NRL Finals Draw 2025: Format, Schedule & Teams Explained

If you’ve been tracking the NRL ladder all year, you already know the regular season is only half the story. The top eight teams have earned their spot in the Telstra Premiership Finals Series, and the path from Week 1 to the grand final follows a specific format that rewards ladder position in ways that aren’t always obvious. The 2025 series kicks off on Friday, September 12, and runs through to the October 5 decider at Accor Stadium.

Qualifying teams: Top 8 ·
Finals weeks: Four ·
Grand Final date: 5 October 2025 ·
Regular season games: 27 ·
Format: McIntyre final eight (since 2012)

How does the NRL finals draw work?

The NRL finals draw operates on a structured system that gives higher-ranked teams meaningful advantages. Eight teams enter the finals series based on their ladder position after 27 regular season rounds, and the format—officially called the McIntyre final eight system—has been in place since 2012.

Qualification process

The top eight teams on the NRL ladder automatically qualify for the Telstra Premiership Finals Series. There are no wildcards, no play-in games, and no geographic divisions. Finish in the top eight, and you’re in. The ladder position you hold matters enormously for what happens next.

Week 1 matchups

Week 1 produces four matches with distinct purposes:

• Qualifying Final 1: 1st vs 4th (higher seed hosts)
• Qualifying Final 2: 2nd vs 3rd (higher seed hosts)
• Elimination Final 1: 5th vs 8th
• Elimination Final 2: 6th vs 7th

The 2025 Week 1 schedule is confirmed: Melbourne Storm (2nd) hosts Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (3rd) at AAMI Park on Friday, September 12 at 7:50pm EST, while Canberra Raiders (minor premiers) face Brisbane Broncos (4th) at GIO Stadium on Sunday, September 14 at 4:05pm EST. The elimination matches see New Zealand Warriors (6th) host Penrith Panthers (7th) at Go Media Stadium on Saturday, September 13, and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (5th) host Sydney Roosters (8th) at Sharks Stadium the same evening.

Bye advantages

The critical difference between top-four and bottom-four teams is the “double chance.” Win your qualifying final, and you earn a bye straight to the preliminary finals—you need just two wins to reach the grand final. Lose your qualifying final, and you drop into the semi-finals, where you face an elimination winner. Teams in positions 5 through 8 have no safety net. Lose an elimination final, and your season ends that weekend.

How does the NRL final series work?

The NRL finals series unfolds over four weekends in September and October, with nine matches total. The system is designed to balance rewarding regular-season performance while keeping elimination pressure on throughout.

Overall structure

Two qualifying finals open the series, pitting the top four teams against each other in a knockout format. Two elimination finals run simultaneously, where the 5th through 8th seeds compete to survive. The winners of the qualifying finals advance directly to the preliminary finals with a week off. The losers enter semi-finals against the elimination winners.

Points system in regular season

Throughout the 27-round regular season, teams earn two competition points for each win and zero for losses. The team with the most points after round 27 claims the minor premiership. In 2025, Canberra Raiders finished first, earning the right to host the first qualifying final and claim the minor premiership trophy.

Path to grand final

The paths diverge sharply based on ladder position. Teams finishing first through fourth need only two wins to reach the grand final—one qualifying final win earns a bye to prelims, and a prelims win puts them in the decider. Teams fifth through eighth must win three consecutive sudden-death matches, starting with an elimination final, then a semi-final, then a preliminary final. There is no second chance and no safety net.

What is the order of the NRL finals?

The four-weekend structure follows a precise sequence that determines championship contenders through a combination of results and ladder-protected advantages.

Week 1: Qualifying and elimination finals

Week 1 produces four results. The two qualifying final winners earn immediate advancement to Week 3 preliminary finals. The two qualifying final losers drop into Week 2 semi-finals. The two elimination final winners advance to semi-finals; the losers are eliminated from the competition.

Week 2: Semi-finals

Semi-final weekend matches the losers of each qualifying final against the winners of each elimination final. The matchups are structured as: Loser of QF1 vs Winner of EF2, and Loser of QF2 vs Winner of EF1. The 2025 semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday, September 20 and Sunday, September 21, with venues still to be announced. Winners advance to preliminary finals.

Week 3: Preliminary final

The preliminary finals match the qualifying final winners against the respective semi-final winners, with home advantage given to the qualifying winners. The two winners then face each other in the grand final. Preliminary finals in 2025 are tentatively scheduled for September 26–27.

Week 4: Grand Final

The 2025 NRL Grand Final takes place on Sunday, October 5, at Accor Stadium in Sydney. The venue has hosted multiple grand finals and provides capacity for the largest crowd of the season. Kickoff time is reportedly set for approximately 7:30pm AEST, though this remains subject to confirmation closer to the date.

Who will play in the NRL final?

Predicting the grand final lineup requires tracking ladder movements through the 27-round regular season and then watching how the elimination bracket resolves across three weekends of sudden-death football.

Current ladder leaders

As the regular season concluded, the 2025 ladder placed Canberra Raiders at the top (minor premiers), followed by Melbourne Storm in second, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in third, and Brisbane Broncos in fourth. These four teams hold the protected positions entering finals.

2025 finalists projection

Based on confirmed Week 1 matchups: Qualifying Final 1 features Raiders versus Broncos (September 14, GIO Stadium), while Qualifying Final 2 matches Storm versus Bulldogs (September 12, AAMI Park). Elimination Final 1 pairs Warriors against Panthers (September 13, Go Media Stadium), and Elimination Final 2 has Sharks versus Roosters (September 13, Sharks Stadium). Winners of these four matches shape the semi-final bracket, which then determines the preliminary final participants and ultimately the grand final field.

Historical qualifiers

Penrith Panthers, as four-time defending champions entering 2025, qualified in seventh position—meaning they face an elimination final against the Warriors before they can even reach the semi-finals. This demonstrates how the system can force defending premiers into sudden-death pressure immediately, with no double chance despite their historical dominance.

What time does the NRL grand final start?

The NRL Grand Final consistently draws the largest television audience of the Australian sporting year, and the evening kickoff time is designed to maximize prime-time viewership across the east coast and New Zealand.

2025 kickoff time

The 2025 Grand Final is scheduled for Sunday, October 5, with kickoff reportedly set for approximately 7:30pm AEST. This timing places the final minutes of the match squarely within prime-time television hours, maximizing audience reach across Australian and New Zealand broadcast markets. The late start also allows for the afternoon entertainment program and pre-game ceremonies that have become part of the Grand Final spectacle.

Reasons for late start

The evening kickoff serves multiple commercial and broadcast interests. Stadium operations benefit from a daytime setup window. Broadcast partners—particularly Nine Network, which holds the primary free-to-air rights—can maximize advertising inventory during pre-game and post-game programming. The timing also accommodates fans traveling from interstate and New Zealand, where the time difference with Australian Eastern states is minimal.

Full schedule

Grand Final Week typically features the NRL Women’s Grand Final on Saturday afternoon, NYC Grand Final, and entertainment events throughout the weekend culminating in the NRL decider on Sunday evening. The 2025 series venues span two countries and five major cities: AAMI Park in Melbourne, Go Media Stadium in Auckland, Sharks Stadium in Cronulla, GIO Stadium in Canberra, and Accor Stadium in Sydney for the final.

The 2025 NRL finals format rewards teams that performed consistently over 27 rounds while keeping dramatic elimination stakes alive throughout September. The grand final on October 5 at Accor Stadium will crown whoever survives the four-week gauntlet—and the path through Week 1 already shapes everything that follows. For Canberra Raiders, the minor premiership means home advantage and a direct route requiring just two wins. For Penrith Panthers, the seventh seed means fighting for survival from the first elimination whistle. The format ensures the premiership is never decided by a single match—except when it is.