NRL Finals 2026: Six Teams Left, One Road to Accor Stadium
Two weeks ago the Dolphins had never won a finals match in their short history. On 12 September they beat the Warriors 26-16 to book a home preliminary final — the first genuine finals win the club has recorded since it entered the competition. That is the kind of thing that happens in September. A team that has spent three seasons finding its feet suddenly finds itself two wins from a grand final, and the ladder it built its whole regular season around stops mattering the moment week one of the finals kicks off.
Six teams are still alive. Here is exactly where each of them stands, and what is left to play.
Who’s already through
Penrith finished the regular season as minor premiers and won their qualifying final against the Sydney Roosters, which sends them straight into a preliminary final without playing this weekend — the reward for finishing on top. It is another September in a finals bracket for a club that has barely left one since 2020.
The Dolphins did it the harder way. They needed to beat the Warriors in an elimination-style qualifying final just to stay alive, and did — 26-16 — which was enough not just to survive but to earn a home preliminary final. For a club three seasons into its existence, that is uncharted territory.
Both Penrith and the Dolphins now have a bye this weekend while four other teams fight for the two remaining preliminary final spots.
This weekend’s semi-finals
Sydney Roosters v Cronulla Sharks — Saturday 19 September, 7:50pm AEST, Allianz Stadium, Sydney. The Roosters’ season stays alive after their qualifying final loss to Penrith; lose this and it’s over.
New Zealand Warriors v Newcastle Knights — Sunday 20 September, 4:05pm AEST (6:05pm NZST), Eden Park, Auckland. Same stakes for the Warriors after their qualifying final exit to the Dolphins. A home final in Auckland is exactly the kind of occasion the Warriors’ fans have waited years for, regardless of how the season got there.
Whoever wins each of those matches goes through to face Penrith or the Dolphins in the preliminary finals the following weekend. Lose, and the season is over.
The grand final
Whatever the bracket looks like by the last weekend of September, it resolves on Sunday 4 October at Accor Stadium, Sydney. Every remaining team is either already through to a preliminary final or one win away from one — which means, for the first time all season, every match left on the calendar is genuinely knockout football.
We’ll keep this page updated as results come in.
