Where to watch NRL (rugby league) in Australia

Because not only Friday night has to be a great night for football.

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Nathan Lawrence
Jun 01, 2023
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Ah, football. The seemingly descriptive word that’s unfortunately quite ambiguous in Australia. It could refer to the accurate version of football (namely, soccer). Or it could be rugby union. Alternatively, it could be AFL.

Then there’s the “footy” shorthand that, at least for this writer, seems to be most used with the National Rugby League, or “NRL” to its mates. Scroll on for all of the best ways to watch NRL and other rugby league matches in Australia, including some of the best sports streaming services.

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Watch NRL online in Australia

Keep up to date with NRL on 9Now, Kayo Sports and Foxtel Now.

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There are a few straightforward ways to watch NRL matches online in Australia. For a free option, start with 9Now. Sign up for a free account and stream three live matches for no cost during the NRL season. If you want to stream every match, you’ll either need a Kayo Sports account or Foxtel Now subscription with the Sport add-on.

Kayo Sports has a whole lot of live and on-demand sports content for a $25 and $35 monthly fee with 7-day free trial. Basically, you pay more for access to additional HD streams: one, two and then up to three simultaneous streams. To watch NRL on Foxtel Now it’s a combo cost: $25 for the base plan (Essentials Pop or Lifestyle) then $29 on top for the Sport add-on, so a $54 monthly fee all in.

NRL isn’t the only rugby league content you’ll find on Foxtel programming, either. Here’s a full breakdown of all the Foxtel rugby league content:

  • NRL Telstra Premiership (men’s and women’s)
  • Super League
  • Hostplus Queensland Cup
  • Rugby Football League
  • NSW Cup
  • State of Origin (men’s and women’s)
  • World Cup Challenge
  • NRL All Stars
  • Rugby League Internationals
  • NRL Pre-Season Challenge
  • Touch Football Australia
  • Rugby League World Cup (men’s and women’s)

If you’re content with on-demand content, there are NRL highlights and full-match replays on the official NRL YouTube channel.

Foxtel Now | 2022 logo | Reviews.org Australia
Basic pack starts at
$25
/mo
pro Premium TV shows from HBO and FX
pro Sports, Movies and Main Event
con 4K is restricted to Foxtel iQ Box plan
Additional channel packs cost between $10 and $29 extra each month. The premium All Packs plan costs $104 per month.

Price and plans only accurate as of last page update.

How else can I stream NRL in Australia?

With the right virtual private network (VPN) service, there are other ways to watch NRL matches. Download the Watch NRL app for Android or iOS, then connect to a VPN server outside of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. It costs $20 a week, $39 a month or $199 a year for NRL live streams and on-demand match replays. Try one of these VPNs for speedy global streaming:

Alternatively, connect to a VPN server in New Zealand and sign up for a Sky Sports Now account (there’s a seven-day trial). It costs NZ$20 per week, NZ$40 per month or NZ$400 per year to access NRL live streams. The VPNs below offer servers in New Zealand:

The other option for rugby league streaming is the UK version of Sky Sports; just connect to a UK VPN server. Sky Sports in the UK costs £25 per month (with a six-month contract). The VPNs below worked great with UK streaming in my tests:

Watch State of Origin in Australia

One of those lists above suggests that Kayo Sports is where you can reliably stream the State of Origin each year. But there is a catch. If you want to watch the match live, use 9Now instead. Kayo Sports has replays of State of Origin matches from previous years, plus the upcoming matches will show after they play live on 9Now.

Kayo Sports
Basic plan starts at
$25
/mo
pro Huge sports library
pro Fantastic streaming apps
con Manually refreshing new content
Kayo Sports is a subscription service that offers live and on-demand streams for over 40 different sports, leagues and codes. Starting at $25 per month, it's currently the best catch-all sports streaming service in Australia.

Price and plans only accurate as of last page update.

Watch the Rugby League World Cup in Australia

There’s a bit of a wait for the next Rugby League World Cup, which isn’t slated to kick off until 2025. For replays and highlights from the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, check in with Kayo Sports.

Compare streaming services

Interested to see how the streaming services above stack up against the competition? Take a look at the table below for a comparison of your streaming options in Australia.

Service
Details
Monthly price
More info
Binge Standard plan
4K streaming
2 streams
Deal: 7-day free trial
$18/mth
Apple TV+Apple TV+ plan
4K streaming
6 streams (Family Sharing)
Deal: 7-day free trial
$12.99/mth
Disney PlusDisney+ Standard plan
HD streaming
2 streams
Deal: $139.99 for 12mths
$13.99/mth
Disney PlusDisney+ Premium plan
4K streaming
4 streams
Deal: $179.99 for 12mths
$17.99/mth
NetflixNetflix Standard + Ads
HD streaming
2 streams
$6.99/mth
StanStan Basic plan
SD streaming
1 stream
$12/mth
Kayo SportsKayo One Plan
HD streaming
1 stream
Deal: 7-day free trial
$25/mth
Foxtel Now | 2022 logo | Reviews.org AustraliaFoxtel Now Essentials
HD streaming
2 streams
Access to over 30 channels
Deal: 10-day free trial
$25/mth
ShudderShudder plan
HD streaming
1 stream
Deal: 7-day free trial
$6.99/mth
Hayu | Provider logoHayu Plan
HD streaming
1 stream
Deal: 7-day free trial
$6.99/mth
Paramount+Paramount+ plan
HD streaming
2 streams
Deal: 7-day free trial
$9.99/mth

NRL Australia frequently asked questions

The only reliably free way to watch NRL matches in Australia is via 9Now.
Watch live NRL matches online with 9Now for select matches. Alternatively, subscribe to Kayo Sports or Foxtel Now (with the Sport add-on) to watch every round live.
Yes, live and on-demand NRL matches are available for paying NRL app subscribers outside of Australia. Use a VPN to connect to a server location outside of Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific Islands to stream NRL matches via the NRL app.
Nathan Lawrence
Written by
Nathan Lawrence
Nathan Lawrence has been banging out passionate tech and gaming words for more than 11 years. These days, you can find his work on outlets like IGN, STACK, Fandom, Red Bull and AusGamers. Nathan adores PC gaming and the proof of his first-person-shooter prowess is at the top of a Battlefield V scoreboard.

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