Why 2025 Finals Hype Belongs to the Clubs (and Not the NRL)

It’s National Rugby League finals season and the hype feels different. In the past, the NRL would pump out a glossy highlights reel to get you to buy into the games. The difference this year isn’t that clubs are suddenly producing finals campaign, they’ve been doing that for a while. What feels different is the scale and the stories. Multiple clubs are rolling out high-production campaigns across their digital channels, each with their own finals narrative. It’s competitive, it’s creative, it’s digital-first and its driving the hype right now (and it’s only Wednesday 😮‍💨)

Three videos in particular have caught my eye:

✨Penrith Panthers "NeVer Before"
A short, sharp piece of hype built on narrative flip. The video starts with failure: loss after loss, media saying they’re done, “bottom of the eight” talk. Then the switch, the ticker rolls into wins, the commentary flips, and the story becomes history. No team has ever come from this far back to win it all. Never before. It’s clever because it transforms doubt into energy, using the Panthers’ own setbacks as fuel for belief.

✨Canberra Raiders "It All Starts Here"
Nearly four minutes long, this plays as a mini-documentary narrated by Joseph Tapine. It opens in Vegas with spoon predictions and Ricky Stuart’s blunt, “you all expect us to come last.” From there, it charts the season: milestones, records, heritage, fans, the media coverage. What makes it powerful is the athlete voice, Tapine speaking as both player and leader. It doesn’t just hype one game; it frames the entire season as a story of defiance and identity

✨Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs "Built on Belief"
Narrated by Stephen Crichton, this campaign is built around brotherhood and connection. It recalls the 20–0 halftime deficit in Canberra, when belief turned a loss into a comeback. Every pass had meaning, every tackle had purpose. The video weaves in the grind of night trainings and the roar of 48,000 fans. The cut-through line: “We’re not chasing validation, we’re chasing greatness.” It’s hype as a values statement, embedding finals into the Bulldogs’ season-long story of resilience and togetherness

It’s not just the edits, all three are built for immersion. Tilt your screen and they take over. These aren’t casual scroll-by clips, they’re full-screen hype.

What ties them together isn’t polish but commitment. They’re resource-heavy: scripting, athlete buy-in, editing, distribution. In most clubs, digital staff are already wearing multiple hats and that’s why the teams producing at this level stand out. If you’re planning budgets for 2026, this is where the investment belongs, in people who can craft storytelling that delivers goosebumps, belief, and belonging.

At the end of the day, I’m just a NRL fan but this season feels different. Anyone could win it. The footy is still the product, but digital is selling us these stories of belief and that’s what makes them so powerful (… up the Wahs 👀).