The NRL pre-season challenge is back for a second time, with $100,000 again on the line and a number of bonus point rules set to determine the winners across the two weeks.
The Manly Sea Eagles come in as the defending champions after the Cronulla Sharks forgot how to offload in their second game last year.
The Penrith Panthers are the exclusion this year as they head to England to battle for the World Club Challenge, after all 17 clubs played last year alongside St Helens, who were in Australia to play Penrith for the trophy.
The point-scoring system is exactly the same as last year, with a team able to gain up to 15 points per game as follows:
- 12 points for a win
- 6 points for a draw
- 1 bonus point for 5 or more tries
- 1 bonus point for 5 or more line breaks
- 1 bonus point for 10 or more offloads
Should teams be tied at the end of the two weeks, then points differential will be used to determine the winner. Should that be tied, the greater percentage of points scored for and against will be used, before most tries, most goals, most field goals, least amount of penalties, and then, if by miracle that was all tied, the toss of a coin.
Zero Tackle will update the ladder after each game of the challenge, while you can find full fixtures and a breakdown of results at the bottom of this article.
RELATED: Week 1 team lists
2024 NRL pre-season challenge ladder
| Pos | Team | Win | Draw | Loss | F/A | Bonus | Points |
| 1 | Bulldogs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | Broncos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Cowboys | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Dolphins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Dragons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Eels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Knights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Rabbitohs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Raiders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Roosters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Sea Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Titans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Warriors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Storm | 0 | 0 | 1 | -12 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated after Bulldogs vs Storm, Week 1.
Pre-season challenge fixtures
Week 1
Canterbury Bulldogs 24 defeat Melbourne Storm 12 (14 points to 0)
Newcastle Knights vs Canterbury Bulldogs, Sat Feb 17, 1:45pm, Gosford
Sydney Roosters vs Manly Sea Eagles, Sat Feb 17, 3:45pm, Gosford
Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders, Sat Feb 17, 5:55pm, Kogarah
South Sydney Rabbitohs vs St George Illawarra Dragons, Sat Feb 17, 8:05pm, Kogarah
New Zealand Warriors vs Wests Tigers, Sun Feb 18, 2pm, Christchurch
North Queensland Cowboys vs Brisbane Broncos, Sun Feb 18, 4pm, Mackay
The Dolphins vs Gold Coast Titans, Sun Feb 18, 6:15pm, Sunshine Coast
Week 2
South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Sydney Roosters, Fri Feb 23, 6pm, Belmore
Cronulla Sharks vs Canterbury Bulldogs, Fri Feb 23, 8pm, Belmore
Melbourne Storm vs Newcastle Knights, Sat Feb 24, 1:45pm, Lautoka (Fiji)
New Zealand Warriors vs The Dolphins, Sat Feb 24, 3:45pm, Auckland
Manly Sea Eagles vs Brisbane Broncos, Sat Feb 24, 5:55pm, Brookvale
St George Illawarra Dragons vs Wests Tigers, Sat Feb 24, 8:05pm, Mudgee
Canberra Raiders vs North Queensland Cowboys, Sun Feb 25, 3pm, Queanbeyan
Gold Coast Titans vs Parramatta Eels, Sun Feb 25, 5pm, Ipswich
