- Clubs
- 18. The Perth Bears enter as the competition's 18th team, the first expansion side since 2007 and the first NRL club based in Western Australia.
- Season opener
- Saturday 27 February 2027 at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas. Melbourne Storm v Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels v Gold Coast Titans, with a Super League fixture on the same card.
- Magic Round
- Nine games across three days at Suncorp Stadium, expanded to fit the 18th club. One venue, one weekend, the entire competition.
- State of Origin
- Three matches mid-season, and for the first time one of them is played in Auckland. Clubs lose their representative players to camp either side of each game.
- Golden point
- Extra time is capped at ten minutes, so a regular-season draw is uncommon but entirely possible. Your comp still needs a draw rule.
- Finals
- Top eight over four weeks, finishing with the Grand Final at Accor Stadium in Sydney.
- Time zones
- Sydney and Brisbane games run behind New Zealand, and a Perth club puts fixtures four hours behind for most of the season, so a Sunday game in the west locks well after the rest of the round is done.