NRL 2026 LIVE updates: Warriors strike first in DCE’s Roosters debut before Panthers face Broncos

Daly Cherry-Evans gets the kick away at the end of the Roosters’ first set – expect he and Sam Walker to share kicking duties in general play tonight – and the Warriors receive the game’s first penalty after a high tackle from Naufahu Whyte on Jackson Ford.

The get within striking distance and throw about a dozen passes on the last tackle, before the play fizzles out with a knock-on. Or is it? There’s a captain’s challenge from the Warriors – and the bunker finds that Roosters hooker Benaiah Ioelu got a touch to the ball before it went down. Another fresh set from the Roosters’ 20-metre line, and the home side have a great chance to grab first points.

Warriors 0, Roosters 0 after three minutes

The teams have taken the field in Auckland, the Roosters in a predominantly white strip and the Warriors in blue. It’s a big ask for a Warriors side missing injured halfback Luke Metcalf and forward Mitch Barnett, but if there’s any good time to take on this Roosters outfit, it’s in round one.

There’s an early blip as referee Wyatt Raymond has the ball replaced (it’s a little flat) and now we’re underway, with the Warriors kicking off and Naufahu Whyte – one of the Roosters’ breakout stars of 2025 – taking the game’s first carry.

Warriors 0, Roosters 0 after 0 minutes

A day after Craig Bellamy’s Melbourne Storm continued their incredible 23-year unbeaten run in the opening round of a season, there’s quite a contrast with this Roosters side – who tend to start slowly despite being one of the dominant clubs of the modern game. They’ve lost in nine of their past 13 round one clashes, including a 50-14 thrashing at the hands of Brisbane last year.

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Young gun Blake Steep has earned the No.13 jersey for the Roosters tonight (although he will come off the bench in a late change), but while he’s impressed the Tricolours coaches in the off-season he had already created headlines a year ago with an incredible act of bravery off the field.

In January 2025, the rising Indigenous All Stars forward – now aged 20 – swam 1.6 kilometres back and forth through sharky seas to save his father who had suffered a heart attack underwater.

Read the full story from Dan Walsh here

The last time Penrith were at Suncorp Stadium, they blinked with their season on the line: a 14-0 half-time lead in their keeping; a near-perfect first 40 minutes with 57 per cent of possession.

Not exactly butchered, because the Broncos defended like demons in one of the modern era’s epic preliminary finals, and well and truly won a classic contest. The Panthers didn’t beat themselves.

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However, for the first time since the start of their all-conquering dynasty, they did cough up a 12-point lead without recovering it.

There’s been no popcorn and group therapy rewatch of September’s 16-14 loss to the eventual premiers. But the key moments where Penrith failed to put Brisbane away have loomed large all the same this summer.

“We’ve had enough time to digest where we went wrong and where we missed the mark,” fullback Dylan Edwards said.

“We’ve taken snippets from that prelim throughout our pre-season … Just little focus areas. We didn’t finish the game well enough, and we were probably guilty of that a lot of the time throughout the season – just staying in that game for the full 80 [minutes].

“The Broncos, they were the best at it, finishing games and being able to come over the top of teams … we’ve addressed that.”

Read the full story from Dan Walsh

If the Roosters lose an outside back to injury tonight, their one bench player ready to fill the void is former Dragon Cody Ramsey – who has incredibly overcome a life-threatening condition to defy the odds and return to the NRL.

Here’s a snippet from an Adrian Proszenko story on Ramsey late last year:

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Before Cody Ramsey accepted an opportunity to learn from – and potentially replace – James Tedesco at the Roosters, his rugby league comeback had exceeded expectations.

The main doctor who treated Ramsey for ulcerative colitis – a potentially life-threatening condition that causes inflammation of the digestive tract – declared his footballing career was over. The fullback overcame that prognosis and ended an 896-day sabbatical by captaining St George Illawarra’s NSW Cup team in last season’s grand final.

The Roosters saw enough to suggest Ramsey will add to the 36 NRL games he played prior to the illness, signing him to a two-year deal.

“It’s pretty special, it’s such a prestigious club,” Ramsey said. “I’m so excited to get into training and play some games. I’m ecstatic and very grateful.”

In making a successful return, Ramsey has surprised everyone but himself. At one point, during a hospital stay that lasted seven months in which pain and his wife were his most constant companions, Ramsay dropped from a playing weight of 90kg to just 62kg. A stoma, an opening in the abdomen, was required because his bowel was about to perforate.

Read the full story from Adrian Proszenko

We know how Cooper Cronk’s story ended. His move from Melbourne to the Tricolours resulted in two premierships in his final two seasons, a fitting end to a storied career. And now the Roosters have again gone all in, signing veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans in the expectation he can do likewise.

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It is a high bar, set for a man who only recently blew out the candles on his 37th birthday cake. However, “DCE” understands what he has signed up for. Not for the first time, he is the story of the season – one that will be punctuated by endless speculation about whether he can “do a Cronk”.

So, can he?

“I’ll tell you one thing right now – I’m definitely aware that there’s a comparison to what Cooper did to what I did,” Cherry-Evans says. “And if I can replicate what Cooper’s done, that would be amazing. That’s ultimately what I’m trying to do.”

Read the full story from Adrian Proszenko