Penrith have been handed a brutal path back to the summit of the NRL, with Ivan Cleary's men emerging with the toughest draw of any team for 2026.
The NRL confirmed their full draw on Friday, with Newcastle, North Queensland, Canterbury and St George Illawarra to start the season in Las Vegas on February 28.
In a major change, no two teams will play each other twice in the space of five weeks, after there were 15 such occurrences in 2025.
No side has more than one five-day turnaround in their schedule, with just 12 littered through the draw, compared to 21 in the past season and 26 in 2024.
But on paper, some teams do have a more difficult path ahead than others.
Penrith are the only club slated to face each of last season's top-four teams twice, with Cronulla the sole finalist from 2025 they won't have two matches against.
Fighting to win back the trophy from Brisbane after four straight premierships between 2021 and 2024, the Panthers are also still without their home stadium as it undergoes redevelopment.
In turn, they will take games to Bathurst and Mudgee, while also facing an away match in Darwin against the Dolphins.
Melbourne's draw also has some demons, with two games against each of Brisbane, Penrith, Canterbury and Canberra.
The Storm also have a 'home' game in Perth, where they are slated to tackle Manly on August 8.
At the other end of the spectrum Manly have walked away as the big winners, in what could be welcome news for under-pressure coach Anthony Seibold.
The Sea Eagles won't leave Brookvale Oval for the first four weeks of the competition, with three home games and a round-three bye.
Melbourne are the only top-four team from 2025 they face twice. Manly, the Warriors and Cronulla also have the fewest matches against last year's finalists.
As revealed earlier this week, Daly Cherry-Evans will return to Brookvale in Sydney Roosters colours in round four.
Dylan Brown will avoid a trip back to Parramatta to face the Eels, with Newcastle only hosting his old club at McDonald Jones Stadium in round 13.
And David Fifita will have to wait until round 26 to tackle his old club Gold Coast, with South Sydney also only taking on the Titans once in 2026.
There is an even spread of free-to-air matches, with 10 clubs having at least 10 free-to-air matches. No team has more than 13.
But Gold Coast have largely been snubbed, with just two matches on Channel Nine. The Warriors also only have three.
Pre-season matches will begin from February 7. The All-Stars will return to New Zealand, playing in Hamilton on February 15.
The NRL have not confirmed whether Sunday finals will return in weeks two and three of next year's finals series, before the October 4 decider at Accor Stadium.