‘It’s a mystery’: Matty Johns slams ‘ridiculous’ NRL farce

Rugby league commentators are calling for change after noticing a farcical trend about the NRL at the start of this year’s season.

The NRL’s early season draw has come under fire for scheduling some teams to play each other twice within the first two months of the season.

On Saturday the Sydney Roosters take on Penrith in a blockbuster clash as the Panthers aim to snap a five-game losing streak and keep their season alive.

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It will be the second time in six weeks the Roosters and Panthers have played each other, after the Chooks pulled off a thrilling 38-32 upset in Round 2.

Last weekend, the Roosters played the Broncos for the second time this season, beating Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium to exact revenge on their heavy Round 1 loss to the Broncos.

The Newcastle Knights have already played the Wests Tigers twice, with both teams securing a win against each other.

Parramatta play the Tigers on Easter Monday, just a month after losing to the Tigers 32-6 in Round 2.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have had a relatively soft draw including a bye to begin the season, allowing Canterbury to sit at the top of the ladder heading into their Good Friday clash against the Rabbitohs.

Teams already playing each other twice within the space of a month so early in the season has raised the ire of fans and commentators, who can’t understand why the double-ups aren’t pushed to later in the season.

Matty Johns joked on Fox League’s Matty & Cronk Show: “Just one little problem, we’re six rounds in and everyone’s playing each other three times already, OK. What is going on?

Cooper Cronk added: “I agree with you. Like come on, can we just have everyone play each other once and then work it out.

“The Roosters play the Broncos and the Panthers twice in the first seven weeks. The Tigers play the Knights and the Eels twice in the first seven weeks.”

Johns added: “I don’t know why it has to be so difficult.”

The NRL season is 27 rounds long and each team gets three weekends off with a bye, but even that has its quirks — the Roosters have three byes between Round 10 and Round 17.

The Panthers and the Roosters have played each other twice already this season. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Panthers legend and Fox League expert Greg Alexander said the draw has long been a mystery.

“The draw’s a funny thing to understand, I don’t know what we do about the draw,” Alexander told news.com.au.

“Teams put in their requests for marquee games and they want to play certain teams twice. it does seem a bit funny but it’s been happening for years now that they play teams twice within five weeks. That’s happened regularly.

How ridiculous is it, that after 7 rounds…..the Wests Tigers would have already played Newcastle & Parramatta twice.

And the Roosters have played Brisbane & Penrith twice.

It’s the NRL not NBA.

— The Oracle (@BigOtrivia) April 16, 2025

“There’s always things we think we can improve on but we never seem to get there, with the draw anyway.

“The draw is a mystery. I can’t explain the draw and I don’t know how we fix it, but it does seem a bit strange.

“It seemed a bit tough on the Roosters when they start the season and you look at their draw and think, ‘Wow, Panthers and Broncos within five or six weeks of each other and play them twice in that period’.

“But they’ve gone all right the Roosters.”

The Panthers are desperate for a win to turn their season around. Picture: NRL Photos

Panthers legend Alexander believes his beloved club can turn their season around against fellow the Roosters in the Easter Saturday clash, which is live and exclusive on Kayo Sports and Foxtel.

Penrith’s win over Cronulla in Las Vegas remains their only victory of the year so far and the four-time reigning premiers are second last on the ladder.

“There’s a lot of reasons … losing players, they’ve been up for a long time,” Alexander said.

“Five years is a long time to be up at that level. We know how incredible it is to win four grand finals, you have to keep reminding yourself it did happen.

“Maybe just the chipping away of the side, the collective was so great together.

“I’ve guess we’ve struggled through injury and suspension. Nathan’s been gone for two (weeks), Dylan Edwards was gone for three, Mitch Kenny’s been missing.

“It’s obvious the key players have to be on the field now, whereas in the past they’ve been able to get by without one or two.

“Even Vegas was a big thing, that probably affected them when they came back.

“They’ve got to fix it. They’re not far away from having it click even though at times in those five losses they’ve looked a lifetime away from the side they were.

“There’s certainly time but they can’t afford to drop many more games at the moment, they need to get one under their belt. On the form they’ve been going, no game is easy. It’s a big game this weekend.”

Every game of NRL Round 7 is live on Fox League, available on Kayo Sports and Foxtel.

Originally published as ‘It’s a mystery’: Matty Johns slams ‘ridiculous’ NRL farce