NRL releases draw for final six round with Thursday night footy to return of the end of the season The Broncos will clash with the Bulldogs in Thursday night footy in round 26. THURSDAY night football is to make a return for the final round of the NRL season with the Brisbane Broncos to play the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in round 26. The NRL has today released the schedule for the last six rounds of the 2013 NRL season with the table-topping South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Broncos both featuring in four Friday night encounters. A Friday blockbuster between the Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters is looming as the biggest game of the season in round 26. The Rabbitohs have also been scheduled for Friday night clashes against the Storm in Melbourne (Rd 22), the Sea Eagles at Gosford (Rd 23) and the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium (Rd 24). The Broncos meanwhile have two Friday night home and away encounters against the Newcastle Knights (Rd 21 and 25), as well as two further Friday encounters against the Eels at Suncorp Stadium (Rd 23) and Panthers at Centrebet Stadium (Rd 24). Two Saturday afternoon matches have also been scheduled for the closing rounds of the season with the Canberra Raiders to host the Bulldogs (Rd 23) and the St George Illawarra Dragons will take on the Wests Tigers at WIN Stadium (Rd 24). NRL Football Operations manager Nathan McGuirk said the inclusion of Saturday afternoon provided an opportunity to include additional family-friendly time-slots as the excitement builds towards the finals series. "At this stage we are not considering making Saturday afternoon football an ongoing part of the NRL match schedule," Mr McGuirk said. There is, however, a curiosity both on our part and of our broadcasters to see how fans respond to the time-slot, both in terms of game-day attendance and TV ratings.