra in round 18.
Bad: Double dose — play Storm then Panthers in rounds 14-15, and play each side twice — Storm round 3, Penrith round 22.
SHARKS
Good: Draw friendly — play the other top-eight teams from last season just nine times – the fewest of any team, and play all of the bottom-four sides twice, the only team to do so.
Bad: Tough stretch — face five straight top-eight teams in rounds 10-14, and their only home clash in that run is against the Panthers.
ROOSTERS
Good: Home bodies — after Las Vegas, the Roosters stay in Sydney for six of their next seven games, only travelling to Newcastle. They also have a long Greater Sydney stay from rounds 13-19, including two byes (rounds 14 and 19).
Bad: Hard start – Play all of last year’s top four inside 10 rounds (Broncos twice), plus a game against arch rivals the Rabbitohs. Have two five-day turnarounds, and on both occasions they play South Sydney.
RAIDERS
Good: Stretch of luck — only play one top-eight side from rounds 9-16 (Roosters), including two byes (rounds 10 and 14). Only play the Panthers, Broncos and Storm once each.
Bad: No travel insurance – journey away to Newcastle, Christchurch and Cronulla in opening four rounds and only play twice in Canberra in the final six games – one against Penrith.
RABBITOHS
Good: Well rested – have only four five and six-day turnaround games – the fewest of any team.
Bad: Daunting start — Play all of last year’s top four inside nine rounds, plus a game against the arch rivals the Roosters.
EELS
Good: Prime time – have eight Friday night games, the equal most with Brisbane.
Bad: Top guns – play Panthers, Broncos and Storm twice — the only team, along with the Rabbitohs, to do so. Have the lowest average of days between games of any team (6.8)
COWBOYS
Good: Fast finish – Play six of their last eight games at home, with their two away games against the Tigers and Bulldogs. Round 19 and 25 byes are surrounded by home games in Townsville.
Bad: Back on the plane, boys – start the season with games in Brisbane, Townsville and Sydney and then repeat the order, before a round 7 away game against the Sharks.
SEA EAGLES
Good: Take a break — have no five-day turnarounds. From round 19, they travel further than Olympic Park only once (Canberra in round 23), with four games at home and away matches at Allianz, Leichhardt and Accor.
Bad: Travel sick – Have only two games in Manly in the first seven rounds, and fly to Las Vegas, Auckland and the Gold Coast. They also finish the season with just two games at home from their final six games. They also play Brisbane, Melbourne and Penrith between rounds 11-14.
DOLPHINS
Good: Headstart – Have just two games against last season’s top eight in the first 11 rounds, and leave Queensland once in that time to play the Eels in Darwin in round 7. They also have the highest average of days between games of any team (7.3)
Bad: Rep season – Only team to play before all three Origins. Plus, six of their final eight games are against top-eight sides, with travel to Penrith, Perth, Bundaberg, Melbourne and Newcastle included.
TITANS
Good: Favourable start – opening five rounds includes four games against bottom-eight teams, and a bye.
They only play Penrith once – in round 27 (final round), and stay in Queensland from rounds 9-14 with at least six days between each match, plus a round 13 bye.
Bad: Their sole five-day turnaround is a flight from the Gold Coast to Auckland for an Anzac Day match with the Warriors. Five of their final six games are against top-eight sides.
BULLDOGS
Good: Short leash – leave NSW just twice in the opening 19 rounds, play four of their final eight outside Sydney and have no five-day turnarounds in 2024
Bad: Mighty four run — play all of last season’s top four away from home.
DRAGONS
Good: Home boys – Play 20 games in NSW, the most for any team in any state
Play bottom-eight teams in the first four rounds, and five of the opening six (Knights).
Play at Penrith in round 13, the Saturday before Origin 1, and against the Broncos in Brisbane in round 19, the Saturday before game three.
Bad: Homesick — only have two home games in the opening six rounds. They play four straight top-eight sides from rounds 7-10, heading into a bye.
Saints have 16 straight losses in Victoria and face the Storm in Melbourne in round 22.
TIGERS
Good: Home comforts – Only play “outside” NSW four times in the season (Dolphins in Queensland twice, Cowboys, Warriors) yet play at the most venues of any team this season (15). They play the Raiders in Canberra in round 2 … technically inside NSW.
Unequal opportunity – Don’t play any of the top-four teams from last season twice, the only team not to do so.
Bad: Eighth blunder of the world — only have three Sunday afternoon games – with none at Leichhardt. Their only day game at Leichhardt is a 3pm Saturday fixture against the Titans in round 15.
EIGHTH BLUNDER OF THE WORLD: TIGERS FANS SNUBBED IN DRAW FAIL
Balmain Tigers legend Benny Elias has described it as a dagger to the heart.
Elias shakes his head, thinking about the great Laurie Nichols, the Wayne Pearce Hill and Robbie Farah sitting up on the old scoreboard.
For the first time since 2013 and just the second time in Wests Tigers history, there will be no Sunday afternoon game at Leichhardt Oval, following the official release of the 2024 NRL season draw.
Nicknamed ‘The eighth wonder of the world” by tragic Tigers fans, Leichhardt Oval is widely regarded as the game’s most iconic suburban ground.
“It’s a shame. It’s so disappointing,‘’ Elias said.
“Tradition built this great game and nothing typifies that more than Sunday afternoon footy at Leichhardt Oval.
“It’s the holy grail of suburban grounds. It’s our colosseum. No one ever wanted to come to our ground, particularly on a Sunday afternoon.
“Even if you’re not a Tigers supporter, its one of the great afternoons. You can take someone from out of town to their first football game on a Sunday at Leichhardt Oval and they fall in love with the game.”
There’s a hard luck story every year from the release of the NRL draw. And the omission of Leichhardt Oval on a Sunday afternoon is it.
The NRL attempt to provide every team with their preferred key matches, but inadvertently, it’s impossible to please every club’s demands.
As a result, the Wests Tigers five games that have been scheduled for Leichhardt Oval for the 2024 season are two Thursday night matches (Cowboys and Sea Eagles), two Saturday afternoon matches (Titans and Storm) and one Saturday night match (Sharks).
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In addition, the Wests Tigers play only three home games in the first 15 rounds, with two additional ‘home’ games to be played at Tamworth and Suncorp Stadium in Magic Round.
Wests Tigers board members raised questions over the 2024 draw anomaly of “no Sunday at Leichhardt Oval” at a meeting on a Monday.
However, Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe took a diplomatic view of the club’s 2024 season draw.
“We don’t control who we’re playing and when we’re playing, we put in requests and those requests are listened too and tried best to facilitate, I would assume, because there’s 16 other clubs putting in similar requests,‘’ Pascoe said.
“Its always difficult to balance up where allocations should be, depending on ground availability and the team we’re playing.
“There’s some great Leichhardt games on Saturday and Saturday night as there is also some really good games at Campbelltown too.
“From a members perspective it would certainly be nice to have some balance in the draw to be able to see the team that they love and support with a bit more regularity, especially in the first half, but the other way to look at it is, we’ve got seven of the last 12 games at home.
“With what we’re trying to build, it will be at the right end of the season for our members and fans to come and support at our suburban, local grounds.”
Pascoe’s point of view stems from the Wests Tigers being handed a ‘no excuses run to the finals’ by finishing the season with four home games from their last five matches.
The Tigers’ situation is one of the more glaring issues to face fans in 2024.
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Originally published as 2024 NRL draw fans guide: How club supporters, members are affected by schedule
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