NRL Supercoach 2026 | The Ultimate Bye Planner

By Jay Schubert | Insta @supercoachdata | X @jay85s

It’s that time of the Supercoach season, with State of Origin just around the corner. 

While it has become easier to navigate in recent years, there are still pitfalls that can catch out the unprepared.

For clarity, the Major Bye Rounds occur in Round 12, 15, and 18.

During each of these rounds, seven teams will be on the bye. 

As only half the teams will be playing, it is only the top 13 playing players (including reserves) that will count towards our Supercoach scores.

Following each of these rounds (13, 16, and 19) are the Mini Bye Rounds, which are very tricky as three teams will be on the bye, but … Supercoach scores are calculated from a full squad, 17 players including the FLEX.

The other Rounds, 15 and 17, are standard rounds with only 1 team on the bye.

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Who has the bye each week?

Round 12 Bye Teams

Broncos, Sharks, Knights, Eels, Panthers, Roosters, Tigers

Round 13 Bye Teams

Dolphins, Titans, Rabbitohs

Round 14 Bye Team

Warriors

Round 15 Bye Teams

Bulldogs, Sea Eagles, Storm, Knights, Cowboys, Panthers, Dragons

Round 16 Bye Teams

Broncos, Eels, Rabbitohs

Round 17 Bye Team

Sharks

Round 18 Bye Teams

Bulldogs, Raiders, Titans, Storm, Cowboys, Roosters, Warriors

Round 19 Bye Teams

Broncos, Panthers, Dragons

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Looking Deeper

The most affected teams are the Broncos and Panthers, having all 3 of their byes during this period.

Of all the teams, the Broncos are the most impacted, especially for Origin players. Origin players will only play 3 of 8 games during this period, leading into a Round 20 game against the Panthers.

Panthers Origin players will play 4 of 8 games, but beware of restings in Rounds 13 and 16, with games against the Warriors and Titans on the Gold Coast in those rounds.

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There are four teams that only have 1 bye during this period, with the Dolphins having the best run, missing Round 13 (mini bye), but playing all other games. 

The other three teams are the Tigers, Sea Eagles, and Raiders, and depending on your team structure, they can strengthen your team with the right timing.

The Tigers miss Round 12 but then play all other games. Manly miss Round 15 and the Raiders miss Round 18. 

So, depending on your team structure leading into the Origin period, plan your timing of trades when looking at these teams.

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Of the teams that miss 2 games, the standout here is the Rabbitohs, especially their non-Origin players, as they, along with the Dolphins, are the only team that plays all three major bye rounds. 

However, if a South’s player is selected for Origin, meaning they will only play 1 game in 5 from rounds 12 – 16 and still miss round 18, making them a sell, beware those thinking of holding Latrell Mitchell.

The Round 16 bye also happens to be Souths’ last bye of the season, the first team to get through all 3 byes. For any non-Origin players that are season keepers, Round 17 is the week to target.

The Warriors, Sharks, Titans, Eels, and Dragons all miss 2 games, 1 major bye, and 1 minor bye. 

Each team will miss different weeks, so having a spread of players from these teams will give our teams the numbers we need. Too many from either team will just cause Supercoaches to burn through unnecessary trades.

The Sharks’ bye in Round 17 is their final bye of the season, adding that they play an Origin-affected Broncos in Round 18, meaning Nicho Hynes will likely be a great target.

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The Cowboys, Storm, and Bulldogs all share the same bye schedule, missing Rounds 15 and 18. 

While this may seem odd, it can be a blessing. If a player goes down that you’ve traded in to cover the other weeks, you’ll have 3 teams to select a replacement with the same bye weeks. 

Also, to note the Storm and Bulldogs play the same three teams across rounds 16,17 and 19.

For the Storm and Cowboys, Round 15 will also be their first bye of the season, making most players easy holds until then.

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The remaining teams are the Knights and the Roosters; each have two byes in the Origin weeks. 

Even though they’ll miss two of the major bye rounds, they will be very handy in the three mini bye weeks when we need to field full squads.

From Round 19 onwards, the Bulldogs, Titans, Roosters, and Warriors will have all finished their byes for the season. If you don’t have any season keepers from these teams, this will be the time to target for the run home

Head-to-head

While bye-planning is typically targeted at overall focused players, head-to-head players tend to be caught out by the byes. 

Be sure to check your league settings to see if your teams are playing through the Origin rounds. If not, take note of the mini byes and look at the teams in groups

Prioritising players from the Tigers, Sea Eagles, Raiders, Cowboys, Storm, Bulldogs, Knights, and Roosters now will make it much easier to save trades for later in the season during finals. 

For all those players that have played H2H before, you all know the pain of restings during the Supercoach finals, destroying all the Supercoach planning to that point, and many a cash comp.

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Rounds 13, 16, and 19 can be tricky, but try to avoid loading too many players from the respective three teams as a group on the bye.

Round 13 – Dolphins, Titans, and Rabbitohs.  

Round 16 – Eels, Rabbitohs and Broncos

Round 19 – Panthers and Broncos

Both the Rabbitohs and Broncos will miss 2 games during this time, so either plan to have coverage or trade to someone who will play through.

Whatever form of the Game you play, enjoy, curse, and love, I hope this assists in navigating through the trickiest part of the Supercoach Season.

Best of luck with your Origin planning.