Hostplus Cup and BMD Premiership Week 1 finals matches have been confirmed following a thrilling finish to the regular season.
In the Hostplus Cup, the Sunshine Coast Falcons finished in top spot with the coveted minor premiership after tallying 38 premiership points, three clear of the second placed Redcliffe Dolphins.
The Falcons are drawn to play the Burleigh Bears in a qualifying final blockbuster on Saturday afternoon at Sunshine Coast Stadium, while the Dolphins’ first finals assignment is against the third-placed Central Queensland Capras at Kayo Stadium on Sunday.
The two winners advance directly to the preliminary finals on the weekend of September 19/20, while the unsuccessful teams will get one more opportunity to keep their grand final dream alive against the respective elimination final winners.
The first elimination final will pit the Townsville Blackhawks (fifth) against the Brisbane Tigers (eighth) at Jack Manski Oval on Saturday.
Sunshine Coast Falcons players, coaches and support staff celebrate winning the minor premiership.
The Tigers snuck into eighth spot after clinching a 28-24 win over the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in a final round thriller.
The intensity of knock-out finals footy will also be on display at Goodna on Sunday when the Ipswich Jets (sixth) host the Mackay Cutters (seventh).
The finalists in the BMD Premiership will use this weekend to refresh before their finals series commences on the weekend of September 12/13 with two highly-anticipated elimination finals.
Burleigh Bears (third) host the Mackay Cutters (sixth) at UAA Park and the Souths Logan Magpies (fourth) welcome the Ipswich Jets (fifth) to Davies Park.
Watching it all unfold will be the minor premiership-winning Norths Devils and the second-placed Brisbane Tigers.
The Devils locked down top spot with a 32-12 win over the Tweed Seagulls in the final round, while the Tigers maintained their strong form with a dominant win over Wynnum Manly.
The Devils come together inside a victorious dressing room after finishing the BMD Premiership in top spot.
“The closeness of both the Hostplus Cup and the BMD Premiership was never more evident by the fact that finalists and their position on the ladder were not determined until the last match in the last round of both competitions,” QRL competitions manager David Maiden said today.
“Finals came a week early to BMD Kougari Oval with the Brisbane Tigers having a big win over the Seagulls to draw level with Burleigh on the BMD Premiership ladder, but their for and against pushed them past the Bears with their final try of the match.
“And in the Hostplus Cup, Wynnum jumped out to an early lead but the Tigers utilised the same wind that benefitted the Seagulls in the first half to come home with a wet sail and score five tries straight after half time.”
Every game of the 2026 Hostplus Cup and BMD Premiership finals series is available live and free when you sign up to Qplus.tv – presented by National Storage
· Hostplus Cup
Saturday, September 5:
QF1: Sunshine Coast Falcons v Burleigh Bears @ Sunshine Coast Stadium, 2.00pm
EF1: Townsville Blackhawks v Brisbane Tigers @ Jack Manski Oval, 4.00pm
Sunday, September 6:
QF2: Redcliffe Dolphins v Central Queensland Capras @ Kayo Stadium, 12.05pm
EF2: Ipswich Jets v Mackay Cutters @ Richardson Park , Woogaroo Field, 2.10pm
· BMD Premiership
Saturday, September 12:
EF1: Burleigh Bears v Mackay Cutters @ UAA Park, 12.05pm
Sunday, September 13:
EF2: Souths Logan Magpies v Ipswich Jets @ Davies Park, 12.05pm
