4 days ago
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Football fans are seeing more football than ever before. And it’s never been more unpredictable.
As the finals approach, the NRL is celebrating the end of a regular season in which there has been an average of 56 minutes of ball in play. That’s the highest figure on record – more than a minute increase on last season.
By way of comparison, during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the average ball-in-play time across 80 minutes was just 34 minutes.
The increase in actual play time was just one of the key stats to emerge after the NRL crunched the numbers from the 197 games played to date in 2025. There has been a trend towards closer, higher-scoring games during a season in which several big leads have been run down.
Seventy games were decided by a margin of 0-6 points – the most since 2018. No team is more cognisant of the minute difference between winning and losing than the Dragons, who were on the wrong end of 11 defeats by six points or less. It’s another stark reminder to coach Shane Flanagan that their finishing position of 15th could have been considerably higher if they were able to scrape home in half of their tight losses.
While many games have been relatively tight, there’s been no shortage of points. On average, 46.4 points have been scored per game – the second most in the past 20 years. The stat is a nod to a free-flowing brand of football and the attacking brilliance of superstars including Reece Walsh, Xavier Coates, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Josh Addo-Carr.
It’s also been a season for the comeback. There have been 38 teams that, after trailing at half-time, came back to win. That’s the second-highest figure in the past six years.
The number of big comebacks is unprecedented; eight teams have prevailed after conceding a half-time deficit of 13 or more – a new record.
Canberra has earned a reputation as the comeback kings, overturning several deficits this year under Ricky Stuart. However, they were on the wrong end of one of the most memorable turnarounds, when they blew a 20-0 half-time lead in front of their own fans to go down 32-20 against the Bulldogs in round 10.
The Bulldogs pulled off one of the comebacks of the season against the Panthers.Credit: Getty Images
“The 2025 NRL premiership regular season produced unmissable entertainment for fans,” said NRL CEO Andrew Abdo.
“There were many close and exciting matches, some unbelievable comebacks and simply thrilling athleticism from talented and dedicated players.”
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For the third year in a row, there have been 10 golden-point games. And after the recent domination of Penrith – they are gunning for their fifth consecutive premiership – there is a feeling that this title hunt is the most open in years. The Raiders have won their first minor premiership since 1990, the Tigers rose five places after earning the last three wooden spoons and three new teams feature in the top four this year.
“It sets up for an exciting and unpredictable finals series, where any team can win on the day,” Abdo said.
“It will come down to the key moments that matter in what will be a closely contested and nail-biting few weeks leading to the grand final.”
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