The Canberra Raiders are set for a showdown with grand finalists the Melbourne Storm on a Friday night in their first home game of 2019 in an early test of the Green Machine's finals aspirations.
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The NRL published the 2019 draw on Thursday morning, with the Raiders to start and finish with a flurry of home games.
The Raiders will play four of their first six matches at Canberra Stadium against the Storm, the Newcastle Knights, the Parramatta Eels and the Brisbane Broncos.
They will also play two of the last three rounds of the regular season at home against the Manly Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors.
But the chances to win at home are somewhat offset by a double blow against the grand final teams of this year, with the Raiders to play both the Storm and Sydney Roosters twice next year.
The Green Machine are still fighting for free-to-air games, with just five of their 24 matches to be played on Channel Nine. One of those, however, will be a Thursday night match against the Sharks.
There will be three Saturday afternoon and three Sunday afternoon matches at Canberra Stadium next year.
NRL officials have again given Raiders fans a chance to escape the cold winter months, with just two games in Canberra in an 11-week period from May 25 to August 11.
Canberra will be trying to force its way back into the finals for the first time since 2016 after two disappointing seasons.
The early home games will give Canberra an opportunity to get a fast start to their season. The Raiders lost four in a row this year and have traditionally struggled in the early stages of the season.
The Raiders haven't won more than two games in the first four rounds of a season since 2005, but they can stake their claim early with matches against the Storm, Knights, Eels and Broncos.
There will be a Super Rugby and NRL double-header in Canberra on April 13 and 14, with the ACT Brumbies to play the Johannesburg Lions on a Saturday night before the Raiders play Parramatta on Sunday night.
There will be two more cross-code weekened doubles. The first when the Brumbies host the Pretoria Bulls on May 24 and the Raiders play the next day against the North Queensland Cowboys.
The second will be the Raiders' clash against the Sharks on a Thursday and then the Brumbies final game of the regular season against the Queensland Reds two days later.
CANBERRA RAIDERS 2019 DRAW (home games in bold)
March 17: Gold Coast Titans v Canberra Raiders at Gold Coast, 6.30pm (Fox Sports).
March 22: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at Canberra Stadium, 6pm (Fox Sports).
March 29: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights at Canberra Stadium, 6pm (Fox Sports).
April 6: North Queensland Cowboys v Canberra Raiders at Townsville, 4.30pm (Fox Sports).
April 14: Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels at Canberra Stadium, 6.10pm (Fox Sports).
April 21: Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos at Canberra Stadium, 4.05pm (Channel Nine).
April 28: Manly Sea Eagles v Canberra Raiders at Brookvale, 2pm (Fox Sports).
May 4: Canberra Raiders v Penrith Panthers at Wagga, 3pm (Fox Sports).
May 12: Sydney Roosters v Canberra Raiders at Suncorp Stadium, 2pm (Fox Sports).
May 18: Canberra Raiders v South Sydney Rabbitohs at Canberra Stadium, 7.30pm (Fox Sports).
May 25: Canberra Raiders v North Queensland Cowboys at Canberra Stadium, 3pm (Fox Sports).
June 1: Canterbury Bulldogs v Canberra Raiders at ANZ Stadium, 7.35pm (Fox Sports).
June 7: Wests Tigers v Canberra Raiders at Western Sydney Stadium, 7.55pm (Channel Nine).
June 13: Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks at Canberra Stadium, 7.50pm (Channel Nine).
June 20: BYE
June 29: Parramatta Eels v Canberra Raiders at Darwin, 7.35pm (Fox Sports).
July 6: BYE
July 14: St George Dragons v Canberra Raiders at Wollongong, 6.10pm (Fox Sports).
July 20: Canberra Raiders v Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium, 5.30pm (Fox Sports).
July 28: Penrith Panthers v Canberra Raiders at Penrith Stadium, 4.05pm (Channel Nine).
August 2: New Zealand Warriors v Canberra Raiders at Mt Smart Stadium, 8pm (Fox Sports).
August 11: Canberra Raiders v Sydney Roosters at Canberra Stadium, 2pm (Fox Sports).
August 17: Melbourne Storm v Canberra Raiders at AAMI Park, 5.30pm (Fox Sports).
August 25: Canberra Raiders v Manly Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium, 4.05pm (Channel Nine).
September 1: Cronulla Sharks v Canberra Raiders at Southern Cross Stadium, 2pm (Fox Sports).
September 7: Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium, 3pm (Fox Sports).
