AAP: BRISBANE have been moved from their usual primetime Friday slot in Magic Round, while their usual opponents Manly have been given the bye for the first time.
Manly have gone from Magic Round pioneers to left right out, with the NRL granting the Sea Eagles their wish of a bye during the Brisbane extravaganza.
The NRL revealed their fixtures for May’s Magic Round on Wednesday, including the drastic shake up of moving Brisbane from playing on Friday night to Sunday.
The Broncos will instead face four-time defending premiers Penrith on the Sunday afternoon, with the rematch of the 2023 grand final giving the weekend a last-day boost.
The marquee Friday night slot has now instead gone to the Sydney Roosters and Dolphins, with the NRL’s 17th franchise getting primetime exposure at the weekend for the first time.
Penrith’s placement on the Sunday afternoon also means Nathan Cleary’s idea of playing the World Club Challenge against Wigan during Magic Round is officially dead.
Instead, it is now all but certain the annual match against the English Super League premiers will not go ahead at all in 2025.
St George Illawarra are also back in the Magic Round schedule after missing last year with the bye, and will face Wests Tigers on Sunday night.
But it is Manly who will have the first weekend in May off.
The Sea Eagles have been taking home games against the Broncos to Suncorp Stadium as part of a Friday night double-header from as early as 2011.
Their Friday night “home” fixture against Brisbane has then been played in every edition of Magic Round since its inception in 2019.
But after attracting the highest home crowds in the club’s history last year at Brookvale, Manly opted not to renew their contract to “host” at Magic Round this year.
AAP also understands the club were keen to have the bye in this year’s edition, after a heavy travel load in the first half of last year’s competition.
That has now been granted.
Cronulla and Parramatta will kick off the weekend on the Friday evening, while the Dolphins’ rise in popularity is shown with their primetime fixturing.
South Sydney and Newcastle will face each other on the Saturday, before the Warriors and North Queensland play in the middle game.
Gold Coast and Canterbury play the first game on the Sunday, before the Panthers-Broncos blockbuster.
Melbourne and Canberra then finish the round off on the Sunday night.
NRL MAGIC ROUND 2025 (May 2-4)
FRIDAY
6pm: Cronulla v Parramatta
8pm: Sydney Roosters v Dolphins
SATURDAY
3pm: South Sydney v Newcastle
5.30pm: Warriors v North Queensland
7.45pm: Wests Tigers v St George Illawarra
SUNDAY
2pm: Gold Coast v Canterbury
4.05pm: Penrith v Brisbane
6.25pm: Melbourne v Canberra
