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{{Infobox rugby league season
| title = 2026 PNGNRL season
| league = [[Papua New Guinea National Rugby League]]
| duration = 12 April – 13 September 2026
| no of teams = 12
| premiers = [[Rabaul Gurias|East New Britain Agmark Gurias]]
| premiership count = 7th
| runnersup = [[Mendi Muruks|PRK Mendi Muruks]]
| minor premiers = PRK Mendi Muruks
| mpcount =
| player of the year = Francis Sam (Mendi Muruks)
| top try scorer = Manase Watt (Port Moresby Vipers)
| top point scorer = Mark Alunga (ENB Gurias)
| broadcast partners = Digicel (Subscription)
| prevseason link = 2025 PNGNRL season
| prevseason year = 2025
| nextseason link = 2027 PNGNRL season
| nextseason year = 2027
}}
The ”’2026 PNGNRL season”’, known for sponsorship reasons as the ”’2026 Digicel ExxonMobil Cup”’, was the 36th season of the [[Papua New Guinea National Rugby League]] (PNGNRL) competition, the premier domestic [[rugby league]] competition in [[Papua New Guinea]]. Twelve clubs contested the season, which ran from 12 April to 13 September 2026.
== Teams ==
{| class=”wikitable”
! Team !! Home venue !! City/area !! Province !! Coach
|-
| Gas Resource Central Dabaris || Santos National Football Stadium / Sir John Guise Stadium || Port Moresby || [[Central Province (Papua New Guinea)|Central]] ||
|-
| [[Rabaul Gurias|ENB Agmark Gurias]] || Queen Elizabeth Park || [[Rabaul]] || [[East New Britain Province|East New Britain]] || Wartovo Puara Jr
|-
| [[Enga Mioks|NPL Enga Mioks]] || Aipus Oval || [[Wabag]] || [[Enga Province|Enga]] ||
|-
| [[Goroka Lahanis|Bintangor Goroka Lahanis]] || National Sports Institute || [[Goroka]] || [[Eastern Highlands Province|Eastern Highlands]] || Michael Moses
|-
| [[Gulf Isou|PRK Gulf Isou]] || Santos National Football Stadium || Port Moresby || [[Gulf Province|Gulf]] ||
|-
| [[Hela Wigmen|Kroton Hela Wigmen]] || Santos National Football Stadium / Sir John Guise Stadium || Port Moresby || [[Hela Province|Hela]] || Andrew Andiki
|-
| Kandes Rugby League Club || Ron Albert Oval || [[Madang]] || [[Madang Province|Madang]] || Stanley Tepend
|-
| [[Lae Snax Tigers]] || Lae Rugby League Ground || [[Lae]] || [[Morobe Province|Morobe]] ||
|-
| [[Mendi Muruks|PRK Mendi Muruks]] || Lae Rugby League Ground || [[Lae]] (relocated from [[Mendi]]) || [[Southern Highlands Province|Southern Highlands]] || Roderick Puname
|-
| [[Mt Hagen Eagles|Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles]] || John Ambane Oval || [[Minj]] (relocated from [[Mount Hagen]]) || [[Western Highlands Province|Western Highlands]] || Henry Wan
|-
| [[Port Moresby Vipers|Moni Plus NCDC POM Vipers]] || Santos National Football Stadium / Sir John Guise Stadium || Port Moresby || [[National Capital District (Papua New Guinea)|National Capital District]] ||
|-
| [[Waghi Tumbe|Asila Waghi Tumbe]] || John Ambane Oval || [[Minj]] || [[Jiwaka Province|Jiwaka]] ||
|}
== Regular season ==
=== Results ===
{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 1 (12 April)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 2 (18–19 April)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 3 (25–26 April)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 4 (2–3 May)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 5 (9–10 May)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 6 (16–17 May)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 7 (23–24 May)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 8 (30–31 May)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 9 (6–7 June)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 10 (13–14 June)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 11 (20–21 June)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 12 (5 July)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 13 (11–12 July)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 14 (18–19 July)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 15 (25–26 July)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 16 (2 August)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 17 (8–9 August)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center; font-size:95%”
|+ Round 18 (16 August)
! Home !! Score !! Away !! Venue
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=== Ladder ===
{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center”
! Pos !! Team !! Pld !! W !! D !! L !! B !! PF !! PA !! PD !! Pts
|- style=”background:#BBF3FF”
| 1 || style=”text-align:left” | PRK Mendi Muruks || 18 || 13 || 0 || 5 || 0 || 394 || 280 || +114 || 26
|- style=”background:#D0F0C0″
| 2 || style=”text-align:left” | Kandes RLC || 18 || 11 || 4 || 3 || 0 || 377 || 268 || +109 || 26
|- style=”background:#D0F0C0″
| 3 || style=”text-align:left” | Moni Plus NCDC POM Vipers || 18 || 11 || 1 || 6 || 0 || 363 || 262 || +101 || 23
|- style=”background:#D0F0C0″
| 4 || style=”text-align:left” | ENB Agmark Gurias || 18 || 10 || 2 || 6 || 0 || 460 || 414 || +46 || 22
|- style=”background:#D0F0C0″
| 5 || style=”text-align:left” | Kroton Hela Wigmen || 18 || 10 || 1 || 7 || 0 || 339 || 266 || +73 || 21
|- style=”background:#D0F0C0″
| 6 || style=”text-align:left” | Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles || 18 || 10 || 1 || 7 || 0 || 382 || 322 || +60 || 21
|-
| 7 || style=”text-align:left” | Bintangor Goroka Lahanis || 18 || 8 || 3 || 7 || 0 || 390 || 378 || +12 || 19
|-
| 8 || style=”text-align:left” | NPL Enga Mioks || 18 || 8 || 1 || 9 || 0 || 335 || 348 || −13 || 17
|-
| 9 || style=”text-align:left” | Lae Snax Tigers || 18 || 6 || 3 || 9 || 0 || 291 || 318 || −27 || 15
|-
| 10 || style=”text-align:left” | Gas Resource Central Dabaris || 18 || 6 || 1 || 11 || 0 || 350 || 421 || −71 || 13
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| 11 || style=”text-align:left” | Asila Waghi Tumbe || 18 || 4 || 0 || 14 || 0 || 322 || 528 || −206 || 8
|- style=”background:#FFBBBB”
| 12 || style=”text-align:left” | PRK Gulf Isou || 18 || 2 || 1 || 15 || 0 || 276 || 474 || −198 || 5
|}
* The team highlighted in blue clinched the minor premiership
* Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals series
* The team highlighted in red clinched the wooden spoon
<small>Two competition points were awarded for a win and one for a draw. The ENB Agmark Gurias, who finished fourth, went on to win the premiership. Source:</small>
The defending premiers, the Lae Snax Tigers, finished ninth. The PRK Gulf Isou took the wooden spoon with two wins, although the Asila Waghi Tumbe, one place above them, conceded more points than any other club.
== Finals series ==
The top six teams contested a four-week finals series at the Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.
{| class=”wikitable” style=”text-align:center”
! Week !! Match !! Home !! Score !! Away !! Date
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1 || Elimination final || style=”text-align:right” | ”’ENB Agmark Gurias”’ || 32–18 || style=”text-align:left” | Kroton Hela Wigmen || 23 August
|-
| Elimination final || style=”text-align:right” | Moni Plus NCDC POM Vipers || 14–21 || style=”text-align:left” | ”’Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles”’ || 23 August
|-
| rowspan=2 | 2 || Major semi-final || style=”text-align:right” | ”’PRK Mendi Muruks”’ || 18–14 || style=”text-align:left” | Kandes RLC || 30 August
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| Minor semi-final || style=”text-align:right” | ”’ENB Agmark Gurias”’ || 42–22 || style=”text-align:left” | Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles || 30 August
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| 3 || Preliminary final || style=”text-align:right” | ”’ENB Agmark Gurias”’ || 20–18 || style=”text-align:left” | Kandes RLC || 6 September
|-
| 4 || Grand final || style=”text-align:right” | ”’ENB Agmark Gurias”’ || 26–14 || style=”text-align:left” | PRK Mendi Muruks || 13 September
|}
In the elimination finals on 23 August the Gurias defeated the Kroton Hela Wigmen 32–18, while the Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles beat the third-placed Moni Plus NCDC POM Vipers 21–14 to end the Vipers’ season. In the semi-finals on 30 August, the Muruks beat the Kandes 18–14 to take a direct passage to the grand final, while the Gurias eliminated the Eagles 42–22, scoring eight tries with Mark Alunga kicking at a perfect rate. The Gurias then edged the Kandes 20–18 in the preliminary final on 6 September, ending the newcomers’ debut campaign. The win returned the Gurias to the decider for the first time since 2022, when they had lost 8–6 to the Kroton Hela Wigmen at the same venue.
