Only two of the four sides, the Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand Warriors, took part in pre-season trial games.

The Warriors played two fixtures against a combined Auckland side, while the Broncos played the Papua New Guinea Orchids as a curtain-raiser to the Brisbane Broncos-Manly Sea Eagles NRL fixture.

The Sydney Roosters were due to play the North Sydney Bears but the game was cancelled due to player availability.

[9] They instead underwent an opposed session with the Roosters' under-20 Jersey Flegg Cup side.

[10] The inaugural season will operate under a round-robin format, with games played as curtain-raisers to the 2018 NRL Finals Series.