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After the competition shifted to Queensland to finish this year’s season, the NRL is set to return to normality in 2022 following the release of the draw on Tuesday.
Here are five talking points from next season’s schedule.
Long-awaited homecomings
While all the southern clubs will savour the buzz of a home crowd once again, it’ll be particularly special when a few especially nomadic teams are reunited with their supporters.
Melbourne, who spent the majority of 2020 on the Sunshine Coast before shifting there again when COVID intervened midway through this year, will return to their AAMI Park fortress for the first time since April in a bumper round-two clash with South Sydney.
Later that weekend, Cronulla will host Parramatta at an upgraded PointsBet Stadium having spent much of the past two years basing themselves at Kogarah as the Sharks Leagues Club was reconstructed.
And the selfless Warriors could play in New Zealand for the first time since August 2019 with a match against premiers Penrith hoped to take place at Mt Smart Stadium in round 15.
The Warriors have already confirmed they will set up camp in Redcliffe next season due to the unpredictable COVID situation, but are set to take five matches back to Auckland.
It’s been a difficult couple of seasons for the Warriors, whose players had to essentially uproot their lives to stay in Australia – some away from their families – and keep the game going.
The squad relocated to the NSW Central Coast for most of the 2020 season and returned in the beginning of 2021 before heading to Queensland.
And though the Kiwi side has earned a plethora of new fans through their sacrifices, their reunion with local fans on home soil is bound to be a stirring occasion.
Rivalry matches aplenty early doors
Fans won’t have to wait long to witness several much-anticipated match-ups.
After falling short of a fairytale premiership farewell at South Sydney, new Brisbane halfback Adam Reynolds will lock horns with his boyhood club for the first time in what shapes as a first-round thriller.
A mob of Rabbitohs tragics are still upset that more wasn’t done to re-sign the 31-year-old, who knocked back a one-year extension in favour of a lucrative three-season deal to lead a Red Hill revival.
The match will also mark the start of Jason Demetriou’s tenure as Souths coach.
Roosters-Rabbitohs clashes are normally spiteful anyway, but the old foes’ meeting in round three could produce even more fireworks given what transpired last time they met.
South Sydney fullback Latrell Mitchell may well be targeted by his former teammates in response to his suspension-incurring high shot that broke Joey Manu’s cheekbone in August.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The tackle ended the season for both players with Mitchell copping a six-match ban and having to watch from the sideline as South Sydney went down to Penrith in the decider.
The star No.1 should at least have the opportunity to exact some revenge in the grand final rematch in round four. There was drama aplenty even before the big dance including a war of words between rival coaches Ivan Cleary and Wayne Bennett at the start of the playoffs.
Panthers second-rower Viliame Kikau further stoked the fire during his team’s premiership celebrations, mockingly singing ‘Glory Glory to South Sydney’ in an Instagram video the Rabbitohs won’t soon forget.
You can bet tensions will be high again.
Tough start for Bulldogs
Coming off the wooden spoon, Canterbury desperately need their big-name recruits to click from the get-go or else another dire start awaits the perennial cellar-dwellers.
After winnable matches against the Cowboys and Broncos to start their campaign, Trent Barrett’s side then face the 2021 top four teams in succession.
If they can’t jag a victory in the opening fortnight, a disastrous 0-6 start isn’t out of the realm of possibility for the Bulldogs, even with the impressive additions of Matt Burton, Josh Addo-Carr, Tevita Pangai Jr, Matt Dufty and Paul Vaughan.
About to enter his second season at the helm, the pressure on Barrett is sure to kick up a notch. The former Manly mentor racked up only three victories in a frustrating 2021 but, in fairness, he didn’t quite have the cattle to produce a regularly competitive team.
Now having put his stamp on the recruitment front, there is an expectation that Barrett and general manager Phil Gould will lift Canterbury into finals contention.
Regional towns rejoice
Regional towns have played a key role in keeping the competition going during the pandemic, providing training bases and home grounds for teams on the road.
And country venues will be in the thick of things again in 2022.
There will be an equal-record number of fixtures played regionally with NRL action slated for Darwin, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Coffs Harbour, Bathurst, Mudgee, Tamworth, Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg and Mackay.
Raiders to make hay while the sun shines; Cowboys come out at night
Ricky Stuart’s Raiders will play six of their 11 home matches at Canberra’s GIO Stadium in afternoon time-slots in a bid to avoid icy night-time temperatures.
That will come as welcome news for visiting teams and may lead to some regular attacking footy in the nation’s capital.
Conditions conducive to free-wheeling play could be a good thing for the Green Machine, who at times lacked fluidity with the ball in hand this year. The addition of former Titans halfback Jamal Fogarty could also go some way to reinvigorating their attack.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, will play all but one of their 12 home games in evening time-slots to escape the brunt of the Townsville heat.
Coach Todd Payten will be hopeful that plays a part in North Queensland rediscovering top form after they finished 15th with only seven wins in 2021.
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