With the 2024 NRL draw having been released, all eyes are firmly on the upcoming season with the Dragons eager to usher in Shane Flanagan’s head coaching tenure with an improved campaign.
Download the one-page draw pdf here.
ON THE ROAD TO START
As they did in 2023, the Red V will kick their season off against the Titans; although, this year’s opener will be on the Gold Coast and will be in Round 1 with the Dragons managing to avoid an opening round bye this time around.
A Round 2 clash against the Dolphins at Kayo Stadium caps off a bumper opening fortnight for the Red V faithful based in and around southeast Queensland.
After spending their first two weeks interstate, the side will only take to the air on another two regular season occasions – a Round 19 clash against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium and a Round 22 clash against the Storm at AAMI Park.
The side’s home opener comes with some more northern flavour with the Cowboys making the trip to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium for a Saturday evening showdown in Round 3 before the squad faces off against the Sea Eagles at WIN Stadium the following week in an Easter Saturday affair.
With four of the side’s opening six outings away from home, Flanagan’s men will become acquainted with enemy territory early in the piece before a friendlier back end of the year from a travel standpoint.
A KEY FORTNIGHT
The Dragons’ annual Anzac Day clash against the Roosters is set to ignite on a Thursday afternoon at Allianz Stadium in Round 8 before the side shifts their attention to a local derby showdown against the Sharks the following Sunday at PointsBet Stadium.
THE BYES
The Rabbitohs journey to Kogarah in Round 10 before the Dragons earn their first bye of the season in Round 11 when the remainder of the premiership converge on Brisbane for Magic Round.
Coming off the bye, the Dragons will get their first look at the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium to celebrate Indigenous Round before taking on the defending premier Panthers at BlueBet Stadium in the lead-up to Origin I.
The last time that the Dragons and Bulldogs met in Indigenous Round resulted in a 34-24 Dragons victory with workhorse prop Blake Lawrie sensationally snagging the first try of his NRL career.
Lawrie breaks his duck to secure Dragons win
The side’s second bye comes in Round 16 before the Dolphins make an inaugural trip to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in Round 17.
The third and final bye in Round 20 paves the way for a run home which includes five home games from the final seven.
THE RUN HOME
The Panthers come to Wollongong in Round 21 before the Dragons make their Victorian road trip the following week for Women in League Round.
They will face the Bulldogs at Kogarah before back-to-back weeks at WIN Stadium against the Titans and Sharks.
They end the season in somewhat peculiar fashion with their first and only clashes against the Eels and Raiders coming in Rounds 26 and 27 respectively.
THE OPPONENTS & VENUES
The Dragons will meet the Bulldogs, Dolphins, Panthers, Roosters, Sea Eagles, Sharks, Titans and Wests Tigers on multiple occasions.
They will face the Broncos, Cowboys, Eels, Knights, Rabbitohs, Raiders, Storm and Warriors just the once.
11 of their 24 clashes come against sides that qualified for the finals a year ago with five coming against sides that finished in the top four.
Of the side’s 12 home games, six are at WIN Stadium, five are at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, and one is at Allianz Stadium (Anzac Day).
The side will have to travel a total of 7,077km which is far below the premiership average of 23,561km.
THE DAYS & TURNAROUNDS
The bulk of the side’s clashes will be played over weekends with just five of their 24 matches coming on a Thursday (2) or Friday (3).
The calendar will instead be dominated by Saturday (10) and Sunday (9) fixtures with the 5:30pm Saturday timeslot (6) the most common.
The side will be forced to contend with a five-day turnaround on just one occasion with six-day (8) turnarounds the most common followed by seven-day (5), nine-day (3), and eight-day (2).
THE DATES TO CIRCLE
Season Opener: Round 1 vs. Titans (Saturday, 9th March 7:35pm at Cbus Super Stadium)
Kogarah Opener: Round 3 vs. Cowboys (Saturday, 23rd March 5:30pm at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium)
Wollongong Opener: Round 4 vs. Sea Eagles (Saturday, 30th March 5:30pm at WIN Stadium)
Anzac Day: Round 8 vs. Roosters (Thursday, 25th April 4:00pm at Allianz Stadium)
Indigenous Round: Round 12 vs. Bulldogs (Thursday, 23rd May 7:50pm at Accor Stadium)
NRL-NRLW Double-Headers: NRLW Round 1 vs. Titans/NRL Round 21 vs. Panthers (Sunday, 28th July 12:00pm/2:00pm at WIN Stadium), NRLW Round 4 vs. Roosters/NRL Round 24 vs. Titans (Sunday, 18th August 12:00pm/2:00pm at WIN Stadium), NRL Round 25 vs. Sharks/NRLW Round 5 vs. Sharks (Sunday, 25th August 4:05pm/6:10pm at WIN Stadium) & NRLW Round 7 vs. Raiders/NRL Round 27 vs. Raiders (Saturday, 7th September 12:45pm/3:00pm at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium)
The Local Derbies: Round 9 vs. Sharks (Sunday, 5th May 4:05pm at PointsBet Stadium) & Round 25 vs. Sharks (Sunday, 25th August 4:05pm at WIN Stadium)
