The Parramatta Eels will once again open their NRL season against the Melbourne Storm, marking their third time in four years the two clubs have clashed in round one
This matchup in round one happening once again has raised fresh questions around the league’s use of artificial intelligence in scheduling.
With the 2026 opening round draw revealed, fans have quickly noticed the familiar matchup.
Parramatta Eels and Melbourne Storm have previously met in the first round in 2023 and 2025, with the Storm winning both encounters.
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The league revealed they introduced AI-assisted scheduling to hopefully make the draw better due to major criticisms about the 2025 draw that saw teams not have a bye until after the first game of the Origin series, some teams having long stretches of home games and the same matchups occurring twice within a month of each other.
While this matchup offers an exciting start to the season, and Jonah Pezet playing his former side as part of the Eels, it has also become symbolic of the questions surrounding the transparency of the draw.
Whether coincidence or an algorithmic quirk, the Eels and Storm supporters will once again circle Round 1 as a must-watch clash.
With AI becoming embedded in the game’s operations, the conversation about how technology shapes the NRL calendar is only set to grow louder.