The NRL has eradicated one of the pet peeves of fans from its season schedule , with no two teams to play each other twice in a five-week period in 2026.

Head office will announce the full 2026 draw at 11am on Friday morning, with Canterbury and St George Illawarra to kick off in Las Vegas on February 27.

Pre-season matches will begin from February 7, while All-Stars will return to New Zealand playing in Hamilton on February 15.

It can also be revealed that Dylan Brown will have to wait until Round 13 to face Parramatta, with his new club Newcastle to host the Eels on May 30.

By that point the success of Brown’s $13 million 10-year deal will already have likely been a major talking point of the first half of the regular season.

But what will please most fans will be the remova

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