NRL 2022 draw: Bulldogs’ brutal season start; Wests Tigers, Dragons’ first five rounds revealed

NRL DRAW: the new-look Canterbury Bulldogs will be under pressure from the start of the season, while the Raiders get some light relief.

Adam Reynolds after the grand final loss to Penrith. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty

Canterbury coach Trent Barrett is facing a brutal start to his second season in charge as he attempts to ease some of the pressure on his job.

The NRL released the full draw on Tuesday but News Corp can reveal that the Bulldogs face the most daunting start to the season of any of the game’s 16 clubs.

They begin with a pair of winnable games against North Queensland and Brisbane before the temperature rises over the ensuing month.

Over a four-week period, the new-look Bulldogs face Manly, Melbourne, Penrith and South Sydney – last year’s top four sides.

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The Bulldogs will be outsiders in each of those games and they will need to start fast against the Cowboys and Broncos, because there is every chance they may struggle to score a victory for the four weeks after that.

Barrett enters his second year in charge under immense pressure to perform given the Bulldogs only won three games in 2021.

The club has strengthened its football department since then by bringing in Phil Gould and they have fortified their roster with the addition, among others, of Josh Addo-Carr, Matt Burton, Braidon Burns and Tevita Pangai Junior.

Trent Barrett’s new-look side will be tested early. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty

All four will face their former clubs within the opening six weeks of next season. Pangai will face the Broncos in round two, Addo-Carr will face the Storm in round four, Burton and Pangai will meet Penrith in round five and Burns will clash with Souths in round six.

While the draw makes life difficult for the Bulldogs, so does the expectation that envelopes the side and their coach as they kick off their pre-season with vaccination issues and concern over the quality of their playmakers.

English forward Luke Thompson has been training on his own after declining to be vaccinated, although it is understood he has given an indication that he will consider changing his stance if necessary.

The club is also facing a dire shortage of quality in key positions and it is understood their salary cap position has ruled them out of the race for Storm rake Brandon Smith, who became eligible to speak to interested parties on November 1.

Barrett is among a slew of coaches who start the season under the blowtorch. Like his Canterbury counterpart, St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin faces a difficult start to the season as he prepares to lead his side against Penrith, Parramatta and South Sydney over the opening five weeks.

The Dragons coach is off contract at the end of next year and a fast start will help his cause as he looks for a contract extension. While Barrett and Griffin face significant challenges to make headway early in the season, the news is better for Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire as he looks to keep the wolves at bay.

Wests Tigers face three top eight sides in the first five rounds. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty

The Tigers start their season against a Melbourne side missing Brandon Smith and Cameron Munster through suspension. They then have four winnable games against Newcastle, the Warriors, Gold Coast and Cronulla.

Maguire, who was joined at the club on Monday by general manager of football Tim Sheens, has every chance to give himself some breathing room as he waits for the likes of Tommy Talau and Adam Doueihi to return from injury.

LIGHT RELIEF FOR RAIDERS CROWDS

By Dean Ritchie

It used to be winter hell for visiting teams – but not anymore. Canberra will become the daytime Raiders through winter next year.

The NRL draw — to be released on Tuesday – will allow Canberra to play all its games through the freezing winter months during the day.

That may benefit opposition sides who hate the cold, but it also helps Canberra attract healthy home ground crowds.

“It will be really helpful for our crowds,” said Raiders CEO, Don Furner.

“The winter months are June, July and August although May is when it starts to get cold. We have one 5.30pm game in winter but the rest are 2pm and 3pm. No 7.30pm or 8pm games. We’re pretty happy.

“July and August can be brutal when you’re trying to get young families to the football.

“The other option is people can sit at home in the warmth and watch matches. Day games are what we asked for. It’s the reverse of the Cowboys who want night games because it’s so hot.”

Ricky Stuart’s Raiders have been handed a host of day games during winter. Picture: NRL Photos

Canberra has also been issued up to eight free-to-air matches in 2022 and three in regional towns – Wagga (home), Mudgee (away) and Dubbo (away).

“No one will be playing more in NSW country next season than us,” Furner said.

“We feel we represent NSW country. It’s a great thing for country footy. We call ourselves the only inland team in the NRL, other than maybe Penrith.”

Canberra plays home matches next season against Parramatta and St George Illawarra.

“They will be blockbuster games against teams we haven’t had here for awhile,” Furner said.

Canberra will have more games on Channel 9 next season than in 2020, the year after the Raiders reached the NRL grand final against the Roosters.

Magic Round fixtures revealed

- Brent Read and David Riccio

South Sydney won’t have to wait long for a shot at grand final revenge next season after the NRL scheduled their grudge match against Penrith for round four.

News Corp can reveal the season will open with premiers Penrith facing Manly at Panthers Stadium before Brisbane host South Sydney at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night in a game that will feature Adam Reynolds and Anthony Milford against their former clubs.

Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire’s quest to keep his job will get off to one of the game’s toughest starts, with a clash against Melbourne – the Storm won by 50 points the last time the sides met.

The Bulldogs will begin their season against North Queensland while Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon will mark his debut as an NRL head coach by taking on Canberra and former teammate Ricky Stuart.

St George Illawarra’s roster overhaul will be put to the test by the Warriors, Parramatta will face the Gold Coast, and the Sydney Roosters will go up against Newcastle.

Premiers Penrith will have an early grand final rematch against Souths in round four next year. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The highlight in the early part of the season, however, will be rematch between the Panthers and Rabbitohs. South Sydney haven’t forgotten their defeat in the decider, nor the response by Penrith as their players taunted Jai Arrow on the field and then turned their attention on the club as a whole on social media.

Arrow was given a blast by Penrith players as he left the field for a head injury assessment.

After the game, Penrith second-rower Viliame Kikau mocked the Rabbitohs during grand final celebrations when he sung their club song, ‘Glory, Glory to South Sydney’.

The Rabbitohs have stored both incidents in the memory bank. It is understood Penrith will also feature in a titanic match over Magic Round when they play bitter rivals Melbourne.

The game between the Panthers and Storm is one of two huge matches to be played at Suncorp Stadium over Magic weekend – the other will see Parramatta meet the Sydney Roosters.

Penrith and Melbourne have built one of the game’s great rivalries in recent years and the tension between the clubs reached its zenith when the Panthers eliminated the Storm in the preliminary final.

Some Penrith officials privately blamed the Storm for a story in grand final week that pointed to the amount of time former trainer Hayden Knowles had spent on the field during the grand final qualifier.

The NRL have locked in the venues and 2022 dates for their showpiece event — State of Origin.

NSW has landed the first blow ahead of the 2022 State of Origin series. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Ahead of the NRL’s much-anticipated season draw release for next year, the blockbuster fixtures between NSW and Queensland can be revealed.

The Blues defence of the Origin shield will commence in the best possible fashion with a chance to take a valuable 1-0 nil lead by launching the series at home.

Origin I is set to be held in Sydney at Stadium Australia on Wednesday, June 8.

It will be the first match played at Sydney Olympic Park since game two of the 2020 series.

Once again, Origin will be played on a Sunday night in 2022, while also returning to Western Australia.

Perth’s Optus Stadium will stage game two on Sunday, June 26.

NSW won the most recent match played in Perth, 38-6 in game two, 2019.

Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane will wrap-up the series with a possible decider in Origin III set for Wednesday night, July 13.

Optus Stadium will host Game II on a Sunday. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty

Hospitality and corporate packages went on-sale for game three in Brisbane earlier this week.

After a disrupted Origin series in 2021, which included all three games being played before restricted crowds in Queensland at Townsville, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the NRL are confident that the game’s biggest spectacle will return to capacity crowds in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane in 2022.

The Maroons will also launch a new era under the direction of rookie coach Billy Slater, who takes over from Paul Green.

NRL 2022 Round 1 blockbusters revealed

- Phil Rothfield

The NRL is scheduling a monster 2022 season-opener, with the Brisbane Broncos and halfback Adam Reynolds to play against his beloved old club in round 1.

The draw is expected to be released by the end of the week and will include the rebuilt Broncos and their experienced new skipper against the Rabbitohs on a Friday night at Suncorp Stadium.

Premiers Penrith will launch the season on the Thursday night at their home ground against a Sydney rival, possibly former teammate Matt Burton’s Canterbury.

But Reynolds up against his old club will be the highly emotional story of the first weekend of March.

A proud local junior, the 31-year-old halfback finished up with the Bunnies following their grand final loss to Penrith after 10 seasons with 231 games and the holder of the club’s all-time point-scoring record.

This is the game Reynolds thought he would never be playing.

Adam Reynolds after the grand final loss to Penrith. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty

Not until Souths refused to offer him anything better than a one-year contract extension when the Broncos chimed in with not only more money but with the security of a four-year deal worth more than $2.8 million.

He is expected to be lining up against impressive youngster Blake Taafe in his old jumper.

Broncos coach Kevin Walters has no doubts Reynolds will be ready for the Rabbitohs.

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“Adam’s been around a long time and has played plenty of pressure games,” Walters told The Daily Telegraph.

“You know what … he had to play against Souths sometime so this won’t worry him. It’s pretty mouth-watering actually.

“We bought him for his experience as much as anything else and I expect we’ll all learn from him, myself included.

Suncorp Stadium will host the round 1 blockbuster between the Broncos and Rabbitohs. Picture: AAP/Dave Hunt

“He’s not starting with us until mid-December but we’ve been chatting on the phone and I’m really looking forward to him starting.”

The Rabbitohs are still to announce a new skipper to replace Reynolds at Redfern.

However the mail is strong that NSW Blues forward, the highly impressive Cameron Murray, will be given the honour ahead of Cody Walker, Damien Cook and Latrell Mitchell.

There will be so much pressure on new head coach Jason Demetriou in this first game.

Anything less than a convincing victory will be disappointing for Souths fans, despite the fact they’ve lost so much experience in Reynolds, Jaydn Su’A and Dane Gagai – plus coaching legend Wayne Bennett.