This will only occur in Magic Round, and the final five rounds of the regular season.
Come to think of it, should Nine retain the rights to televise the NRL from 2027, could they also televise regular Saturday Night Footy all season round, given Seven will no longer be televising Saturday night AFL matches (in Melbourne) from this season on?
They could but you’d think making Saturday exclusive to Stan would be the driving force to get more subscribers.
Even under the current deal, FOXTEL wanted the ‘Super Saturday’ (with three live games in a row) as an exclusive.
I wonder back when there were 2 FNF games on Nine, when the order of games was the same in both NSW and QLD (no Broncos etc.), could overseas stations take the delayed game live rather than the live one? Sky in NZ did this often, showing both live when there wasn’t a Super Rugby match (e.g. Brumbies/Reds/Wartahs/Force) home match scheduled that night.
Didn’t you just answer your own question?
Sky would always show delayed games live.
Not strictly true - there were times when they had 3 sports channels and there was other live content on them that superseded showing a second game.
The 2025 footy season will explode to life with the Harvey Norman NRL Indigenous vs Maori All Stars on Saturday, February 15, on Channel 9 and 9Now.
A celebration of two of the richest cultures on earth will collide at CommBank Stadium, Sydney for the annual event, with three big fixtures kicking off from 4.30pm AEDT with Mixed Touch Football, followed by the Women’s All Stars and Men’s All Stars.
The 2025 NRL Indigenous All Stars will feature the freakishly fast Hamiso Tabui-Fidow, while the Maori All Stars will have more than a skip in their step with Knights superstar Kalyn Ponga joining their lineup.
Speaking ahead of the clash, Dolphins, Queensland Maroons and Australian Kangaroos outside back Tabui-Fidow, who is proudly representing his Torres Strait Islander heritage for the Indigenous All Stars this week, said: “This is the most culturally significant week in the NRL season. It’s incredibly special for us to represent our people.
“This opportunity is an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and educate others. I can’t wait to get out on the field against the Maori All Stars, we’ll play our style of footy and put on a show to kick off the footy season.”
Nine’s Wide World of Sports will include expert commentary, in-depth analysis, ensuring that viewers don’t miss a moment of the action
Coverage is hosted by James Bracey and Danika Mason, with expert comments from Indigenous All Stars legend Johnathan Thurston, the Eighth Immortal Andrew Johns, premiership winning coach Phil Gould and international rugby league representatives Ruan Sims and Allana Ferguson. During the games sideline reporters Danika Mason and Marlee Silva are joined by commentators Mat Thompson and Brenton Speed.
BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Saturday, February 15
Mixed Touch Football
Sydney 4.30pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Brisbane 3.30pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Melbourne 4.30pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Adelaide 4.00pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Perth 1.30pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Women’s All Stars
Sydney 5.30pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Brisbane 4.30pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Melbourne 5.30pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Adelaide 5.00pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Perth 2.30pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Men’s All Stars
Sydney 7.30pm LIVE and FREE, Channel 9HD, stream free on 9Now
Brisbane 6.30pm on 9GemHD switching to Channel 9 at 7.00pm, stream on 9Now
Melbourne 7.30pm LIVE and FREE, Channel 9HD, stream free on 9Now
Adelaide 7.00pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
Perth 4.30pm LIVE and FREE, 9GemHD, stream free on 9Now
NRL INDIGENOUS VS MAORI ALL STARS 2025
LIVE AND FREE ON THE 9NETWORK - STREAM ON 9NOW
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15 FROM 4.30PM AEDT
Its great to have the footy back on free to air! Even though the cricket was mostly pretty good this summer, i still prefer the footy. Go Sharkies.
Yeah kind of suspected it would be those two games.
I think only showing 1 of the 4 games wouldn’t have been a good look for Nine.
It’ll be interesting to see how many Nine personnel are sent over to cover the two games and what gets hosted of covered from the studios.
I think Mat Thompson will call the Panthers vs Sharks game while either Speedy or Peter Psaltis will call the Jillaroos game.
Both are likely to be called in-studio, as the Roosters vs Broncos game was last year.
Weekend Today team or Clint Stanaway at least?
I say unlikely, given the Melbourne Storm aren’t playing.
Though I think when the Storm’s turn to play in Vegas comes, Stanaway or Tony Jones could hypothetically cover the team’s trip.
I just suggested that as WT would back onto the coverage of the double header, and would provide a good lead in, similar to the NRL GF day when they’re live from Accor.
Looks like no changes to graphics for the 3rd straight year. The promo endborads have been tweaked.
2024 vs 2025
Do note that the current graphics launched in Origin 1 2022, so they could possibly do something similar this year.
