The 2020 NRL season was the 113th of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. As of 3 May 2020, the season was shortened from 25 rounds to 20, and the finals series and State of Origin pushed back, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first two rounds were played before the season was suspended on 23 March, and premiership points earned from the earlier rounds are still counted. The season resumed on 28 May.After playing the first two rounds with 2 referees, the decision was made to play the remaining rounds with one referee. To accommodate this, a number of other rules changes were introduced.