NRL crowd figures 2026: Broncos on top, Roosters v Rabbitohs for Sydney’s No.1 team

The bitter rivalry between the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs is about to take a juicy turn with the top dog in the Harbour City to be determined in the final round clash.

Brisbane’s title defence, the worst in 118 years, was a Suncorp Stadium car crash – Broncos fans could not look away.

And that’s not to make light of their loyalty. Despite Brisbane’s capitulation on the field their fans refused to waver, averaging over 40,000 people for a second-straight year.

Filled with hope, six of Brisbane’s first seven early season matches drew crowds exceeding 41,000 people. Almost 46,000 fans filled the stands for Round 4’s win over the cross-town rivals Dolphins in the Battle of Brisbane.

Even when Brisbane’s season looked like it was slipping away, and the club, coach and players were under an onslaught of criticism, the Bronxnation still turned up with over 42,000 fans turning up to watch their side lose to the last placed Dragons.

A crowd of 42,000 on Thursday night against Melbourne – for what won’t be captain Adam Reynolds’ farewell game – would see a mammoth 500,000 fans come through the turnstiles for the Broncos.

The support from Brisbane fans has been bullet proof, unlike the club’s title defence and culture.

Numbers supplied by the NRL, show the game is heading for another bumper year for crowds, with fans on track to break the 4,000,000 mark in consecutive seasons.

TOP DOGS IN SYDNEY

The Roosters are now the top dogs in Sydney overtaking the top spot from Canterbury, who have slipped to sixth place with an average of 21,900 fans this season – which is down over 30 per cent on last year’s crowd figures.

But the glamour Bondi club is holding onto its Sydney dominance – and 23,900 fans average – by a thread.

Arch-nemesis the Rabbitohs are gaining fast, sky rocketing to fifth with a crowd average of 22,700 compared to just 14,533 (15th) last year. That’s an astonishing 56 per cent increase.

It adds another layer of intrigue to the turf battle over Allianz Stadium, where the Rabbitohs will be taking four home games in 2027.

The Rabbitohs will host the Roosters at Moore Park in the final round of the season, which could be the clash that determines if the 7th placed South Sydney secures a place in the top eight.

A sellout in the annual blockbuster encounter will likely push the Rabbitohs average high-enough to usurp the Roosters as the No.1 team in Sydney.

Parramatta are next among the big climbers, jumping from 15,200 to 19,000, a 25 per cent surge despite another disappointing season for fans.

WAH, WHAT A RISE

The Warriors are the sellout kings of the NRL – with the sold out sign on every home game this year.

Their surge to genuine title favourites has almost 26,000 fans on average rocking up to Warriors games.

Another 50,000 Kiwis will pack out Go Media Stadium in the final rounds of the season.

The Wahs Nation has built a genuine sporting movement across New Zealand, which is as infectious with Kiwis in Queensland – routinely turning Suncorp Stadium into a wash of Wahs colours.

Now, with the Warriors charging towards another finals appearance, the fever has gone to another level. Warriors supporters had bought the highest percentage of grand final tickets of any club’s fans so far.

The message is obvious: New Zealand doesn’t just want a team in the NRL.

It wants a contender.

And it wants to see it live.

BULLDOGS BITTEN

The biggest fall in crowds belongs to Canterbury.

Twelve months ago, the Bulldogs were the great crowd success story, surging to more than 31,000 per game, riding the club’s finals wave amid scenes of fan armies marching to Accor Stadium to cheer, dance and drums.

This year?

Just an average 21,900 people. That’s a brutal 30 per cent tumble.

While crowd numbers in 2026 have surged across the board, on-field performance is still a huge influence in getting people through the door.

Perennial finals contender Melbourne have crashed out of top eight contention this year for the first time under Craig Bellamy’s reign, and the numbers reflect it.

Storm crowds are down around 12 per cent to 19,075 from almost 22,000 fans.

Canberra’s minor-premiership run helped the club bring in over 16,000 people on average but those numbers are down to 14,964 – only the Dragons fared worse.

On the Dragons, the likely wooden spoon winners, it’s hardly surprising to see Dean Young’s men near the bottom of the crowd ladder as well.

But remarkably around 15,000 more fans turned up to watch the Red V this year, a number which likely received a bump from the 40,000 people who turned up to the Anzac Day clash against the Roosters.

The cellar dwellers enjoyed a nine per cent uptake in crowd figures this year, which is only likely to increase in 2027 – when the club’s rebuild and recruitment blitz is in full swing.

TIGERS TALES

Like Brisbane, the Tigers have been dragged in the headlines after a season which held so much promise capitulated amid Jarome Luai’s contract saga and Adam Doueihi’s spat with Benji Marshall.

Crowd numbers were stable at around 15,000 fans per game and unsurprisingly, Leichhardt Oval was the fan favourite among the Tigers three home grounds, averaging 17,521 per game at the iconic venue.

Originally published as NRL crowd figures 2026: Broncos on top, Roosters v Rabbitohs for Sydney’s No.1 team