Broncos demoted in NRL Magic Round shake-up as Nathan Cleary idea officially rejected

The Brisbane Broncos have been bumped from the prime-time Friday night slot for next year's Magic Round showcase, and will instead play the Penrith Panthers on Sunday afternoon. And Nathan Cleary's bold proposal to play the World Club Challenge against Wigan on that weekend is officially dead and buried.

The Sea Eagles will be the team to miss out on playing Magic Round in 2025 (from May 2-4) after requesting to have that weekend off. Manly have traditionally 'hosted' the Broncos in Magic Round, foregoing a home game in Sydney for the fixture at Suncorp Stadium.

The Sea Eagles have been taking 'home' games against the Broncos to Brisbane as part of a Friday night double-header from as early as 2011, and they've done so in every edition of Magic Round since its inception in 2019. But after attracting record home crowds in 2024 at Brookvale Oval, Manly have opted not to renew their contract to "host" at Magic Round next season.

According to reports, the Sea Eagles were keen to have the bye during Magic Round in 2025, after a heavy travel load in the first half of this year's season. That has now been granted, and Anthony Seibold's side won't be playing that weekend in May.

Broncos bumped from Friday night to Sunday

As for the Broncos, they've been bumped from the Friday night slot for the first time in Magic Round's six-year history. In what is believed to be an attempt to keep fans' interest right through until the final, the Broncos will instead play the Panthers on Sunday afternoon in a rematch of the 2023 grand final.

The marquee Friday night slot will instead feature the Dolphins against the Sydney Roosters, with the NRL's newest franchise getting prime-time exposure in Magic Round for the first time. It marks a staggering fall from grace for the Broncos, who failed to make the finals in 2024 despite finishing runner-up the year before.

Nathan Cleary's World Club Challenge call rejected

And Penrith's placement on the Sunday afternoon also means Cleary's idea of playing the World Club Challenge that weekend is officially dead. The Panthers and Wigan have both withdrawn from playing the match in the traditional February window, citing workloads and player management as the biggest issue.

It's now all-but certain the annual match between the NRL and Super League champions will be scrapped in 2025. Speaking last month, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said: "At this stage there aren't any plans to play the World Club Challenge next year."

He added: "We've looked at a number of different ways in which it might work, (but) Penrith made their intentions clear earlier on in the piece. It’s not definitely dead and buried but it’s certainly going to be very challenging to play at the start of next year.

"From a player well-being perspective – and the way the season is with both competition winners featuring in Vegas – it’s probably not going to happen. Now we're turning our attention to working with Super League and what it looks like in 2026 and the possibilities of what we could do in '26 in relation to '25 as well. (And) we're looking innovatively at what other options are available potentially in later years."

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Meanwhile, the Dragons will return to the Magic Round schedule in 2025 after missing this season with the bye, and will face the Wests Tigers on Saturday night. The Gold Coast Titans missed out in 2023 in the first year the NRL had an odd number of teams (17) due to the Dolphins coming in.

Schedule for NRL Magic Round in 2025:

Friday May 2:

6pm: Cronulla v Parramatta

8pm: Roosters v Dolphins

Saturday May 3:

3pm: South Sydney v Newcastle

5.30pm: Warriors v North Queensland

7.45pm: Wests Tigers v St George Illawarra

Sunday May 4:

2pm: Gold Coast v Canterbury

4.05pm: Penrith v Brisbane

6.25pm: Melbourne v Canberra

with AAP