The NRL 2023: How to watch, tickets, the draw & more

The footy’s back! (My thoughts go out to anyone with a footy-obsessed dad or partner that insists on watching every. single. game.).

Yep! The 2023 NRL season kicked off on the 2nd of March, with the Melbourne Storm beating out the Parramatta Eels in the first match of the year.

On another note, things are shaking up a bit this year with the addition of a new team – the Dolphins. The Dolphins are now the fourth Queensland-based team in the comp and the first new team to join the NRL since the Gold Coast Titans first came on the scene back in ‘07.

But, as the daughter of a Souths-obsessed father – who’ll definitely be reading this article – (glory, glory to South Sydney!), I’ve already given far too much airtime to the opposition. So now, onto the important stuff…

Here’s all you need to know about the 2023 NRL season, from how to watch online to where to buy game tickets:

The 2023 NRL season began on Thursday, the 2nd of March, with the Parramatta Eels against the Melbourne Storm (Melbourne won). The grand final is set to take place on the 1st of October.

Here’s where you can watch every NRL game this season (in Australia):

Kayo, Foxtel Now & Foxtel iQ:

All the games throughout the 2023 NRL season (bar the Grand Final, which will be aired by Nine) will be broadcasted by Fox. So you’ll be able to watch nearly all of the games live on Kayo, Foxtel Now or Foxtel iQ.

Free-to-air TV:

While most NRL games will be aired by Fox, some will also be aired by Nine (indicated further down in this article), so you’ll occasionally have the option to watch games via Channel 9 or 9Now.

Please note: Please be aware that Nine has the sole rights to live broadcast all 3 State of Origin matches as well as the Grand Final. So the only way to watch these games live is on Channel 9 or online via 9Now. 

Fox will generally also provide a replay of these games later – however, this will not be live.

Here’s a look at the 2023 NRL season schedule:

(Information correct at the time of writing. Game details and ticket pricing and availability are subject to change).

Let's look at some of the key dates taking place this NRL season:

(Information correct at the time of writing. Game details and ticket pricing and availability are subject to change).

If streaming the NRL online, for a better footy-watching experience, you’ll want to stream in High Definition (HD). But before you do, you might want to do a quick check-in with your current internet plan to ensure it can handle HD streaming, so you don’t use all your data in one go.

If your internet isn’t quite up to scratch, check out our broadband plan comparison table to see what other options are around. Then, consider making the switch should you find a better deal.

Here are some options below:

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