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Nathan and Ivan Cleary after the 2021 Grand Final win. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The 2023 NRL regular season has concluded. This is the ladder for the beginning of the 2023 finals series.
Penrith secured a second consecutive minor premiership after the Broncos faltered to the Storm in the final round, while the Roosters scraped into the finals with a win over the Rabbitohs.
2023 NRL ladder
Pos.
Club
W
D
L
F/A
Points
1st
Penrith Panthers
18
0
6
333
42
2nd
Brisbane Broncos
18
0
6
214
42
3rd
Melbourne Storm
16
0
8
168
38
4th
New Zealand Warriors
16
0
8
124
38
5th
Newcastle Knights
14
1
9
175
35
6th
Cronulla Sharks
14
0
10
122
32
7th
Sydney Roosters
13
0
11
-24
32
8th
Canberra Raiders
13
0
11
-137
32
9th
South Sydney Rabbitohs
12
0
12
59
30
10th
Parramatta Eels
12
0
12
13
30
11th
North Queensland Cowboys
12
0
12
4
30
12th
Manly Sea Eagles
11
1
12
6
29
13th
Dolphins
9
0
15
-111
24
14th
Gold Coast Titans
9
0
15
-126
24
15th
Canterbury Bulldogs
7
0
17
-331
20
16th
St George Illawarra Dragons
5
0
19
-199
16
17th
Wests Tigers
4
0
20
-290
14
Note: this ladder is updated at the end of each round.
NRL ladder explained
The NRL has a simple points system: victorious teams earn two points for a victory, while losing teams earn zero for a loss. There are two points for a bye.
If a match is tied at the end of 80 minutes of regulation time, there are two five-minute halves of golden point, where any score will be the match-deciding one, be it a field goal, try, or penalty goal. The match immediately ends at that stage.
If the two teams play out a scoreless golden point period, the match will be declared a draw, with both teams earning one point. There have been 12 draws since the introduction at the start of 2003, averaging to one draw a year.
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The teams with the most points will finish higher on the NRL ladder.
Teams who finish on equal on competition points after 26 rounds will have their fate decided by for and against, which is calculated by subtracting the number of points scored against the team from the points the team scores over the course of the season.
NRL Ladder history
Under the current finals system, which is the same as the one used in the AFL finals series, the team that has finished in first has only won the premiership three times, the Sydney Roosters in 2013 and 2018, and the Melbourne Storm in 2017.
The current system sees the first week have top four sides face each other, and the second four (bottom half of the top eight) play each other. The winners in the top four clashes go straight to the third week of the finals, while the losers face the winner of the second four.
The losers in the matches between the second four sides are eliminated, while the winners face the losers from the top four.
Last year’s minor premiers were Penrith Panthers, who defeated Parramatta in the decider for their second consecutive premiership.
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The previous system was the McIntyre, the team that finished first would play eighth, second would play seventh, and so on, with the two highest-ranked losers getting a second chance. This was abandoned in favour of the current system in 2011.
