Wagga has been announced as the host city for the 2026 NRLW Magic Round and will host all 12 of the competition’s teams in the first weekend of August next year. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Wagga Wagga will soon host one of the biggest sporting events the city has ever seen after securing the 2026 NRLW Magic Round.
The second-ever NRLW Magic Round weekend will see all 12 NRLW teams take to Geohex Park on 1 and 2 August 2026, with thousands of fans from across the country expected to make the trip to NSW’s biggest inland city.
The Cronulla Sharks and the Wests Tigers will open the weekend at 12:15 pm on the Saturday, followed by the St George Dragons v Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders v the North Queensland Cowboys later that day.
Sunday 2 August will see the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs take on the Brisbane Broncos at 11:50 am, followed by the New Zealand Warriors v the Gold Coast Titans, with the Parramatta Eels and the Newcastle Knights rounding out the weekend.
Wagga Wagga City Council (WWCC) manager of city growth and regional assets Ben Creighton said the 2026 NRLW Magic Round would be one of the biggest sporting events the city had seen, with more than 500 players, staff and media personnel expected to make the trip.
“This is enormous for the city,” Mr Creighton said.
“We’re going to have the six elite-level games on the one weekend, all here in Wagga. NRLW is a game that has experienced significant growth and is getting quite a lot of coverage at the moment.
“I think this is just about as big as any of the events we’ve ever had here.
“In terms of the participation numbers, there’ll be between four and 500 players, officials and broadcast crew here in the city during that time, but it’s also around the broader visitation, the promotion of Wagga as a city that can host these sorts of events.”
Mr Creighton said WWCC had been in conversation with the NRL for about six months, trying to secure the rights to host Magic Round.
“There have been a lot of discussions with the NRL around trying to pitch Wagga as the place that can hold the weekend.
“We’ve been going through all the potential logistics of how accommodation would work, how the venue would work, and how flights in and out would work. So it’s been quite a lot of work over the last six months, but really happy now that we’ve actually been announced.
“I think we’ve got really good infrastructure. That’s one of the most important things.
“The venue, we know from the history of the Raiders games that we’ve held there, stands up really well to that sort of event. That was a really big factor in securing Magic Round.”
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo highlighted the rich history Wagga had with rugby league, as well as the city’s vibrant culture that helped land the rights.
“Wagga Wagga has a deep and historic connection to rugby league, producing several elite players who have represented at state and national levels,” he said.
“It’s also the largest inland city in NSW, a vibrant hub of culture and the arts, not to mention great restaurants, accommodation and wineries, making it an ideal host for the 2026 NRLW Magic Round for players and fans.”
Host venue Geohex Park has a crowd capacity of 10,000 and has previously hosted Canberra Raiders NRL premiership matches, NRLW pre-season games and a Country v City Origin clash.
Tickets for the weekend will go on sale at a later date.
