NRL pre-season news: Pictures, video of every club’s 2026 preparations
The NRL pre-season is officially underway, with a host of clubs welcoming back some of their brightest rising young guns and off-season recruits. SEE THE PICTURES AND WATCH THE VIDEO.
The NRL pre-season is officially underway, as clubs have begun welcoming back their players after a short break, ahead of a tortuous preparation for the 2026 season.
While most clubs have only welcomed back some of their rising stars and fringe first graders, some star players have made shock early starts to training, while others won’t start training until late in the year or early next year. SEE ALL THE LATEST PRE-SEASON NEWS.
COWBOYS
- Fatima Kdouh
Todd Payten’s preparations are in full-swing in Townsville.
Players have been put through their paces in recent days, testing their fitness and conditioning.
Young gun Tom Chester returned to training, after missing the entire 2025 to an ACL injury, with a bang breaking the club’s 1.2 kilometre shuttle run by two seconds.
Chester’s 4.23 minute run bettered current record holder Zac Herdegen’s 4.25-minute effort from last summer.
Herdegen’s run 12 months ago knocked off star halfback Tom Dearden (4.26 minutes) from the top spot, who was narrowly ahead of Jaxon Purdue (4.28 minutes) on the time-trial leaderboard.
Former Newcastle assistant Blake Green has wasted no time getting stuck into pre-season preparations as coach Todd Payten’s right-hand man.
“My relationship with Toddy … previously he was an assistant coach when I was playing at the Warriors,” Green said.
“I like the way he saw the game, his demeanour. Looking at the roster, I thought there was some exciting talent here.
“It’s been really good, we’ve had a couple days of training and the young kids have done a really good job so far. They have gone after some of their skills and come back in really good shape.”
The younger members of the squad were joined by senior players this week, including Scott Drinkwater, Griffin Neame and Heilum Luki.
The luckless Luki missed the entire 2025 season after going down with a second ACL injury during last year’s pre-season in December.
Luki was all smiles when he reported to Cowboys HQ on Monday, joking he’d arrived 45 minutes early to training despite being one the last players through the doors for a 12pm start.
Green delivered the news all Cowboys fans had been waiting to hear.
“I’ve seen him in the building … he looks ready to go,” Green said.
“I actually can’t wait to see him come back to be honest. I have always had a bit of an opinion on him, he’s a super athletic kid and he’s been unlucky with injuries.
“I’m excited for him to get a pre-season into him and play some footy.”
Green was also quickly impressed by young gun Jaxon Purdue who hit the market on November 1 but has an offer to remain at the Cowboys beyond 2026.
“I was pretty excited to see what he could do. His first season of NRL has treated him well but he has come back in good nick and he is moving really well,” Green said.
BRONCOS
The Broncos’s 2026 title defence has begun with a bang, as star five-eighth Ezra Mam made a surprise appearance at the club’s pre-season launch on November 3, a month ahead of schedule.
Mam’s appearance at Red Hill came as a welcome sign of desire for coach Michael Maguire, who wasn’t expecting to see the majority of his premiership-winning stars until December or January.
Just six players reported for the first phase of Brisbane’s staggered pre-season return following their premiership win, including Cowboys recruit Tom Duffy and Dolphins signing Aublix Tawha.
Tawha, who famously shaped up to Roosters firebrand Spencer Leniu this season, is capable of playing prop or second row and Maguire says the late-blooming 26-year-old can be a key member of Brisbane’s front-row rotation.
Tawha kicked off his first Broncos pre-season on Monday and is eyeing a top 17 berth.
“Aublix is a very good trainer,” Maguire said.
“He is definitely my style of player.
“Aublix rips into training and he is going to add to our middle and our edge.
“He gives us a bit of cover across both those positions on the field.
“He is quite mature actually. He is 26, he has been around, he has travelled overseas and played a bit overseas and when he became available I thought it was a great opportunity with Kobe Hetherington leaving (to join Manly).
“I’m really pleased we have picked him up, Aublix will develop nicely with players like Payne and Patty around him.”
BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs’ pre-season will begin on November 11, with the bulk of their squad set to hit the ground running early, including new recruit Leo Thompson.
DOLPHINS
- Fatima Kdouh
In Redcliffe, a number of senior Dolphins stars reported for day one of pre-season on Wednesday.
Speedster Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow missed the Pacific Champions for Samoa with a knee injury but was all smiles on his first day of training.
The fullback completed running drills with a heavily strapped right knee as a precaution.
In positive scenes, forward Max Plath, who suffered an ACL injury back in June was also running freely on day one of pre-season for the 24-year old.
Plath had an injury-interrupted season in 2025, playing only eight games having also suffered a serious foot injury in round 7.
Coach Kristian Woolf is still in Auckland even after his Tongan duties officially wrapped up almost 11 days ago. Woolf has remained in New Zealand while Tongan star Eli Katoa recovers in hospital after brain surgery.
DRAGONS
- David Riccio
If you want a reason why the Dragons made Hamish Stewart the club’s longest contracted player, this is it.
On his first day back to pre-season training last Monday, the 21-year-old went so good, that head coach Shane Flanagan sent him home.
“Hamish Stewart was unbelievable. He won our 1.2km run, he then won the run up the hill, so I gave him the rest of the week off,’’ Flanagan said.
Stewart, the only player from the current top-30 roster with a contract through until the end of 2029, wasn’t the only player to earn a reward.
Rising star and talented prop Loko Pasifiki-Tonga was also given the rest of the week off.
“I gave him (Stewart) and Loko the week off,’’ Flanagan said.
“They were told if they come back and beat their 1.2km time (from last year) and they’re body composition is good, their muscle mass and their weight is good then I’ll see them next week.
“And they came back outstanding.’’
Talented forwards Jacob Halangahu and Dylan Egan also returned in strong fashion.
Egan is progressing well from his ACL reconstruction, riding a bike up the gruelling climb of Mt Keira.
“It was a pleasing start for where we want our standards to be throughout the entire pre-season, we’ll start to get more NRL boys back over the course of the next three weeks,’’ Flanagan said.
New assistant coach and Michael Ennis has also been on deck for the club’s start to the pre-season, as has 2025 rookie Loko Pasifiki Tonga.
The majority of the squad is expected back by mid-November.
EELS
The Parramatta Eels’ 2026 pre-season is underway, with a host of first grade stars joining the clubs’ generation next at day one training on November 3, including the likes of Joash Papalii, Ryley Smith, J’maine Hopgood and Richard Penisini.
Star recruit Jonah Pezet is not expected to start training until December.
KNIGHTS
Justin Holbrook’s Knights career is officially underway, as the new Newcastle coach welcomed back some of the club’s rising stars on November 3. Star five-eighth Fletcher Sharpe made his return to training after suffering a lacerated kidney and ruptured spleen in June.
Sharpe was a standout for Newcastle last year and his return to training is a massive boost for the club, however he is not expected to start training alongside his likely halves partner Dylan Brown until just before Christmas.
New recruit Sandon Smith is set to start training in the next week, and is expected to slot in at hooker, with Holbrook keen to sort out his spine early in the pre-season.
The Knights claimed the dreaded wooden spoon in 2025 and will need a strong pre-season to get off to a good start in 2026.
PANTHERS
The Panthers are set for a late start to their 2026 pre-season, with the first players not set to return to Penrith until November 20.
RABBITOHS
- Russell Jackson
Playmaker Jayden Sullivan was all smiles on Thursday at Rabbitohs training. Sullivan is loving life as a fulltime Rabbitoh after orginally joining the club on loan from Wests Tigers.
Souths pre-season is well underway, led by assistant coach Ben Hornby, with Wayne Bennett not expected to return to Redfern until December.
Hornby was joined by a host of the club’s rising stars, alongside back rower Lachlan Hubner.
Star recruit David Fifita is expected to start training in the next fortnight.
RAIDERS
The Raiders’ pre-season will start on November 12, with new recruit Jayden Brailey set to lead the first group to start training on day one.
ROOSTERS
The Roosters’ pre-season will begin on November 10.
SEA EAGLES
- Fatima Kdouh
Life after Daly Cherry-Evans is in full swing at Manly with coach Anthony Seibold rolling out the club’s young gun halves as the Sea Eagles kicked off pre-season on Monday.
Cross code schoolboy star Onitoni Large, who joined Manly from the Wests Tigers on a three-year deal from 2025 as a package deal with younger brother Ashton, was just one of the many young faces to report for action on northern beaches.
Five-eighth Large and fellow cross-code sensation Joey Walsh, who was also on hand for day one of pre-season, are earmarked as the club’s future halves pairing.
While Walsh was blooded for Manly’s Round 27 clash against the Warriors, Large had an injury interrupted 2025 after suffering a shoulder injury earlier in the year.
Seibold’s first choice halves pairing next season will be Luke Brooks and in-coming former Canberra halfback Jamal Fogarty, who will join the squad later this month.
But Walsh is in the running to snare a bench spot for Round 1.
Large, who turned 18 this year, is also edging closer to an NRL debut and is highly-rated by the club’s coaching staff.
Such is his talent, and Seibold’s confidence in his ability, the club had applied for Large to play his first NRL trial match earlier this year but it was knocked back given he was only 17-years old at the time.
But Manly fans won’t have to wait too long before they get a glimpse of Large at the senior level.
Now that Large is eligible to play in the pre-season challenge under the NRL’s age rule, the former Junior Wallabies captain and Scots College product, is expected to get a run in February’s trial matches.
Rising centre Josh Feledy, who is back in Manly colours after a stint with the Tigers, also joined the cohort of young guns on Monday, alongside promising hooker Zaidas Muagututia.
Large’s younger brother and rising rake Ashton, who is widely regarded as one of the best teen talents in the country, will also complete his first full pre-season with the NRL squad over the summer.
SHARKS
The Sharks are also set for a late start to their pre-season, after making it all the way to a preliminary final in 2025. Their 2026 hopes suffered a setback after Ronaldo Mulitalo suffered an ACL injury in Kiwis camp.
STORM
After going down in the 2025 grand final, the Melbourne Storm won’t start their pre-season training until November 20.
TITANS
New Titans coach Josh Hannay will get his first look at the team when their pre-season begins on November 10.
WARRIORS
- Fatima Kdouh
New Warriors recruit Alofiana Khan-Pereira is facing an outside backs duel over the summer, as the former Titans flyer kicked off pre-season preparations across the ditch this week.
Khan-Pereira, who signed a three-year deal from 2025, is no guarantee of snaring a starting spot in round one against the Sydney Roosters at Go Media Stadium.
A specialist winger, Khan-Pereira will spend the summer under coach Andrew Webster trying to usurp Dallin Watene-Zelezniak or Roger Tuivasa-Sheck from a spot on the edge.
The versatile Tuivasa-Sheck can be shifted into the centres or fullback to accommodate Khan-Pereira, who Webster believes will add much needed speed to his backline.
Webster has preferred Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad at fullback, making centre a more viable option which is likely to squeeze out either Rocco Berry or Adam Pompey from the starting side.
Injury limited the try-scoring machine to just 10 games, and only nine tries, in 2025 but finished as the game’s leading tryscorer in 2024. Khan-Pereira, cutting a fit figure, was put through his paces in the gym and the field on his first day at training.
Englishman Morgan Gannon has also started his NRL journey, after agreeing to join the Warriors on a three-year deal from the Leeds Rhinos. The backrower joins with 68 games of Super League experience, and like Khan-Pereira will spend the summer fighting for a spot in Webster’s best 17.
Winning a spot on the bench for round one will see the likes of Jackson Ford, Tanner Stowers-Smith and Jacob Laban as the odd men out.
WESTS TIGERS
- Fatima Kdouh
Former Penrith young gun Jack Attard has hit the ground running at Concord after officially kicking off his Wests Tigers career this week.
The schoolboy whiz kid, and the Tigers’ Jahream Bula insurance policy, reported for day one of pre-season alongside Panthers teammate Mavrik Geyer.
Both featured for Penrith’s NSW Cup side last year but back rower Geyer will be pushing for a bench spot in Round 1.
Attard, one of the most promising fullbacks in the game, defected from Penrith to join Benji Marshall’s side on a three-year deal.
The signing coup is all the more crucial given Bula’s uncertain future at the club. Bula, who has an option to remain at the Tigers in 2027, became a free agent on November 1 and can field offers from rival outfits.
Attard is still eligible for Jersey Flegg (under-21s) in 2026 but will rocket up the fullback ranks if Bula moves on from the club.
But Attard isn’t the only teen sensation reporting for their first NRL pre-season under Marshall.
He joined forwards Pheonix Godinet and Christian Taupau-Moors, who are both eligible for NRL debuts in 2026 and will be pressing their cases over the summer.
Rising rake Jared Haywood also reported for his first full pre-season.
The highly rated dummy-half has risen up the hooking pecking order after the exit of Tallyn Da Silva.
Heamasi Makasini, who made his debut last season, is expected to see plenty more first grade in 2026 after graduating from Newington College.
Originally published as NRL pre-season news: Pictures, video of every club’s 2026 preparations
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