Travel tops 61,000km in 2020

An analysis of the total distance travelled by every team in the 2020 draw reveals a significantly increased travel toll for premiers the Roosters, while the loads on travel-heavy sides Melbourne and the Warriors bounce back after drop-offs in 2019.

Twelve clubs have a notable increase in the 2020 draw compared to 2019, with one club steady and just five noting a significant drop, according to NRL.com Stats.

Manly enjoy the biggest reduction after deciding not to take a home game to New Zealand in 2020.

The Roosters had the lightest travel figure of any club last season but with a "home" game at Suncorp Stadium for Magic Round plus away games against the Warriors, Cowboys, Storm, Broncos and Raiders, they jump from less than 6000km to nearly 20,000km and from the lightest load of any team to the most of any Sydney team and seventh most in the NRL.

The Warriors' increase comes largely by virtue of being the designated home side at Magic Round, meaning 13 rather than 12 trips across the Tasman.

The Storm are also the home side in Magic Round, meaning 13 trips interstate (or overseas), up from 12 last year. The Bulldogs and Broncos each picked up a few thousand kilometres compared to last season.

The Dragons have the lightest travel load overall in 2020 with just three trips outside NSW and 7000km in total while the Panthers have also trimmed a few thousands Ks from their load to finish just under the Sharks and Wests Tigers among teams with the lightest loads.

Perhaps surprisingly, of all clubs it is the Dragons who have the most unenviable burst of travel over a short period, flying to Suncorp for Magic Round with away games in Newcastle then Brisbane back at Suncorp in the next two weeks.

Parramatta also have some condensed travel with a home game in Darwin the week before Magic Round followed by a trip to cross-town rivals Manly then a flight to Melbourne in a four-week burst.

In terms of travel on short turnarounds, no team has more than three five-day turnarounds (Melbourne, South Sydney, Cronulla and Parramatta) and none of those had more than two last season.

There are a handful of instances of travel on a five-day turnaround including the Cowboys heading to Melbourne in round 21, Souths flying to Townsville in round 11, Cronulla flying to Melbourne in round 21 and Wests Tigers to the Gold Coast in round 14. The Storm are the only club that have to fly twice on short turnarounds, with away games against the Cowboys in round six and Roosters in round nine.

Travel distances are calculated as the crow flies from the club's main home ground, for example Wollongong's WIN Stadium in the case of the Dragons. Home games at the main home venue are considered as being zero travel.