The season will begin on Thursday, March 8 with a clash between St. George and Brisbane Broncos. 

There will be more of an emphasis on Sunday blockbusters, with a total of 28 Sunday games in Sydney in 22 of the 25 rounds. 

Other main points from the draw:

• Four double headers – Perth Stadium, Sydney's ANZ Stadium, Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium and Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium;

• Five matches in regional NSW (Bathurst, Tamworth, Mudgee and two in Gosford), and three in regional Queensland (Gladstone, Cairns and Toowoomba);

• A more even distribution of free to air matches on Channel Nine. Eleven teams will play in at least 10 matches on free-to-air TV next year – compared with only five teams in 2017;

• A standalone weekend for a Sunday night State of Origin II, which means only two rounds will be directly affected by State of Origin;

• The introduction of a Thursday night game in the Easter Round (North Queensland Cowboys against Penrith Panthers). This means games will be played on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday over the Easter break;

• Some of the game's greats rivalries being played out twice during the season, including: Broncos v Cowboys, Bulldogs v Eels, Rabbitohs v Roosters, Dragons v Sharks and Panthers v Eels;

• Games staged in every mainland Australia capital as well as both the north and south Islands of New Zealand.

NRL chief Todd Greenberg said: "We have more control of the schedule for 2018 and we believe we have been able to deliver some wins for the everyone, but particularly the fans.

"There are more blockbusters in family-friendly timeslots. We have introduced a Thursday night match before Good Friday because that's what our supporters told us they want.

"And there will be at least one Sydney match for fans to attend nearly every Sunday during the season. We have also worked with the clubs to ensure that their requested priority match-ups were delivered.

"Additionally, for the first time the NRL will stage four double headers in one season – across two countries, as well as matches in seven different locations across regional NSW and Queensland.

"Having more control of the draw has allowed us to not only release the schedule earlier, but it has also allowed us to analyse the structure of the draw in greater detail.

"It has also allowed more equity in the broadcast of all 16 teams."

There will also be a reduction of five-day turnarounds, with each team having a maximum of three throughout the season.

"Two years ago there were 43 five-day turnarounds … next year that will drop to 24," he said. "We would like to thank the RLPA for working closely with us during this process."

The Finals Series begins on September 7, with the Grand Final to take place on September 30.

View the full draw here.