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Wikipedia

National Rugby League

April 27, 2023

"NRL" redirects here. For other uses, see NRL (disambiguation).
This article is about the Australian and New Zealand league. For the semi-professional Papua New Guinean league, see Papua New Guinea National Rugby League. For the Canadian ringette league, see National Ringette League.

The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and media giant News Corporation-controlled Super League,[3] in the aftermath of the 1990s Super League war, in which both ran parallel to each other in 1997.[4] The partnership was dissolved in 2012, with control of the NRL going to the re-constituted ARL, which was re-structured with an independent board of directors and renamed the Australian Rugby League Commission.

National Rugby League
Current season, competition or edition:
2023 NRL season
SportRugby league
Founded1998; 25 years ago (1998)[1]
Inaugural season1998 (1908)
CEOAndrew Abdo
CommissionerPeter V'landys
No. of teams17[2]
Country Australia
(16 teams)
 New Zealand
(1 team)
HeadquartersRugby League Central, Sydney
Most recent
champion(s)		 Penrith Panthers
(4th title)
Most titles South Sydney Rabbitohs (21 titles)
TV partner(s)Australia:
Nine Network/Fox League
New Zealand:
Sky Sport/Prime
Streaming partner(s)Kayo Sports
9Now
Sponsor(s)Telstra
Level on pyramidLevel 1
International cup(s)World Club Challenge
Related
competitions		Super League
Official websiteNRL.com

NRL matches are played in Australia and New Zealand from March to October. Each team plays 24 matches, with the highest placed team at the end of the regular season awarded the minor premiership. This is followed by a finals series contested between the eight highest placed teams from the regular season. The season culminates in the premiership-deciding NRL Grand Final, one of Australia's most popular sporting events.[5] The winners play the World Club Challenge against the champions of the Super League.[6] The reigning premiers are the Penrith Panthers, having won their fourth premiership at the end of the 2022 season.

History

Main article: History of the National Rugby League
See also: Rugby league in Australia and List of NRL records

Origin and establishment

The New South Wales Rugby League ran the major rugby league competition of New South Wales from its inception in 1908 until 1994. Following the introduction of a new format for interstate rugby league, the State of Origin series in 1980, the decade of the 1980s brought about expansion of the NSWRL premiership, with the introduction of commercial sponsorship, the Winfield Cup, and the addition of non-Sydney-based teams, Canberra and Illawarra in 1982.[7][8] Although this move brought more interest in the competition statewide in New South Wales, it would spell the beginning of the demise of some of the traditional Sydney-based clubs as well as having a negative effect on the Brisbane Rugby League premiership. Following the 1983 season, Sydney foundation club Newtown Jets were ultimately forced to withdraw from the competition because of financial difficulties.[9]

Further expansion of the league followed in 1988, with another three teams based outside Sydney introduced to the competition; the Newcastle Knights and the first two Queensland teams, the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast-Tweed Giants.[10] The Brisbane and Newcastle sides proved to be successful and popular and paved the way towards a push for a truly national competition.

Although a top-flight league, legally parallel to the NSWRL Premiership until the beginning of the truly national ARL Premiership in 1995, the Brisbane Rugby League's history is not officially recorded by the NRL, and it is considered to have been an equal but unrelated first grade competition from 1922-1994.

This was attempted in 1995 with control of the premiership passing from the NSWRFL to the Australian Rugby League (ARL), who invited four more teams from outside NSW to participate in 1995. Ultimately this competition failed, but in its demise the National Rugby League was born, incorporating the traditional Sydney clubs, successfully coercing the Sydney market to follow the newly created national competition.

See also: Super League war

The prospect of a truly national rugby league competition in addition to the introduction of pay television in Australia attracted the attention of global media organisation, News Corporation, and it followed that professional rugby league was shaken to its very foundations in the mid-1990s with the advent of the Super League war. Initially a conflict over broadcasting rights, it became a dispute as to who controlled the sport and which traditional clubs would survive into the new national era, as News Limited formed their own Super League and admitted some former ARL clubs, poaching players from the original ARL league with high salaries. With twenty-two teams of highly varying quality playing in two competitions that year, crowd attendances and corporate sponsorships were spread very thinly,[11] and many teams found themselves in financial difficulty. The ARL undertook moves to invite the traditional clubs that had moved to the Super League competition back into a re-unified competition. Following a period of negotiation with News Corporation, on 23 September 1997 the ARL announced that it was forming a new company to conduct the competition in 1998. On 7 October News' Manaaki Ranginui announced that he was confident that there would be a single competition in 1998. On 19 December, representatives of clubs affiliated with the Australian Rugby League gathered at the Sydney Football Stadium to decide whether to accept News Limited's offer of a settlement – eventually voting in favour by 36 votes to 4.[12] As a result, in the following months the National Rugby League, jointly owned by the ARL and News Limited, was formed.

It was announced that the inaugural National Rugby League (NRL) season of 1998 would have 20 teams competing, 19 remaining Super League and ARL teams plus the Melbourne Storm, who were created by Super League for their 1998 season. Clubs on both sides of the war were shut down. Super League decided to close the Hunter Mariners and the financially ruined Perth Reds, who were $10 million in debt at the end of 1997,[citation needed] while the ARL decided to close down the South Queensland Crushers, who were also in severe financial trouble.[citation needed] Additionally, at the end of 1998 the NRL decided to close down former Super League club, the Adelaide Rams and former ARL club, the Gold Coast Chargers, despite the Gold Coast franchise being one of the few clubs to make a profit during the Super League war.[citation needed]

1998–2002: Rationalisation

One condition of the peace agreement between the ARL and News Limited was that there would be a 14-team competition in 2000. The 20 clubs that played in 1998 would be assessed on various items such as sponsorship, crowds, on-field success and the like. It was also announced that clubs that merged would receive a large sum of money, as well as a guaranteed position in the 2000 NRL Competition. The St. George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers were the first clubs to take up the offer, forming the joint-venture St. George Illawarra Dragons at the end of the 1998 season.

The 1999 NRL Grand Final brought about a new official world record attendance for a game of rugby league. 107,999 spectators saw the Melbourne Storm defeat the newly created St. George Illawarra Dragons in the decider at Stadium Australia.

Balmain and Western Suburbs formed the joint-venture club, the Wests Tigers at the end of 1999, while North Sydney and Manly Warringah created the ill-fated Northern Eagles. As part of another image makeover, a number of teams also released new club logos. The most notable of these was the Sydney Roosters, dropping the City section of their name for the 2000 season and beyond. Souths were controversially axed from the competition at the end of 1999 for failing to meet the criteria.

This move was highly controversial and on 12 November 2000 about 80,000 marched in protest at their continued exclusion. South Sydney challenged the decision in the Federal Court claiming that the NRL agreement was exclusionary, intended to unfairly exclude South Sydney, and breached the Trade Practices Act. Justice Paul Finn ruled that the agreement did not specifically exclude any club and dismissed the Rabbitohs' claims for re-instatement into the national competition. Souths appealed this decision and were re-admitted into the competition in 2002.

The Auckland Warriors experienced much financial hardship in the early part of the decade, ultimately collapsing before being resurrected as the New Zealand Warriors for the 2001 season. They made the grand final in 2002 and then again in 2011, losing both encounters to the Sydney Roosters and the re-instated Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, respectively.

In 2001, Australia's largest telecommunications provider Telstra became naming rights sponsor of the NRL, with the competition's name becoming the NRL Telstra Premiership, while in 2002 David Gallop took over the CEO role from David Moffett, and the competition has become more and more popular each season.

In 2001 the NRL Grand Final started to be played on Sunday nights, a shift from the traditional Sunday afternoon slot used for over a decade prior.

2003–2010: Record popularity, expansion and centenary

The 2003 season was widely regarded as the most successful since the beginning of the National Rugby League in 1998. The Manly Warringah Rugby League Football Club took over the NRL licence from the Northern Eagles franchise, after the financial bankruptcy of the North Sydney faction made the joint-venture untenable. The Penrith Panthers rose from the bottom of the table to win the Premiership, while the Brisbane club returned to Suncorp Stadium mid-year. Season 2004 proved even more successful than 2003, with the North Queensland Cowboys going from 11th position in 2003 to third in 2004, narrowly missing out on a maiden Grand Final berth.

Crowd average records were broken in 2003, 2004 and 2005.[11] In 2005, the NRL reached record levels of popularity for its competition. Total crowds for the competition season almost reached the figures for the last year of the competition conducted by the ARL competition of 1995, prior to the Super League war. The average attendance record remained until 2010.[11] From 2004 to 2005, there was a 39% increase in sponsorship, a 41% increase in merchandise royalties, and a 12% increase in playing participation.[13] In 2005, Business Review Weekly ranked the NRL 497 in revenue of Australian private companies, with revenue of A$66.1m (+7%) with 35 employees. In 2004, Canterbury-Bankstown put a year of turmoil and disgrace at the aftermath of the alleged rape scandal to hold aloft the NRL trophy and give the club their first premiership since 1995. In 2005, a record national audience of 4.1 million tuned in to watch the grand final between the Wests Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys.[14]

The 2006 NRL Grand Final was won by the Brisbane Broncos over the Melbourne Storm, 15–8. The matchup was a significant milestone in the history of the NRL, as two interstate teams (teams not from New South Wales, the "heartland" of the NRL) contested the grand final for the first time. In the city of Melbourne, whose team was playing in their second grand final, the game's television ratings were higher than in Sydney where the game was played.[15] Crowds were down on 2005, however were better than any other year prior to that.

In its tenth season the NRL returned to having a club based on the Gold Coast, Queensland with the inclusion of the Gold Coast Titans. The Titans were the first professional sporting team to occupy the Gold Coast since 1998, when the Gold Coast Chargers were one of the teams removed during the NRL's rationalisation process between the end of the Super League war and the 2000 season.

The 2007 season saw the return of Monday Night Football and the inclusion of two Friday night games. Both of which turned out to be ratings successes. Another change from the previous seasons was a reduction in the number of byes per team in the season. With an odd number of teams contesting between 2002 and 2006, the draw meant that at least one team would have to have a bye each weekend. With the inclusion of the 16th team for the 2007 season, the National Rugby League had the option of reverting to back to the system used between 2000 and 2001 where every team played each round. That system was not used however, with teams were given just a single bye during the year, grouped in periods that will assist clubs around representative fixtures.

The opening round saw two matches at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, the first featuring reigning champions Brisbane against fellow Queensland side North Queensland, while the second match featured the new club, the Gold Coast playing St. George Illawarra. The weather during the middle of the season was less than ideal, with cyclonic conditions severely affecting many NRL games played in Sydney and Newcastle.

The 2007 finals series saw the South Sydney Rabbitohs return to finals football for the first time in decades. The season culminated on 30 September 2007, with the grand final contested between Manly and Melbourne. Melbourne won the title 34–8 and the grand final achieved the honour of being the most watched television show in Australia in 2007.[16]

Throughout 2008, the NRL celebrated 100 years since rugby league was introduced into Australia, with several initiatives to recognise the important milestone, including an extensive marketing campaign called the 'Centenary of Rugby League'. The competition began in March, with a special Heritage round held in mid-April, coinciding with the first round of competition played in 1908.

At a Gala event on 17 April 2008 the Team of the Century was announced, being:

For the second year in a row, the grand final was played between the Melbourne Storm and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, in the NRL's first ever twilight decider. The Manly club took out the premiership game 40–0, setting the record for the highest winning margin in a Grand Final (although the club formerly known as St. George Dragons were beaten 38–0 in 1975 and using the modern point scale of 4-point tries, this would amount to 46–0.) Furthermore, it was the first time a team had been kept scoreless in a Grand Final since 1978.

The 2009 season marked the beginning of the second century of rugby league in Australia. The grand final that year was played between the Parramatta Eels and once again Melbourne Storm. Melbourne defeated Parramatta 23 – 16 to win the premiership to make it two premierships out of the last four grand finals for the Melbourne side.

In 2010 the Inaugural All Stars Match was held on 13 February, in conjunction with the Sorry Day reconciliation anniversary to promote rugby league's long association and involvement with the Aboriginal community. The first match saw the Indigenous All Stars beat the NRL All Stars 16–12. The success of this event has seen it become a recurring fixture on the rugby league calendar with Queensland awarded the hosting rights for the next three years.[18]

The 29th State of Origin series was also played featuring the world's first live free-to-air 3D TV broadcast.[19] Queensland later made further history by winning an unprecedented fifth series in a row, and winning the 2010 series by a scoreline of 3–0, their first Origin whitewash since 1995.[20]

In 2010 the NRL set a record total season average attendance of 17,367 per game and a record total season aggregate attendance of 3,490,778.[21][22]

During the 2010 finals series, the second qualifying match between the Wests Tigers and Sydney Roosters became the first McIntyre system final to go into extra time, with the One Hundred Minute Epic described in media circles as one of the greatest of the modern era.[23]

The 2010 Grand Final was played between the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. St. George Illawarra won 32–8. This was the first premiership won by the club in its eleven-year existence and the first time in 31 years for the St. George part of the joint venture.

2010–2019: Establishment of the ARLC

After several years of preparation and build up, on 14 December 2010 the Australian Rugby League and News Corporation agreed upon a constitutional framework paving the way for the establishment of a new and independent commission to govern the sport in Australia. The negotiations of such a framework became drawn out over establishing details, primarily of sponsorship, media rights, funding of state bodies, funding of the Melbourne Storm, debate over News Ltd private ownership of clubs, and also of individual appointments to the new body. The 2011 Grand Final was contested between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors. This was the second grand final involving the New Zealand Warriors. Manly recorded a 24–10 win claiming their second premiership under head coach Des Hasler.

On 10 February 2012, the independent commission, known as the Australian Rugby League Commission assumed control of all levels of the game, replacing former state based boards and assuming full control of the NRL from the NRL partnership (comprising the previous ARL board and News Limited).[24] The current Chairman is Peter V'landys AM. The 2012 Grand Final involved the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Melbourne Storm, this was the first time since 2008 that the first and second placed teams contested the grand final. The Melbourne Storm recorded a 14–4 victory thus achieving their second premiership and claiming some vengeance for the stripped premierships.

 
Pre-match formalities taking place prior to the Dragons vs Roosters Anzac Day clash in 2018

The 2013 season saw the resurgence of foundation clubs the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs with both clubs finishing first and second place respectively. The NRL was also left with a black eye after the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks were caught using performance-enhancing substances by ASADA dating back to 2011. The 2013 Grand Final was played between the Sydney Roosters and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles with the Roosters recording a 26–18 victory.

The 2014 season started with the introduction of the Auckland Nines and was marred by the handing down of a million dollar fine to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks for their role in the ASADA scandal while head coach Shane Flanagan was suspended for the entirety of the 2014 season. The 2014 Grand Final was contested by the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. This was South Sydney's first grand final appearance since 1971. South Sydney would break their 43-year premiership drought with a 30–6 victory.

The 2015 season saw the return of the Queensland juggernauts, The North Queensland Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos who would finish inside the top four and contest the 2015 Grand Final. The 2015 Grand Final is considered by many to be the greatest grand final of all time as a high intensity match ended in dramatic circumstances when North Queensland scored as the full-time siren sounded. Johnathan Thurston would miss the conversion from the sideline as the ball hit the post thus sending the match into golden point, the first golden point grand final. Ben Hunt would drop the ball on the kick-off and hand the North Queensland side the chance to win which was converted as Johnathan Thurston successfully kicked a field goal to win the match 17–16.

The 2016 season saw the Melbourne Storm return to the minor premiership position while the Canberra Raiders returned to the top four for the first time since the 2003. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and reigning premiers North Queensland would fill out the top four. The season continued a trend of the minor premiership not being decided to the final round, the fourth consecutive year. The 2016 Grand Final was contested between the Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, it was the Cronulla's fourth grand final appearance while it was the seventh for the Melbourne club. The match was a tight affair and was not settled until after the siren had sounded. The Cronulla-Sutherland claimed their first premiership ending a famous 49-year drought by a score of 14–12.

Following the success generated by the 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup, a national women's league was established, and the first season commenced in September 2018 comprising four clubs aligned to existing NRL clubs.[25]

2020–present: COVID affected seasons and further expansion

On 22 March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NRL became one of the last major sports in the world to continue playing games. The other major Australian football code, the Australian Football League (AFL), announced suspension of their season on that day. AFL's decision came as the Australian federal government announced a ban on "non essential" travel and closing of pubs, clubs and other venues. AFL leaders commented "As a community and as a code we all need to take the unprecedented and required actions to get through this together."[26] However, the NRL announced it would be moving forward with their season.[27] The decision prompted a wave of condemnation online, including from Australian personalities and sport people.[28] The following day after Queensland closed its borders, the NRL announced that the season would have to be suspended indefinitely.[29] It was feared that some teams would not survive this period without income, as it was foreseen as a financial catastrophe.[30][31]

On 9 April 2020, ARL Commissioner Wayne Pearce announced the NRL would return on 28 May.[32] The announcement came under heavy criticism from the Government of New South Wales and health officials, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying she had not approved a return.[33] However, the NRL released documents signed by NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, showing approval for the NRL to continue without crowds.[33] The competition ended up kicking off on that date, with the Parramatta Eels defeating the Brisbane Broncos 34–6 at Suncorp Stadium behind closed doors.[34] The match drew the highest TV ratings for a regular season game since 2014.[35] The AFL returned over two weeks later than the NRL, who were the first sport to return to play worldwide that actually ceased play.[36]

In October 2021, after months of speculation, the NRL and the ARLC announced that the competition would expand to 17 teams, with the admission of the Dolphins for the 2023 season.[37] The Dolphins are based in the far northern-suburb of Redcliffe, near Brisbane.

Governance

Since the NRL commenced in 1998 there have been six CEOs, they are:

Since the Australian Rugby League Commission was inaugurated in 2012, there have been three chairmen:

Teams

See also: List of teams in the NSWRL/ARL/SL/NRL

The NRL currently consists of seventeen clubs. Nine clubs are based within the Greater Sydney area (including one that also represents the Illawarra region south of Sydney), another in regional New South Wales, four in Queensland, and one each in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and New Zealand. The league operates on a single group system, with no divisions or conferences and no relegation or promotion.

A total of twenty-three clubs have played in the NRL since its first season in 1998. Eleven clubs have been members for every season.

Two of the clubs currently in the NRL were founded in 1908, the first year of rugby league competition in Australia: the Sydney Roosters (founded as 'Eastern Suburbs') and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Wests Tigers are a merger of two other foundation clubs: The Western Suburbs Magpies and the Balmain Tigers.

Current clubs

See also: List of current NRL team squads
National Rugby League clubs
Club Established First NRL Season Location(s) Stadium(s) Premiership(s)
(most recent)a
  Brisbane Broncos 1988 1998   Brisbane Suncorp Stadium (52,500)

The Gabba (36,000)

6 (2006)
  Canberra Raiders 1982 1998   Canberra GIO Stadium (25,011) 3 (1994)
  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 1935 1998   Sydney Accor Stadium (82,000)
CommBank Stadium (30,000)
Belmore Sports Ground (19,000) 		8 (2004)
  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1967 1998   Sydney PointsBet Stadium (20,000) 1 (2016)
  Dolphins 2022
(1947 as Redcliffe) 		2023   Brisbane
  Sunshine Coast 		Suncorp Stadium (52,500)
Kayo Stadium (11,500)
Sunshine Coast Stadium (12,000) 		0 (N/A)
  Gold Coast Titans 2007 2007   Gold Coast Cbus Super Stadium (27,690) 0 (N/A)
  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 1947 1998   Sydney 4 Pines Park (20,000) 8 (2011)
  Melbourne Storm 1997 1998   Melbourne AAMI Park (30,050) 4 (2020)
  New Zealand Warriors 1995 1998   Auckland Mount Smart Stadium (30,000) 0 (N/A)
  Newcastle Knights 1988 1998   Newcastle McDonald Jones Stadium (30,000) 2 (2001)
  North Queensland Cowboys 1995 1998   Townsville Queensland Country Bank Stadium (25,000) 1 (2015)
  Parramatta Eels 1947 1998   Sydney CommBank Stadium (30,000) 4 (1986)
  Penrith Panthers 1967 1998   Sydney Bluebet Stadium (22,500) 4 (2022)
  South Sydney Rabbitohs 1908 1998   Sydney Accor Stadium (82,000) 21 (2014)
  St. George Illawarra Dragons 1999 1999   Sydney
  Wollongong 		Netstrata Jubilee Stadium (20,500)
WIN Stadium (22,000) 		1 (2010)
  Sydney Roosters 1908 1998   Sydney Sydney Cricket Ground (48,500)
Allianz Stadium (42,500) 		15 (2019)
  Wests Tigers 2000 2000   Sydney CommBank Stadium (30,000)
Leichhardt Oval (20,000)
Campbelltown Stadium (17,500) 		1 (2005)

Former teams

Rugby League Club City/Town Est. Joined Left Premierships
Total Last
  Adelaide Rams   Adelaide 1995 1997 1998 0 N/A
  Annandale   Sydney 1910 1910 1920 0 N/A
  Balmain Tigers   Sydney 1908 1908 1999 11 1969
  Cumberland   Sydney 1908 1908 1908 0 N/A
  Glebe Dirty Reds   Sydney 1908 1908 1929 0 N/A
[[Image:|16px|]]     Gold Coast-Tweed Giants/Gold Coast Seagulls/Gold Coast Chargers   Gold Coast 1987 1988 1998 0 N/A
  Hunter Mariners   Newcastle 1995 1997 1997 0 N/A
  Illawarra Steelers   Wollongong 1980 1982 1998 0 N/A
  Newcastle Rebels   Newcastle 1908 1908 1909 0 —
  Newtown Jets   Sydney 1908 1908 1983 3 1943
  North Sydney Bears   Sydney 1908 1908 1999 2 1922
  Northern Eagles   Sydney,   Central Coast 2000 2000 2002 0 N/A
  St. George Dragons   Sydney 1920 1921 1998 15 1979
  South Queensland Crushers   Brisbane 1992 1995 1997 0 N/A
  University   Sydney 1920 1920 1937 0 N/A
  Western Reds/Perth Reds   Perth 1992 1995 1997 0 N/A
  Western Suburbs Magpies   Sydney 1908 1908 1999 4 1952

Season structure

Pre-season

The NRL pre season typically begins in February and ends in early March. Clubs generally use this time to organise trial matches to test playing combinations. However, some clubs play for trophies: Easts and Wests play for the Foundation Cup while South Sydney and St. George Illawarra play for the Charity Shield. The trials are typically played in cities and towns that normally don't host NRL matches. In the past a World Sevens rugby league football tournament has been hosted, however this was scrapped due to injury concerns.

All Stars match

Main article: All Stars Match

Beginning in 2010, the All Stars match has become a major fixture in the NRL preseason. The teams are chosen via public voting and the two sides play for the Arthur Beetson Trophy. In 2018, the game was temporarily removed from the calendar due to the World Cup being played the previous year citing an excessive player workload. The match returned in 2019 and was hosted in Melbourne with the Australian Indigenous All Stars taking on the New Zealand Maori All Stars.

NRL Nines

Main article: NRL Nines

In 2014, the inaugural rugby league nines tournament took place, featuring all sixteen NRL clubs. It was initially staged at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand.[45] This two-day tournament has now become a regular fixture, taking place in February each year. Women's nines games were also fixtured alongside the main tournament between the Australian and New Zealand women's teams, however now feature the four NRLW teams. In 2018 the tournament was removed from the calendar due to the World Cup being played the previous year citing an excessive player workload, however, it was brought back in 2020.

World Club Challenge

Main article: World Club Challenge

The World Club Challenge is an annual pre-season match played between the champion of the National Rugby League and the champion of the Super League. The first match of its kind was the 1976 World Club Challenge and it was then played sporadically throughout the late 80s and 90s, including a one off Super League tournament in 1997, before becoming a regular annual pre-season fixture since 2000.

In 2015, the competition was expanded to include two exhibition games before the Challenge game. This expanded series, called the World Club Series, ran from 2015 to 2017. The first two Series saw the leagues' champions joined by two invited teams from each league, resulting in a three-game series. Each invited team represented their league in a single game, played in the days leading up to the usual Challenge match. In 2017, only one invited team from each league participated, with the NRL citing tight schedules, distant travel and long seasons as an impediment to the Series. In 2018 the series was cancelled, with only the usual Challenge match played and has continued as a single match since.

Premiership rounds

Main article: NRL regular season

As rugby league is a winter sport in Australia, the NRL premiership season begins in early March, with games played every weekend for 27 weeks, until the start of September. In most rounds, one match is played on Thursday night, two on Friday night, three on Saturday and two on Sunday. Special themed weeks include ANZAC Round, Heritage Round, Women in League Round, Retro Round, Beanies for Brain Cancer round and Rivalry Round. Separate trophies between rival teams are also presented throughout the season. In 2019, the NRL introduced Magic Round, which featured all sixteen teams playing at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane over the weekend. It was deemed a success and has now been a scheduled annual event since.

Teams receive two competition points for a win, and one point for a draw. The bye also receives two points; a loss, no points. Teams on the ladder are ranked by competition points, then match points differential (for and against) and points percentage are used to separate teams with equal competition points. At the end of the regular season, the club which is ranked highest on the ladder is declared minor premiers.

Representative season

As well as playing for their club in the premiership, NRL players are regularly selected to play in a number of representative competitions that are conducted throughout each season. The representative season is generally considered to be a period of rugby league that runs from about the middle of April until the middle of July each year.[citation needed] Up until the 2017 season the fixtures took into account the following games:

  • The annual Anzac Test between Australia and New Zealand (Early to mid April)
  • The New South Wales City vs Country Origin match (Early to mid April, same weekend as the Anzac Test)
  • The Pacific Tests, played on the same weekend as the Anzac Test and City vs Country Origin, these games feature matches placed between Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Tonga
  • The three match State of Origin series (June – July)

From 2018, the season was altered to create a shorter workload for players. A number of representative games were scrapped and timing changed therefore the representative season was changed to include:

  • The Pacific Tests, played on the same weekend as the second State of Origin game
  • The three match State of Origin series (June – July) with the second game featuring on a standalone weekend.

Other representative matches that can occur later in the year are:

Finals series

The eight highest placed teams at the end of the regular season compete in the finals series. The system consists of a number of games between the top eight teams over four weeks in September, until only two teams remain. These two teams then contest the grand final, which is usually played on the first Sunday of October. From 1998 to 2011, the NRL used the McIntyre final eight system but with the introduction of the ARLC, it was decided to change to the current format which was perceived as fairer for teams finishing in the Top 4.[46]

Grand final

Main article: NRL Grand Final

The NRL Grand Final, which determines the season's premiers, is one of Australia's major sporting events and is one of the largest attended club championship events in the world. It has been contested at Sydney's Stadium Australia each year since 1999, with the exception of 2021 when it was played at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium due to the COVID pandemic.[47] The first year it was held at Stadium Australia, the NRL Grand Final broke the record for attendance at an Australian rugby league game, with 107,999 people attending.[48]

The Grand Final had traditionally been played on Sunday afternoons, shifting to 8 pm in 2001, then to 7 pm thereafter. However, from 2008, a compromise was reached between official broadcaster Nine Network's preferred starting time and the afternoon starting time of 3 pm, with the grand final beginning at 5 pm AEST.[49]

Each year the NRL Grand Final Breakfast, a function that is attended by both teams, hundreds of guests and screened live on Australian television is held during the week before the game.

The game itself is usually preceded by an opening ceremony featuring entertainment and the singing of the national anthem by well-known Australasian and international musical acts. After the pre-game entertainment it is traditional for the NRL trophy to be delivered to the field by an Australian Army helicopter shortly before kick off.

At the conclusion of the grand final there is a presentation ceremony where the winning team are awarded premiership rings.[50] The player judged to be the man-of-the-match by the Australian national team selectors is awarded the prestigious Clive Churchill Medal and the Prime Minister of Australia is typically on-hand to hand the trophy to the winning captain.

In 2010 the Government of New South Wales secured the grand final for Stadium Australia until 2022 for $45 million.[51]

Stadium Location Country Highest attendance Average attendance
Stadium Australia Sydney Australia 107,999 80,000

Grand finals

For top flight results before 1998, see NSWRL Premiership, ARL Premiership, and Super League (Australia).
For the all-time list of champions since 1908, see List of National Rugby League Premiers.
Season Grand Finals Minor Premiers
Premiers Score Runners-up
1998   Brisbane Broncos (4th title) 38–12   Canterbury Bulldogs   Brisbane Broncos (37 points)
1999   Melbourne Storm (1st) 20–18   St. George Illawarra Dragons   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (40)
2000   Brisbane Broncos (5th) 14–6   Sydney Roosters   Brisbane Broncos (38)
2001   Newcastle Knights (2nd) 30–24   Parramatta Eels   Parramatta Eels (42)
2002   Sydney Roosters (12th) 30–8 [[Image:|16px|]] New Zealand Warriors [[Image:|16px|]] New Zealand Warriors (38)
2003   Penrith Panthers (2nd) 18–6   Sydney Roosters   Penrith Panthers (40)
2004   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (8th) 16–13   Sydney Roosters   Sydney Roosters (42)
2005   Wests Tigers (1st) 30–16   North Queensland Cowboys   Parramatta Eels (36)
2006   Brisbane Broncos (6th) 15–8   Melbourne Storm Withheld a
2007 Withheld a 34–8   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Withheld a
2008   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (7th) 40–0   Melbourne Storm Withheld a
2009 Withheld a 23–16   Parramatta Eels   St. George Illawarra Dragons (38)
2010   St. George Illawarra Dragons (1st) 32–8   Sydney Roosters   St. George Illawarra Dragons (38)
2011   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (8th) 24–10 [[Image:|16px|]] New Zealand Warriors   Melbourne Storm (42)
2012   Melbourne Storm (2nd) 14–4   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (40)
2013   Sydney Roosters (13th) 26–18   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles   Sydney Roosters (40)
2014   South Sydney Rabbitohs (21st) 30–6   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs   Sydney Roosters (36)
2015   North Queensland Cowboys (1st) 17–16   Brisbane Broncos   Sydney Roosters (40)
2016   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (1st) 14–12   Melbourne Storm   Melbourne Storm (42)
2017   Melbourne Storm (3rd) 34–6   North Queensland Cowboys   Melbourne Storm (44)
2018   Sydney Roosters (14th) 21–6   Melbourne Storm   Sydney Roosters (34)
2019   Sydney Roosters (15th) 14–8   Canberra Raiders   Melbourne Storm (42)
2020   Melbourne Storm (4th) 26–20   Penrith Panthers   Penrith Panthers (37)
2021   Penrith Panthers (3rd) 14–12   South Sydney Rabbitohs   Melbourne Storm (44)
2022   Penrith Panthers (4th) 28–12   Parramatta Eels   Penrith Panthers (42)
Notes
a: Melbourne Storm were stripped of their 2007, 2009 premiership titles and their 2006, 2007, 2008 minor premiership titles due to their breach of the salary cap. The titles were withheld by the NRL rather than awarding them to the runners up.

Results

Rank Team Premiership years Runner-up years Minor Premiers years
1   Melbourne Storm 4 (1999, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2020) 4 (2006, 2008, 2016, 2018) 5 (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021)
  Sydney Roosters 4 (2002, 2013, 2018, 2019) 4 (2000, 2003, 2004, 2010) 5 (2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018)
3   Brisbane Broncos 3 (1998, 2000, 2006) 1 (2015) 2 (1998, 2000)
  Penrith Panthers 3 (2003, 2021, 2022) 1 (2020) 2 (2003, 2020, 2022)
5   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2 (2008, 2011) 2 (2007, 2013) 0
6   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 1 (2004) 3 (1998, 2012, 2014) 1 (2012)
7   North Queensland Cowboys 1 (2015) 2 (2005, 2017) 0
8   St. George Illawarra Dragons 1 (2010) 1 (1999) 2 (2009, 2010)
  South Sydney Rabbitohs 1 (2014) 1 (2021) 0
10   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1 (2016) 0 1 (1999)
  Newcastle Knights 1 (2001) 0 0
  Wests Tigers 1 (2005) 0 0
13   Parramatta Eels 0 3 (2001, 2009, 2022) 2 (2001, 2005)
14 [[Image:|16px|]] New Zealand Warriors 0 2 (2002, 2011) 1 (2002)
15   Canberra Raiders 0 1 (2019) 0
Notes
These stats NRL era only (1998 to present)

Ranking: Teams are ranked in order of premierships won, grand final runners up then minor premierships won. To see the complete list of premiers in Australian Rugby League, see List of National Rugby League Premiers.

Players

National Rugby League footballers are among Australasia's most famous athletes[citation needed], commanding multimillion-dollar playing contracts and sponsorship deals. Each club in the NRL has a "top squad" of twenty-five players, who are signed under a salary cap. For the most part, the players who play in NRL matches are sourced from these top squads. During a season the need may arise for a club to use players outside these 25, in which case players are usually sourced from the club's corresponding NRL Under-20s team or a feeder club in the New South Wales Cup or Queensland Cup.[52][53][54][55]

Demographics

In the recent years, the influence of Polynesian players on the NRL has grown, with figures from the 2011 season showing that 35% of NRL players and over 45% of NRL Under-20s players are of Polynesian background.[56] This increase in Polynesian players has been blamed for the decline of Indigenous players, dropping from 21% in the 1990s to 11% for the 2009 season.[57]

 
Ben Barba at the Dally M awards

The first Indigenous Australian to play in the NSWRL/NRL was New South Wales Rugby League premiership player George Green, who debuted in 1909. Since that time, many high-profile indigenous athletes have played in the competition, including Arthur Beetson (the first Aboriginal person to captain an Australian national team in any sport[58]) and former Test match representatives Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis.

At the elite level of the game, Indigenous Australians represented 35% of the roster for the Kangaroos, 21% of players at the 2012 State of Origin series, 12% of NRL players and a further 8% of the NRL Under-20s players.[59] By way of comparison, 2.3% of the Australian population identified themselves as Indigenous in the 2006 Australian census.[60]

To celebrate the strong Indigenous ties to the game, the NRL holds a preseason All Stars game, featuring a team made up of Indigenous Australians playing a publicly voted team consisting of the non-Indigenous players, and an Indigenous Leadership Group has formed, consisting of the game's elite Indigenous players. The Leadership Group hosts regular multi-day camps where all Indigenous NRL players are invited to learn more about Indigenous culture.[61]

Both the All Stars match and the Leadership Group were ideas pioneered by former player Preston Campbell,[62] with the All Stars man of the match receiving the Preston Campbell medal.

Salary cap

Main article: National Rugby League salary cap

A salary cap was introduced to the NSWRL in 1990 to even the playing field of teams in the Winfield Cup.[63] As of 2013 the club grant is $7.1 million which covers the salary cap of $5.85 million and a minimum wage for $80,000 for the top twenty-five players at each club.[64] The salary cap will increase to $6.3 million in 2014, $6.55 million in 2015, $6.8 million by 2016 and $7 million in 2017.[65]

The cap is actively policed[66] and penalties for clubs found to have breached the NRL salary cap regulations include fines of lesser of half the amount involved or $500,000 and/or deduction of premiership points. For example, six clubs were fined for minor infractions in 2003. These infractions are usually technical in nature, and can sometimes be affected by third-party factors such as loss of sponsorship revenue affecting an allowance. During the 2007 season the NRL implemented ways of creating a fair and more beneficial cap for players and clubs.

In 2010, following the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal, the NRL introduced requirements for players and their agents to sign statutory declarations pledging their contracts comply with salary cap regulations, where previously only club chairmen and chief executives did so for biannual salary cap audits.[67]

Major breaches of the cap

See also: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs salary cap breach, Melbourne Storm salary cap breach, and Parramatta Eels salary cap breach

In 2002, the Bulldogs were fined the maximum of $500,000 and deducted all 37 premiership points received during the season after it was found that they had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap totalling $2.13 million over the past three years, including $750,000 in 2001 and $920,000 in 2002; these were described by NRL chief executive David Gallop as "exceptional in both its size and its deliberate and ongoing nature". The points penalty meant that the club won the 2002 wooden spoon (Souths would have finished last if not for the breaches), and as the club had been leading the competition table prior to the imposition of the penalties, this was a shattering outcome for the club and its fans. Two senior club officials were jailed for fraud as a result of these breaches.

In 2005, the New Zealand Warriors were fined $430,000 and were ordered to start the 2006 season with a four premiership point deficit and cut their payroll by $450,000 after club officials revealed that their former management had exceeded the salary cap by $1.1 million over the last two years. The points penalty meant that the Warriors missed a finals berth in 2006.

On 22 April 2010, following revelations by an internal whistleblower and investigation by the NRL, Storm officials revealed that the club had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap regulations between 2006 and 2010 by running a well-organized dual contract and bookkeeping system that concealed a total of $3.78 million in payments made to players outside of the salary cap from the NRL. This included: $303,000 in 2006, $459,000 in 2007, $957,000 in 2008, $1.021 million in 2009 and $1.04 million in 2010. As a result, the club was stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships, 2006–2008 minor premierships and the following year, the 2010 World Club Challenge trophy. They were also fined a then Australian sporting record of $1.689 million ($1.1 million in NRL prize money which was equally distributed between the remaining 15 clubs, $89,000 in prize money from the World Club Challenge which was distributed to the Leeds Rhinos, and a maximum of $500,000 for breaching the salary cap regulations). In addition they were ordered to cut their payroll by $1.0125 million, deducted all eight premiership points received during the 2010 season and barred from receiving premiership points for the remainder of the 2010 season. The points penalty meant that the club won the 2010 wooden spoon. The former directors attempted unsuccessful legal action against the penalties which collapsed, and the club also had to pay the NRLs legal costs. The matter was also referred to ASIC, the Australian Tax Office, the Victorian State Revenue Office, and the Victoria Police to investigate possible fraud however by May 2011 these investigations were closed.[68] The players themselves were found to have not done anything wrong during this time so individual awards are recognised in addition, the players were still eligible for Test/State of Origin selection.

Prior to the start of the 2016 NRL season, the Parramatta Eels faced the prospect with starting the season on −4 points due to salary cap indiscretions in 2015, however the NRL was satisfied with governance changes at the Eels and no points were deducted.[69] However, it was revealed in March that third-party payments had been made by several companies to several players, which is strictly prohibited in the NRL.[70] On 3 May 2016, NRL CEO Todd Greenberg announced that the club would be docked the twelve competition points they have accrued so far this season, as well as fined $1 million and stripped of the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines title it won in February.[42] In addition, the NRL also announced that the Eels would not be able to accrue any further competition points until they fall under the salary cap, which they were reported to be $500,000 over as of 3 May 2016.[71] Five officials, including chairman Steve Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa, director Peter Serrao, chief executive John Boulous and football manager Daniel Anderson, were also sacked.[72] On 9 July, after over 2 months of club officials contesting the preliminary penalties, Parramatta were handed their punishment with the addition of their for/against points tally accumulated from rounds 1–9 being deducted.[73]

In 2018, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles were fined $750,000, two officials (Neil Bare and Joe Kelly were suspended and a $660,000 penalty was applied to the salary cap for 2018 and the next year for breaches of the salary cap). Manly was proved by the NRL chief executive that third-party payments and deals were made to attract more players to the club.[citation needed]

Judiciary and Integrity Unit

Main article: NRL Judiciary

The NRL Judiciary is made up of former players who convene in three-man panels to rule on on-field incidents. The judiciary is currently chaired by Wollongong district court judge Paul Conlon and made up of former players Mal Cochrane, Michael Buettner, Bradley Clyde, Sean Garlick, Don McKinnon and Bob Lindner.[74][75]

An integrity Unit was formed on 7 February 2013 and was headed by former Federal Court judge Tony Whitlam, since 2022 the new head of the NRL intergrity Unit is former Manly Sea-Eagles front-row forward, Jason King.[76]

Awards

Provan-Summons trophy

 
The Provan-Summons Trophy is awarded to the winner of the grand final

The Provan-Summons trophy is the NRL's main prize, awarded to the team that wins the premiership. Its sculptured design is similar to the Winfield Cup trophy, which was introduced for the 1982 NSWRFL season. It is a three-dimensional cast of a famous photo called The Gladiators,[77] which depicts a mud-soaked Norm Provan of St. George and Arthur Summons of Western Suburbs embracing after the 1963 NSWRFL season's Grand Final. It was not officially named the Provan-Summons Trophy until 2013, the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Grand Final.[78] The trophy is awarded following each grand final to the captain of the winning club. The trophy was mysteriously broken during grand final celebrations in 2021.[79]

Each player from the premiership winning side are also awarded Premiership Rings.

J. J. Giltinan Shield

Created in 1951, the J. J. Giltinan Shield is awarded to the club ranked highest on the NRL ladder after the premiership season concludes. Typically this team is known as the minor premiers.

Clive Churchill medal

The Clive Churchill Medal is awarded to the most outstanding player in a grand final. It is named after former Australian fullback Clive Churchill.

Dally M awards

The Dally M Medal is the highlight of the Dally M Awards and was named after Henry Herbert 'Dally' Messenger, who was instrumental in the establishment of rugby league football in Australia. The awards were introduced in 1980 by News Limited. The Dally M has been the official player-of-the-year award, and the highest individual honour in Australian rugby league, since the unification of the game in 1998. Before 1998 the highest award was the Rothmans Medal.

The medal is awarded, usually by the Australian Prime Minister, at the annual Dally M Awards night. As well as honouring the best and fairest player of the year, the Dally M awards recognise the premier player in each position, the best coach and the most outstanding rookie of the season.

The Immortals

Originally The Immortals were Four players named by the sport's major Australian magazine Rugby League Week as the nation's greatest ever.

Established in 1981, the group of four former Test captains: , Clive Churchill, Bob Fulton, Reg Gasnier, Johnny Raper and were those appointed by Rugby League Week between 1981 and 2012. Wally Lewis, Graeme Langlands added in 1999 Arthur Beetson 2003 Andrew Johns 2012

Following the demise of Rugby League Week, the Australian Rugby League Commission took ownership of The Immortals concept and expanded the group on 1 August 2018 by inclusion of Mal Meninga, Norm Provan, Frank Burge, Dave Brown and Dally Messenger.[80]

Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century

The Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century is a team that consisted of the greatest rugby league players from 1909 to 2008. This team was picked by six judges in 2008 from a list of 100 nominated players.

New South Wales Rugby League's Team of the Century

The New South Wales Rugby League's Team of the Century is a team that consisted of the greatest rugby league players from 1908 to 2007.

Audience

 
A 2004 match between Brisbane and Canterbury-Bankstown

The 2022 season rated 134.447 million viewers in Australia, at an average viewership of 620,000 per game, with a roughly 60/40 split between viewers when games are broadcast both free-to-air on Nine and subscription viewers on Fox League and Kayo Sports.[81]

The 2022 season also attracted 3,265,911 spectators through the gates, at an average of 16,248 per match.

Media coverage

Television

ANZ and Pacific

Within Australia all matches are broadcast on both the Nine Network and Fox Sports through 2027. The Fox Sports contract was signed in May 2020 and the NRL extended their contract with Nine in December 2021 to match the length of the contract with Fox Sports through 2027.[82][83] In New Zealand all matches, including representative fixtures such as the All Stars Match and the State of Origin series, are shown live on Sky Sport.[84][85][86] Prime broadcasts select games live in New Zealand starting from the 2022 season, and will continue to broadcast every Warriors match on delay.

Detailed Australian coverage

By Matchday

  • Thursday Night Football is broadcast live on the Nine Network and simulcast on Fox League and Kayo. Kickoff is at 7:50 pm.
  • Friday Night Football consists of 2 matches. The first match kicks off at 6:00 pm and is broadcast live on Fox League. The second match kicks off at 7:55 pm and is broadcast live on the Nine Network and simulcast on Fox League and Kayo.
  • Super Saturday consists of three matches. The first match kicks off at 3:00 pm, the second match kicks off at 5:30 pm and the third match kicks off at 7:35 pm. All three matches are broadcast live on Fox League and are simulcast live on Kayo. During the final five rounds of the year, the 7:35pm match is also simulcast on Nine.
  • NRL Sunday Ticket consists of two matches. The first match kicks off at 2:00 pm and is broadcast live on Fox League and Kayo. The second match kicks off at 4:10 pm and is broadcast live on the Nine Network and simulcasted on Fox League and Kayo. During daylight savings, the 2:00 pm game is moved to 6:10 pm.

By Network

  • Fox League and Kayo televise all matches live and commercial free (excluding the grand final).
  • Nine Network televises the Thursday night game, the second Friday night game and the second Sunday afternoon game (first in daylight savings), as well as the last five Saturday 7:30pm games of the year and all matches of the finals series including the NRL Grand Final.
  • The State of Origin series is televised exclusively live on the Nine Network, with extensive pre-game and post-game coverage, starting at 7:00 pm.
  • The NRL Grand Final televised exclusively live on the Nine Network. Since 2013, the match has kicked off at 7:30 pm

Source:[87]

NRL-related television programmes

In Australia there are television shows dedicated to discussing the NRL. The programmes are listed in order of the day and time viewed in their primary broadcast market:

  • NRL 360 (Mondays-Wednesdays 6:30 pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Braith Anasta and Paul Kent.
  • Sunday Night with Matty Johns (following Sunday Football on Fox League 502). Hosted by Matthew Johns.
  • The Fan (Tuesdays 7:30 pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Andrew Voss.
  • The Late Show with Matty Johns (Thursdays 10:00 pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Matthew Johns.
  • League Legends (Sundays 6:30 pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Tim Sheridan. (Broadcast during the off-season)
  • The Sunday Footy Show (Sunday 11.00 am on Channel Nine): a recap of Thursday, Friday and Saturday's games, and preview of Sunday's games.
  • 100% Footy (Mondays 10:30 pm on Channel 9): A recap of the weekend results along with topical discussions on the major issues surrounding the game. Hosted by James Bracey.
  • Over The Black Dot (Wednesdays 8:30 pm on NITV): An Indigenous Australian perspective on the NRL featuring highlights, discussion and interviews
  • Bloke in a Bar (Mondays, Wednesdays at 3:00pm on Youtube). Hosted by Denan Kemp

Former shows:

  • Barefoot Sports (Thursday 8:30 pm on NITV) Hosted by Brad Cooke and formerly known as The Barefoot Rugby League Show.
  • One Week at a Time (Mondays, at 9:30 pm, on One), recapping the weekend games
  • The Game Plan (Thursday 8:30 pm, on Channel Ten) Hosted by Steve Roach, Joel Caine and Andrew Moore.
  • The Matty Johns Show (Thursdays, 7.30 pm on Channel Seven) A more sketch-and-regular-segment-oriented version of The Footy Show and The Game Plan, not related to Monday Night with Matty Johns.
  • The Sunday Roast (Sunday Midday on Channel Nine) Now incorporated into the Sunday Footy Show.
  • NRL Full-time, a weekly half-hour highlights show for the UK audience.
  • On the Couch with Sterlo
  • League Life (Wednesdays 7:30 pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Yvonne Sampson.
  • Queenslanders Only (Wednesdays 8:00 pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Hannah Hollis. (Airs at 7:00 pm Queensland time during the month of March due to NSW Daylight Saving Time)
  • Narrow World of Sports (Fridays 10:00 pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by James 'The Professor' Rochford.

NZ Coverage

  • Sky Sport: All games live on Sky Sport 4 including State of Origin and the grand final.
  • Prime: New Zealand Warriors games on delay. Some select matches live.
  • Three: Select State of Origin games live

Pacific

In most Pacific countries, all matches are broadcast on Digicel and other networks in these four countries. Such as in Fiji, where it is on Mai TV and in PNG, where it is on TVWan.

Country Broadcaster
  Tonga Digicel / Tonfon TV
  Samoa Digicel / TV3
  Papua New Guinea Digicel / TVWan
  Fiji Digicel / Mai TV[88]

Outside ANZ and Pacific

The NRL is also available to the rest of the world.[89]

Country/Region Broadcaster
In flight/ship Sport24
Worldwide WatchNRL (streaming)
Sub-Saharan Africa (exc. North) ESPN
  Brunei/  Malaysia/  Singapore Premier Sports Asia
  United Arab Emirates/MENA Premier Sports MENA
  Netherlands discontinued in 2020
  Canada Sportsnet
  France beIN Sports
  United Kingdom/  Ireland Sky Sports
  United States Fox Soccer Plus
  Germany/  Austria/  Switzerland Sport1+

Internet

Outside of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, all matches are currently available in high definition on the subscription streaming service Watch NRL which operates through its website and a dedicated app. Watch NRL is operated by Fox Sports Australia.

A selection of classic NRL games is available for free worldwide on the league's website.

Radio

Australia

The NRL has several exclusive rights partners to broadcast matches live via radio nationwide. FM coverage is provided by Triple M while AM coverage is contracted to ABC Local Radio and 2GB. All radio coverage is available to be streamed live from the NRL website.

2GB has the commercial rights to four matches per week, covering the game through the Continuous Call Team program.[90] 2GB also air representative games, as well as all matches throughout the finals series, and all three matches on Grand Final day. The coverage is networked to stations across the country, typically those owned by Southern Cross Media Group, Grant Broadcasters and other station groups on Nine Radio.

ABC Local Radio has the rights to seven NRL matches per week in the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.

Triple M has exclusive access to Thursday night, Saturday 4 pm and Sunday night matches and is broadcast on commercial stations across the country.[90] Triple M also broadcast the State of Origin series, the finals series and the grand final.[91][92]

2SM formerly held the rights to air Thursday Night and Sunday 4pm games via NRL Nation. These games were also aired across their affiliates across NSW. 2UE also formerly held rights to matches.

Current Broadcasters:[93][94]

  • Triple M: Four games live per week (includes all Cowboys, Raiders, Knights and Titans home game live on home stations)
  • 2GB: Four games live per week (includes Sunday 4:00pm exclusive)
  • ABC: Seven games live per week

Print

Big League was the competition's official publication, released Thursday and produced by News Magazines. The publication ceased operations in 2020 leaving the game without an official program.[95]

LeagueUnlimited's Front Row Magazine provides an unofficial match program each week.[96]

Theme songs

Video games

Main article: Rugby League (video game series)

There have been many top selling video games made for the Australian rugby league market. The games below are sorted by year released.

Cheerleading

 
The Flames, the cheersquad for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, performing during an NRL match in 2018.

Most NRL teams have a squad of dancers for cheerleading that are usually involved in dancing, charity work, fundraisers, and modelling. Some Notable NRL cheerleaders are Jennifer Hawkins for the Newcastle Knights, Chloe Butler for the Emeralds and Tabrett Bethell for the Cronulla Sharks Mermaids.

Cheer squads

Name NRL Club
Hog's Breath Cafe Broncos Cheer Squad[99] Brisbane Broncos
The Sapphires[100] Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Cronulla Sharks Mermaids[101][102] Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Manly Seabirds[103][104][105] Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Newcastle Knights Cheerleaders[106] Newcastle Knights
North Queensland Cowgirls Spirit[107] North Queensland Cowboys
Penrith Pantherettes[108][109] Penrith Panthers
The Roosters Girls[110][111] Sydney Roosters

Note: The Wests Tigers, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Parramatta Eels, Gold Coast Titans, Melbourne Storm, New Zealand Warriors, Canberra Raiders and Dolphins do not have active cheer squads.

Records

See also: List of NRL records

Official NRL statistics encompass all first grade competitions, namely the New South Wales Rugby League, Australian Rugby League, Super League, and the present day NRL.

Team

Individual

Coaches

(* = interim coach)

See also: List of current NRL coaches
Nat. Name Club Year beginning tenure Year as head
coach of Club 		Previous NRL clubs
  Kevin Walters   Brisbane Broncos Beginning 2021 2nd –
  Ricky Stuart   Canberra Raiders Beginning 2014 9th   Sydney Roosters (2002–06)
  Cronulla (2007–10)
  Parramatta (2013)
  Michael Potter*   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Middle 2022 1st   Wests Tigers (2013–14)
  Craig Fitzgibbon   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Beginning 2022 1st –
  Justin Holbrook   Gold Coast Titans Beginning 2020 3rd
  Des Hasler   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Beginning 2019 4th   Manly Sea Eagles (2004–11)
  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (2012–17)
  Craig Bellamy   Melbourne Storm Beginning 2003 19th   Brisbane (2002*)
  Adam O'Brien   Newcastle Knights Beginning 2020 3rd –
  Stacey Jones* [[Image:|16px|]] New Zealand Warriors Middle 2022 1st
  Todd Payten   North Queensland Cowboys Beginning 2021 2nd [[Image:|16px|]] NZ Warriors (2020)
  Brad Arthur   Parramatta Eels Beginning 2014 9th –
  Ivan Cleary   Penrith Panthers Beginning 2019 4th [[Image:|16px|]] NZ Warriors (2006–11)
  Penrith Panthers (2012–15)
  Wests Tigers (2017–18)
  Jason Demetriou   South Sydney Rabbitohs Beginning 2022 1st
  Anthony Griffin   St George-Illawarra Dragons Beginning 2021 2nd   Brisbane (2011–14)
  Penrith Panthers (2016–18)
  Trent Robinson   Sydney Roosters Beginning 2013 10th
  Brett Kimmorley*   Wests Tigers Middle 2022 1st

Premiership Winning Coaches (NRL Era)

Nationality Name No. Premierships
as head coach		 Years No. Runner-ups
as head coach		 Years No. Minor Premierships
as head coach		 Years
  Wayne Bennett 4 1998, 2000, 2006, 2010 2 2015, 2021 4 1998, 2000, 2009, 2010
  Craig Bellamy 3 2007*, 2009*, 2012, 2017, 2020 4 2006, 2008, 2016, 2018 5 2011, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021
  Trent Robinson 3 2013, 2018, 2019 0 4 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018
  Des Hasler 2 2008, 2011 3 2007, 2012, 2014 1 2012
  Ivan Cleary 2 2021, 2022 2 2011, 2020 2 2020, 2022
  Ricky Stuart 1 2002 3 2003, 2004, 2019 1 2004
  Paul Green 1 2015 1 2017 0
  Steve Folkes 1 2004 1 1998 0
  John Lang 1 2003 0 2 1999, 2003
  Chris Anderson 1 1999 0 0
  Michael Hagan 1 2001 0 0
  Tim Sheens 1 2005 0 0
  Michael Maguire 1 2014 0 0
  Shane Flanagan 1 2016 0 0

Match officials

Main article: NRL match officials

*Steve Chiddy was in the bunker for some matches in for the first 8 rounds of 2022, but due to errors made he's only been in the bunker for the New Zealand vs Tonga women's international since. He is likely not to return to the bunker, as the NRL are looking to phase out former on-field officials. [114]

Sponsorship

The NRL and its clubs receive significant revenue from sponsorships, with sponsors' logos appearing on most parts of players' and referees' uniforms, the playing surface and even the ball itself. Since 2001, the National Rugby League premiership has been sponsored by Telstra and known as the 'NRL Telstra Premiership'. Prior to this, the competition was simply known as the 'National Rugby League'.[115]

The Telstra Premiership has had five competition logos since 2001. The first, lasting only through the 2001 regular season, was the Telstra logo with an elongated circle enclosing the word Premiership. From the Finals series of 2001 through to the end of 2006 the logo was based around the shape of a football, with the words Telstra Premiership on respective lines along the bottom, culminating with a small football similar to the one in the official NRL logo at the peak. The main colours were dark blue and orange, the corporate colours of Telstra. The company worked with the NRL to create the third logo for the 2007 season onward as part of a new sponsorship deal. This logo was quite similar to the original National Rugby League emblem. From the 2011 Finals Series, a newer logo was commissioned in concert with a corporate re-brand undertaken by Telstra. The 2007 logo remained on club jerseys until 2012 due to the lateness of the change and was phased out in time for the 2013 NRL Season. From 2013, under a dramatic image rebranding of the competition, the Telstra Premiership logo was changed in conjunction with a new sponsorship deal to incorporate the key elements of rugby league in Australia to include the shield and chevrons, the green and gold, a red "Telstra" logo perched above the top of the shield and for the first time the iconic Provan-Summons trophy awarded to the premiers at the end of the season centred in the middle of the badge.

At the end of the 2018 season the NRL launched a bold new look for its Telstra Premiership. The new look aims to modernise the Telstra Premiership brand as well as integrate it more seamlessly with the 16 clubs. The new brand, highlighting the shield and the chevron – which have both been synonymous with Rugby League since the game's inception.[116]

Other notable sponsorships include KIA (Thursday Night Football), KFC (Friday Night Football), Bundaberg Rum (Super Saturday), Chemist Warehouse (Sunday Football). Steeden is the official match ball supplier, Westpac sponsor the match ball. The State of Origin series and the Australian Test matches (Kangaroos). Youi and Harvey Norman sponsor the on-field match officials and Swyftx sponsors the NRL Bunker. Other Official NRL Sponsors are: Coca Cola Amatil, Hankook, Hisense, Home Hardware, Rebel, TWE (Wolf Blass), Accor, Drinkwise, P&O, Gallagher and EISS Super. Partners of the NRLW Competition are: Telstra, Harvey Norman, Chemist Warehouse, Flight Centre and Rebel.[117]

See also

References

  1. ^ Official National Rugby League statistics encompass all Sydney first grade competitions, namely the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, Australian Rugby League, Super League, and the present day NRL.
  2. ^ "Redcliffe Dolphins poised to be unveiled as NRL's 17th team for 2023 season". The Guardian. 11 October 2021.
  3. ^ Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League. (PDF). Australian Human Rights Commission Report. hreoc.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  4. ^ Toby Miller; Geoffrey A. Lawrence; Jim McKay (2001). Globalization and sport: playing the world. SAGE. p. 82. ISBN 9780761959694. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  5. ^ Schwarz, David (2 September 2009). "Spike TV To Telecast National Rugby League Playoffs and Championship Game". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
  6. ^ "RFL cool on bigger Challenge". Sky Sports. 2 March 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  7. ^ RL1908.com Retrieved on 15 January 2006.
  8. ^ RL1908.com Retrieved on 14 January 2006.
  9. ^ Newtown Jets – Established 1908 Retrieved on 14 January 2006. by the Wayback Machine beta.
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April 27, 2023
national, rugby, league, redirects, here, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, about, australian, zealand, league, semi, professional, papua, guinean, league, papua, guinea, canadian, ringette, league, national, ringette, league, australasian, rugby, le. NRL redirects here For other uses see NRL disambiguation This article is about the Australian and New Zealand league For the semi professional Papua New Guinean league see Papua New Guinea National Rugby League For the Canadian ringette league see National Ringette League The National Rugby League NRL is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales Queensland Victoria the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership between the Australian Rugby League ARL and media giant News Corporation controlled Super League 3 in the aftermath of the 1990s Super League war in which both ran parallel to each other in 1997 4 The partnership was dissolved in 2012 with control of the NRL going to the re constituted ARL which was re structured with an independent board of directors and renamed the Australian Rugby League Commission National Rugby LeagueCurrent season competition or edition 2023 NRL seasonSportRugby leagueFounded1998 25 years ago 1998 1 Inaugural season1998 1908 CEOAndrew AbdoCommissionerPeter V landysNo of teams17 2 Country Australia 16 teams New Zealand 1 team HeadquartersRugby League Central SydneyMost recentchampion s Penrith Panthers 4th title Most titlesSouth Sydney Rabbitohs 21 titles TV partner s Australia Nine Network Fox League New Zealand Sky Sport PrimeStreaming partner s Kayo Sports 9NowSponsor s TelstraLevel on pyramidLevel 1International cup s World Club ChallengeRelatedcompetitionsSuper LeagueOfficial websiteNRL comNRL matches are played in Australia and New Zealand from March to October Each team plays 24 matches with the highest placed team at the end of the regular season awarded the minor premiership This is followed by a finals series contested between the eight highest placed teams from the regular season The season culminates in the premiership deciding NRL Grand Final one of Australia s most popular sporting events 5 The winners play the World Club Challenge against the champions of the Super League 6 The reigning premiers are the Penrith Panthers having won their fourth premiership at the end of the 2022 season Contents 1 History 1 1 Origin and establishment 1 2 1998 2002 Rationalisation 1 3 2003 2010 Record popularity expansion and centenary 1 4 2010 2019 Establishment of the ARLC 1 5 2020 present COVID affected seasons and further expansion 2 Governance 3 Teams 3 1 Current clubs 3 2 Former teams 4 Season structure 4 1 Pre season 4 2 Premiership rounds 4 3 Representative season 4 4 Finals series 5 Grand finals 5 1 Results 6 Players 6 1 Demographics 6 2 Salary cap 7 Awards 7 1 Provan Summons trophy 7 2 J J Giltinan Shield 7 3 Clive Churchill medal 7 4 Dally M awards 7 5 The Immortals 7 6 Queensland Rugby League s Team of the Century 7 7 New South Wales Rugby League s Team of the Century 8 Audience 9 Media coverage 9 1 Television 9 1 1 ANZ and Pacific 9 1 2 Detailed Australian coverage 9 1 3 By Matchday 9 1 4 By Network 9 1 5 NRL related television programmes 9 1 6 NZ Coverage 9 1 7 Pacific 9 1 8 Outside ANZ and Pacific 9 2 Internet 9 3 Radio 9 3 1 Australia 9 4 Print 10 Theme songs 11 Video games 12 Cheerleading 12 1 Cheer squads 13 Records 13 1 Team 13 2 Individual 14 Coaches 14 1 Premiership Winning Coaches NRL Era 15 Match officials 16 Sponsorship 17 See also 18 References 19 External linksHistory EditMain article History of the National Rugby League See also Rugby league in Australia and List of NRL records Origin and establishment Edit The New South Wales Rugby League ran the major rugby league competition of New South Wales from its inception in 1908 until 1994 Following the introduction of a new format for interstate rugby league the State of Origin series in 1980 the decade of the 1980s brought about expansion of the NSWRL premiership with the introduction of commercial sponsorship the Winfield Cup and the addition of non Sydney based teams Canberra and Illawarra in 1982 7 8 Although this move brought more interest in the competition statewide in New South Wales it would spell the beginning of the demise of some of the traditional Sydney based clubs as well as having a negative effect on the Brisbane Rugby League premiership Following the 1983 season Sydney foundation club Newtown Jets were ultimately forced to withdraw from the competition because of financial difficulties 9 Further expansion of the league followed in 1988 with another three teams based outside Sydney introduced to the competition the Newcastle Knights and the first two Queensland teams the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Tweed Giants 10 The Brisbane and Newcastle sides proved to be successful and popular and paved the way towards a push for a truly national competition Although a top flight league legally parallel to the NSWRL Premiership until the beginning of the truly national ARL Premiership in 1995 the Brisbane Rugby League s history is not officially recorded by the NRL and it is considered to have been an equal but unrelated first grade competition from 1922 1994 This was attempted in 1995 with control of the premiership passing from the NSWRFL to the Australian Rugby League ARL who invited four more teams from outside NSW to participate in 1995 Ultimately this competition failed but in its demise the National Rugby League was born incorporating the traditional Sydney clubs successfully coercing the Sydney market to follow the newly created national competition See also Super League war The prospect of a truly national rugby league competition in addition to the introduction of pay television in Australia attracted the attention of global media organisation News Corporation and it followed that professional rugby league was shaken to its very foundations in the mid 1990s with the advent of the Super League war Initially a conflict over broadcasting rights it became a dispute as to who controlled the sport and which traditional clubs would survive into the new national era as News Limited formed their own Super League and admitted some former ARL clubs poaching players from the original ARL league with high salaries With twenty two teams of highly varying quality playing in two competitions that year crowd attendances and corporate sponsorships were spread very thinly 11 and many teams found themselves in financial difficulty The ARL undertook moves to invite the traditional clubs that had moved to the Super League competition back into a re unified competition Following a period of negotiation with News Corporation on 23 September 1997 the ARL announced that it was forming a new company to conduct the competition in 1998 On 7 October News Manaaki Ranginui announced that he was confident that there would be a single competition in 1998 On 19 December representatives of clubs affiliated with the Australian Rugby League gathered at the Sydney Football Stadium to decide whether to accept News Limited s offer of a settlement eventually voting in favour by 36 votes to 4 12 As a result in the following months the National Rugby League jointly owned by the ARL and News Limited was formed It was announced that the inaugural National Rugby League NRL season of 1998 would have 20 teams competing 19 remaining Super League and ARL teams plus the Melbourne Storm who were created by Super League for their 1998 season Clubs on both sides of the war were shut down Super League decided to close the Hunter Mariners and the financially ruined Perth Reds who were 10 million in debt at the end of 1997 citation needed while the ARL decided to close down the South Queensland Crushers who were also in severe financial trouble citation needed Additionally at the end of 1998 the NRL decided to close down former Super League club the Adelaide Rams and former ARL club the Gold Coast Chargers despite the Gold Coast franchise being one of the few clubs to make a profit during the Super League war citation needed 1998 2002 Rationalisation Edit One condition of the peace agreement between the ARL and News Limited was that there would be a 14 team competition in 2000 The 20 clubs that played in 1998 would be assessed on various items such as sponsorship crowds on field success and the like It was also announced that clubs that merged would receive a large sum of money as well as a guaranteed position in the 2000 NRL Competition The St George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers were the first clubs to take up the offer forming the joint venture St George Illawarra Dragons at the end of the 1998 season The 1999 NRL Grand Final brought about a new official world record attendance for a game of rugby league 107 999 spectators saw the Melbourne Storm defeat the newly created St George Illawarra Dragons in the decider at Stadium Australia Balmain and Western Suburbs formed the joint venture club the Wests Tigers at the end of 1999 while North Sydney and Manly Warringah created the ill fated Northern Eagles As part of another image makeover a number of teams also released new club logos The most notable of these was the Sydney Roosters dropping the City section of their name for the 2000 season and beyond Souths were controversially axed from the competition at the end of 1999 for failing to meet the criteria This move was highly controversial and on 12 November 2000 about 80 000 marched in protest at their continued exclusion South Sydney challenged the decision in the Federal Court claiming that the NRL agreement was exclusionary intended to unfairly exclude South Sydney and breached the Trade Practices Act Justice Paul Finn ruled that the agreement did not specifically exclude any club and dismissed the Rabbitohs claims for re instatement into the national competition Souths appealed this decision and were re admitted into the competition in 2002 The Auckland Warriors experienced much financial hardship in the early part of the decade ultimately collapsing before being resurrected as the New Zealand Warriors for the 2001 season They made the grand final in 2002 and then again in 2011 losing both encounters to the Sydney Roosters and the re instated Manly Warringah Sea Eagles respectively In 2001 Australia s largest telecommunications provider Telstra became naming rights sponsor of the NRL with the competition s name becoming the NRL Telstra Premiership while in 2002 David Gallop took over the CEO role from David Moffett and the competition has become more and more popular each season In 2001 the NRL Grand Final started to be played on Sunday nights a shift from the traditional Sunday afternoon slot used for over a decade prior 2003 2010 Record popularity expansion and centenary Edit The 2003 season was widely regarded as the most successful since the beginning of the National Rugby League in 1998 The Manly Warringah Rugby League Football Club took over the NRL licence from the Northern Eagles franchise after the financial bankruptcy of the North Sydney faction made the joint venture untenable The Penrith Panthers rose from the bottom of the table to win the Premiership while the Brisbane club returned to Suncorp Stadium mid year Season 2004 proved even more successful than 2003 with the North Queensland Cowboys going from 11th position in 2003 to third in 2004 narrowly missing out on a maiden Grand Final berth Crowd average records were broken in 2003 2004 and 2005 11 In 2005 the NRL reached record levels of popularity for its competition Total crowds for the competition season almost reached the figures for the last year of the competition conducted by the ARL competition of 1995 prior to the Super League war The average attendance record remained until 2010 11 From 2004 to 2005 there was a 39 increase in sponsorship a 41 increase in merchandise royalties and a 12 increase in playing participation 13 In 2005 Business Review Weekly ranked the NRL 497 in revenue of Australian private companies with revenue of A 66 1m 7 with 35 employees In 2004 Canterbury Bankstown put a year of turmoil and disgrace at the aftermath of the alleged rape scandal to hold aloft the NRL trophy and give the club their first premiership since 1995 In 2005 a record national audience of 4 1 million tuned in to watch the grand final between the Wests Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys 14 The 2006 NRL Grand Final was won by the Brisbane Broncos over the Melbourne Storm 15 8 The matchup was a significant milestone in the history of the NRL as two interstate teams teams not from New South Wales the heartland of the NRL contested the grand final for the first time In the city of Melbourne whose team was playing in their second grand final the game s television ratings were higher than in Sydney where the game was played 15 Crowds were down on 2005 however were better than any other year prior to that In its tenth season the NRL returned to having a club based on the Gold Coast Queensland with the inclusion of the Gold Coast Titans The Titans were the first professional sporting team to occupy the Gold Coast since 1998 when the Gold Coast Chargers were one of the teams removed during the NRL s rationalisation process between the end of the Super League war and the 2000 season The 2007 season saw the return of Monday Night Football and the inclusion of two Friday night games Both of which turned out to be ratings successes Another change from the previous seasons was a reduction in the number of byes per team in the season With an odd number of teams contesting between 2002 and 2006 the draw meant that at least one team would have to have a bye each weekend With the inclusion of the 16th team for the 2007 season the National Rugby League had the option of reverting to back to the system used between 2000 and 2001 where every team played each round That system was not used however with teams were given just a single bye during the year grouped in periods that will assist clubs around representative fixtures The opening round saw two matches at Brisbane s Suncorp Stadium the first featuring reigning champions Brisbane against fellow Queensland side North Queensland while the second match featured the new club the Gold Coast playing St George Illawarra The weather during the middle of the season was less than ideal with cyclonic conditions severely affecting many NRL games played in Sydney and Newcastle The 2007 finals series saw the South Sydney Rabbitohs return to finals football for the first time in decades The season culminated on 30 September 2007 with the grand final contested between Manly and Melbourne Melbourne won the title 34 8 and the grand final achieved the honour of being the most watched television show in Australia in 2007 16 Throughout 2008 the NRL celebrated 100 years since rugby league was introduced into Australia with several initiatives to recognise the important milestone including an extensive marketing campaign called the Centenary of Rugby League The competition began in March with a special Heritage round held in mid April coinciding with the first round of competition played in 1908 At a Gala event on 17 April 2008 the Team of the Century was announced being Full back Clive Churchill Wingers Ken Irvine Brian Bevan Centres Reg Gasnier Mal Meninga Five eighth Wally Lewis Half back Andrew Johns Lock John Raper Second Row Norm Provan Ron Coote Props Arthur Beetson Duncan Hall Hooker Noel Kelly Reserves Graeme Langlands Dally Messenger Bob Fulton Frank Burge Coach Jack Gibson 17 For the second year in a row the grand final was played between the Melbourne Storm and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL s first ever twilight decider The Manly club took out the premiership game 40 0 setting the record for the highest winning margin in a Grand Final although the club formerly known as St George Dragons were beaten 38 0 in 1975 and using the modern point scale of 4 point tries this would amount to 46 0 Furthermore it was the first time a team had been kept scoreless in a Grand Final since 1978 The 2009 season marked the beginning of the second century of rugby league in Australia The grand final that year was played between the Parramatta Eels and once again Melbourne Storm Melbourne defeated Parramatta 23 16 to win the premiership to make it two premierships out of the last four grand finals for the Melbourne side In 2010 the Inaugural All Stars Match was held on 13 February in conjunction with the Sorry Day reconciliation anniversary to promote rugby league s long association and involvement with the Aboriginal community The first match saw the Indigenous All Stars beat the NRL All Stars 16 12 The success of this event has seen it become a recurring fixture on the rugby league calendar with Queensland awarded the hosting rights for the next three years 18 The 29th State of Origin series was also played featuring the world s first live free to air 3D TV broadcast 19 Queensland later made further history by winning an unprecedented fifth series in a row and winning the 2010 series by a scoreline of 3 0 their first Origin whitewash since 1995 20 In 2010 the NRL set a record total season average attendance of 17 367 per game and a record total season aggregate attendance of 3 490 778 21 22 During the 2010 finals series the second qualifying match between the Wests Tigers and Sydney Roosters became the first McIntyre system final to go into extra time with the One Hundred Minute Epic described in media circles as one of the greatest of the modern era 23 The 2010 Grand Final was played between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters St George Illawarra won 32 8 This was the first premiership won by the club in its eleven year existence and the first time in 31 years for the St George part of the joint venture 2010 2019 Establishment of the ARLC Edit After several years of preparation and build up on 14 December 2010 the Australian Rugby League and News Corporation agreed upon a constitutional framework paving the way for the establishment of a new and independent commission to govern the sport in Australia The negotiations of such a framework became drawn out over establishing details primarily of sponsorship media rights funding of state bodies funding of the Melbourne Storm debate over News Ltd private ownership of clubs and also of individual appointments to the new body The 2011 Grand Final was contested between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors This was the second grand final involving the New Zealand Warriors Manly recorded a 24 10 win claiming their second premiership under head coach Des Hasler On 10 February 2012 the independent commission known as the Australian Rugby League Commission assumed control of all levels of the game replacing former state based boards and assuming full control of the NRL from the NRL partnership comprising the previous ARL board and News Limited 24 The current Chairman is Peter V landys AM The 2012 Grand Final involved the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs and the Melbourne Storm this was the first time since 2008 that the first and second placed teams contested the grand final The Melbourne Storm recorded a 14 4 victory thus achieving their second premiership and claiming some vengeance for the stripped premierships Pre match formalities taking place prior to the Dragons vs Roosters Anzac Day clash in 2018 The 2013 season saw the resurgence of foundation clubs the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs with both clubs finishing first and second place respectively The NRL was also left with a black eye after the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks were caught using performance enhancing substances by ASADA dating back to 2011 The 2013 Grand Final was played between the Sydney Roosters and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles with the Roosters recording a 26 18 victory The 2014 season started with the introduction of the Auckland Nines and was marred by the handing down of a million dollar fine to the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks for their role in the ASADA scandal while head coach Shane Flanagan was suspended for the entirety of the 2014 season The 2014 Grand Final was contested by the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs This was South Sydney s first grand final appearance since 1971 South Sydney would break their 43 year premiership drought with a 30 6 victory The 2015 season saw the return of the Queensland juggernauts The North Queensland Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos who would finish inside the top four and contest the 2015 Grand Final The 2015 Grand Final is considered by many to be the greatest grand final of all time as a high intensity match ended in dramatic circumstances when North Queensland scored as the full time siren sounded Johnathan Thurston would miss the conversion from the sideline as the ball hit the post thus sending the match into golden point the first golden point grand final Ben Hunt would drop the ball on the kick off and hand the North Queensland side the chance to win which was converted as Johnathan Thurston successfully kicked a field goal to win the match 17 16 The 2016 season saw the Melbourne Storm return to the minor premiership position while the Canberra Raiders returned to the top four for the first time since the 2003 The Cronulla Sutherland Sharks and reigning premiers North Queensland would fill out the top four The season continued a trend of the minor premiership not being decided to the final round the fourth consecutive year The 2016 Grand Final was contested between the Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks it was the Cronulla s fourth grand final appearance while it was the seventh for the Melbourne club The match was a tight affair and was not settled until after the siren had sounded The Cronulla Sutherland claimed their first premiership ending a famous 49 year drought by a score of 14 12 Following the success generated by the 2017 Women s Rugby League World Cup a national women s league was established and the first season commenced in September 2018 comprising four clubs aligned to existing NRL clubs 25 2020 present COVID affected seasons and further expansion Edit On 22 March 2020 during the COVID 19 pandemic the NRL became one of the last major sports in the world to continue playing games The other major Australian football code the Australian Football League AFL announced suspension of their season on that day AFL s decision came as the Australian federal government announced a ban on non essential travel and closing of pubs clubs and other venues AFL leaders commented As a community and as a code we all need to take the unprecedented and required actions to get through this together 26 However the NRL announced it would be moving forward with their season 27 The decision prompted a wave of condemnation online including from Australian personalities and sport people 28 The following day after Queensland closed its borders the NRL announced that the season would have to be suspended indefinitely 29 It was feared that some teams would not survive this period without income as it was foreseen as a financial catastrophe 30 31 On 9 April 2020 ARL Commissioner Wayne Pearce announced the NRL would return on 28 May 32 The announcement came under heavy criticism from the Government of New South Wales and health officials with Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying she had not approved a return 33 However the NRL released documents signed by NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller showing approval for the NRL to continue without crowds 33 The competition ended up kicking off on that date with the Parramatta Eels defeating the Brisbane Broncos 34 6 at Suncorp Stadium behind closed doors 34 The match drew the highest TV ratings for a regular season game since 2014 35 The AFL returned over two weeks later than the NRL who were the first sport to return to play worldwide that actually ceased play 36 In October 2021 after months of speculation the NRL and the ARLC announced that the competition would expand to 17 teams with the admission of the Dolphins for the 2023 season 37 The Dolphins are based in the far northern suburb of Redcliffe near Brisbane Governance EditSince the NRL commenced in 1998 there have been six CEOs they are 1998 1999 Neil Whittaker 1999 2001 David Moffett 38 39 2002 2012 David Gallop 40 2012 2015 David Smith 41 2016 2020 Todd Greenberg 42 2020 present Andrew Abdo 43 44 Since the Australian Rugby League Commission was inaugurated in 2012 there have been three chairmen 2012 2017 John Grant 2017 2019 Peter Beattie 2019 present Peter V landysTeams EditSee also List of teams in the NSWRL ARL SL NRL The NRL currently consists of seventeen clubs Nine clubs are based within the Greater Sydney area including one that also represents the Illawarra region south of Sydney another in regional New South Wales four in Queensland and one each in Victoria the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand The league operates on a single group system with no divisions or conferences and no relegation or promotion A total of twenty three clubs have played in the NRL since its first season in 1998 Eleven clubs have been members for every season Two of the clubs currently in the NRL were founded in 1908 the first year of rugby league competition in Australia the Sydney Roosters founded as Eastern Suburbs and the South Sydney Rabbitohs The Wests Tigers are a merger of two other foundation clubs The Western Suburbs Magpies and the Balmain Tigers Current clubs Edit See also List of current NRL team squads National Rugby League clubsClub Established First NRL Season Location s Stadium s Premiership s most recent a Brisbane Broncos 1988 1998 Brisbane Suncorp Stadium 52 500 The Gabba 36 000 6 2006 Canberra Raiders 1982 1998 Canberra GIO Stadium 25 011 3 1994 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 1935 1998 Sydney Accor Stadium 82 000 CommBank Stadium 30 000 Belmore Sports Ground 19 000 8 2004 Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 1967 1998 Sydney PointsBet Stadium 20 000 1 2016 Dolphins 2022 1947 as Redcliffe 2023 Brisbane Sunshine Coast Suncorp Stadium 52 500 Kayo Stadium 11 500 Sunshine Coast Stadium 12 000 0 N A Gold Coast Titans 2007 2007 Gold Coast Cbus Super Stadium 27 690 0 N A Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 1947 1998 Sydney 4 Pines Park 20 000 8 2011 Melbourne Storm 1997 1998 Melbourne AAMI Park 30 050 4 2020 New Zealand Warriors 1995 1998 Auckland Mount Smart Stadium 30 000 0 N A Newcastle Knights 1988 1998 Newcastle McDonald Jones Stadium 30 000 2 2001 North Queensland Cowboys 1995 1998 Townsville Queensland Country Bank Stadium 25 000 1 2015 Parramatta Eels 1947 1998 Sydney CommBank Stadium 30 000 4 1986 Penrith Panthers 1967 1998 Sydney Bluebet Stadium 22 500 4 2022 South Sydney Rabbitohs 1908 1998 Sydney Accor Stadium 82 000 21 2014 St George Illawarra Dragons 1999 1999 Sydney Wollongong Netstrata Jubilee Stadium 20 500 WIN Stadium 22 000 1 2010 Sydney Roosters 1908 1998 Sydney Sydney Cricket Ground 48 500 Allianz Stadium 42 500 15 2019 Wests Tigers 2000 2000 Sydney CommBank Stadium 30 000 Leichhardt Oval 20 000 Campbelltown Stadium 17 500 1 2005 Former teams Edit Rugby League Club City Town Est Joined Left PremiershipsTotal Last Adelaide Rams Adelaide 1995 1997 1998 0 N A Annandale Sydney 1910 1910 1920 0 N A Balmain Tigers Sydney 1908 1908 1999 11 1969 Cumberland Sydney 1908 1908 1908 0 N A Glebe Dirty Reds Sydney 1908 1908 1929 0 N A Image 16px Gold Coast Tweed Giants Gold Coast Seagulls Gold Coast Chargers Gold Coast 1987 1988 1998 0 N A Hunter Mariners Newcastle 1995 1997 1997 0 N A Illawarra Steelers Wollongong 1980 1982 1998 0 N A Newcastle Rebels Newcastle 1908 1908 1909 0 Newtown Jets Sydney 1908 1908 1983 3 1943 North Sydney Bears Sydney 1908 1908 1999 2 1922 Northern Eagles Sydney Central Coast 2000 2000 2002 0 N A St George Dragons Sydney 1920 1921 1998 15 1979 South Queensland Crushers Brisbane 1992 1995 1997 0 N A University Sydney 1920 1920 1937 0 N A Western Reds Perth Reds Perth 1992 1995 1997 0 N A Western Suburbs Magpies Sydney 1908 1908 1999 4 1952Season structure EditPre season Edit The NRL pre season typically begins in February and ends in early March Clubs generally use this time to organise trial matches to test playing combinations However some clubs play for trophies Easts and Wests play for the Foundation Cup while South Sydney and St George Illawarra play for the Charity Shield The trials are typically played in cities and towns that normally don t host NRL matches In the past a World Sevens rugby league football tournament has been hosted however this was scrapped due to injury concerns All Stars match Main article All Stars Match Beginning in 2010 the All Stars match has become a major fixture in the NRL preseason The teams are chosen via public voting and the two sides play for the Arthur Beetson Trophy In 2018 the game was temporarily removed from the calendar due to the World Cup being played the previous year citing an excessive player workload The match returned in 2019 and was hosted in Melbourne with the Australian Indigenous All Stars taking on the New Zealand Maori All Stars NRL Nines Main article NRL Nines In 2014 the inaugural rugby league nines tournament took place featuring all sixteen NRL clubs It was initially staged at Eden Park Auckland New Zealand 45 This two day tournament has now become a regular fixture taking place in February each year Women s nines games were also fixtured alongside the main tournament between the Australian and New Zealand women s teams however now feature the four NRLW teams In 2018 the tournament was removed from the calendar due to the World Cup being played the previous year citing an excessive player workload however it was brought back in 2020 World Club Challenge Main article World Club Challenge The World Club Challenge is an annual pre season match played between the champion of the National Rugby League and the champion of the Super League The first match of its kind was the 1976 World Club Challenge and it was then played sporadically throughout the late 80s and 90s including a one off Super League tournament in 1997 before becoming a regular annual pre season fixture since 2000 In 2015 the competition was expanded to include two exhibition games before the Challenge game This expanded series called the World Club Series ran from 2015 to 2017 The first two Series saw the leagues champions joined by two invited teams from each league resulting in a three game series Each invited team represented their league in a single game played in the days leading up to the usual Challenge match In 2017 only one invited team from each league participated with the NRL citing tight schedules distant travel and long seasons as an impediment to the Series In 2018 the series was cancelled with only the usual Challenge match played and has continued as a single match since Premiership rounds Edit Main article NRL regular season As rugby league is a winter sport in Australia the NRL premiership season begins in early March with games played every weekend for 27 weeks until the start of September In most rounds one match is played on Thursday night two on Friday night three on Saturday and two on Sunday Special themed weeks include ANZAC Round Heritage Round Women in League Round Retro Round Beanies for Brain Cancer round and Rivalry Round Separate trophies between rival teams are also presented throughout the season In 2019 the NRL introduced Magic Round which featured all sixteen teams playing at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane over the weekend It was deemed a success and has now been a scheduled annual event since Teams receive two competition points for a win and one point for a draw The bye also receives two points a loss no points Teams on the ladder are ranked by competition points then match points differential for and against and points percentage are used to separate teams with equal competition points At the end of the regular season the club which is ranked highest on the ladder is declared minor premiers Representative season Edit As well as playing for their club in the premiership NRL players are regularly selected to play in a number of representative competitions that are conducted throughout each season The representative season is generally considered to be a period of rugby league that runs from about the middle of April until the middle of July each year citation needed Up until the 2017 season the fixtures took into account the following games The annual Anzac Test between Australia and New Zealand Early to mid April The New South Wales City vs Country Origin match Early to mid April same weekend as the Anzac Test The Pacific Tests played on the same weekend as the Anzac Test and City vs Country Origin these games feature matches placed between Fiji Samoa Papua New Guinea and Tonga The three match State of Origin series June July From 2018 the season was altered to create a shorter workload for players A number of representative games were scrapped and timing changed therefore the representative season was changed to include The Pacific Tests played on the same weekend as the second State of Origin game The three match State of Origin series June July with the second game featuring on a standalone weekend Other representative matches that can occur later in the year are The Prime Minister s XIII match in Papua New Guinea The Four Nations tournament Australia New Zealand and England plus another qualifier The quadrennial World Cup tournament Additional test Matches between Australia and New Zealand The Rugby League World Cup 9sFinals series Edit The eight highest placed teams at the end of the regular season compete in the finals series The system consists of a number of games between the top eight teams over four weeks in September until only two teams remain These two teams then contest the grand final which is usually played on the first Sunday of October From 1998 to 2011 the NRL used the McIntyre final eight system but with the introduction of the ARLC it was decided to change to the current format which was perceived as fairer for teams finishing in the Top 4 46 Grand final Main article NRL Grand Final Darren Lockyer and Wayne Bennett parade the premiership after the Brisbane Broncos Grand Final victory in 2006 The NRL Grand Final which determines the season s premiers is one of Australia s major sporting events and is one of the largest attended club championship events in the world It has been contested at Sydney s Stadium Australia each year since 1999 with the exception of 2021 when it was played at Brisbane s Suncorp Stadium due to the COVID pandemic 47 The first year it was held at Stadium Australia the NRL Grand Final broke the record for attendance at an Australian rugby league game with 107 999 people attending 48 The Grand Final had traditionally been played on Sunday afternoons shifting to 8 pm in 2001 then to 7 pm thereafter However from 2008 a compromise was reached between official broadcaster Nine Network s preferred starting time and the afternoon starting time of 3 pm with the grand final beginning at 5 pm AEST 49 Each year the NRL Grand Final Breakfast a function that is attended by both teams hundreds of guests and screened live on Australian television is held during the week before the game The game itself is usually preceded by an opening ceremony featuring entertainment and the singing of the national anthem by well known Australasian and international musical acts After the pre game entertainment it is traditional for the NRL trophy to be delivered to the field by an Australian Army helicopter shortly before kick off At the conclusion of the grand final there is a presentation ceremony where the winning team are awarded premiership rings 50 The player judged to be the man of the match by the Australian national team selectors is awarded the prestigious Clive Churchill Medal and the Prime Minister of Australia is typically on hand to hand the trophy to the winning captain In 2010 the Government of New South Wales secured the grand final for Stadium Australia until 2022 for 45 million 51 Stadium Location Country Highest attendance Average attendanceStadium Australia Sydney Australia 107 999 80 000Grand finals EditFor top flight results before 1998 see NSWRL Premiership ARL Premiership and Super League Australia For the all time list of champions since 1908 see List of National Rugby League Premiers Season Grand Finals Minor PremiersPremiers Score Runners up1998 Brisbane Broncos 4th title 38 12 Canterbury Bulldogs Brisbane Broncos 37 points 1999 Melbourne Storm 1st 20 18 St George Illawarra Dragons Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 40 2000 Brisbane Broncos 5th 14 6 Sydney Roosters Brisbane Broncos 38 2001 Newcastle Knights 2nd 30 24 Parramatta Eels Parramatta Eels 42 2002 Sydney Roosters 12th 30 8 Image 16px New Zealand Warriors Image 16px New Zealand Warriors 38 2003 Penrith Panthers 2nd 18 6 Sydney Roosters Penrith Panthers 40 2004 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 8th 16 13 Sydney Roosters Sydney Roosters 42 2005 Wests Tigers 1st 30 16 North Queensland Cowboys Parramatta Eels 36 2006 Brisbane Broncos 6th 15 8 Melbourne Storm Withheld a2007 Withheld a 34 8 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Withheld a2008 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 7th 40 0 Melbourne Storm Withheld a2009 Withheld a 23 16 Parramatta Eels St George Illawarra Dragons 38 2010 St George Illawarra Dragons 1st 32 8 Sydney Roosters St George Illawarra Dragons 38 2011 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 8th 24 10 Image 16px New Zealand Warriors Melbourne Storm 42 2012 Melbourne Storm 2nd 14 4 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 40 2013 Sydney Roosters 13th 26 18 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Sydney Roosters 40 2014 South Sydney Rabbitohs 21st 30 6 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Sydney Roosters 36 2015 North Queensland Cowboys 1st 17 16 Brisbane Broncos Sydney Roosters 40 2016 Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 1st 14 12 Melbourne Storm Melbourne Storm 42 2017 Melbourne Storm 3rd 34 6 North Queensland Cowboys Melbourne Storm 44 2018 Sydney Roosters 14th 21 6 Melbourne Storm Sydney Roosters 34 2019 Sydney Roosters 15th 14 8 Canberra Raiders Melbourne Storm 42 2020 Melbourne Storm 4th 26 20 Penrith Panthers Penrith Panthers 37 2021 Penrith Panthers 3rd 14 12 South Sydney Rabbitohs Melbourne Storm 44 2022 Penrith Panthers 4th 28 12 Parramatta Eels Penrith Panthers 42 Notes a Melbourne Storm were stripped of their 2007 2009 premiership titles and their 2006 2007 2008 minor premiership titles due to their breach of the salary cap The titles were withheld by the NRL rather than awarding them to the runners up dd dd Results Edit Rank Team Premiership years Runner up years Minor Premiers years1 Melbourne Storm 4 1999 2007 2009 2012 2017 2020 4 2006 2008 2016 2018 5 2006 2007 2008 2011 2016 2017 2019 2021 Sydney Roosters 4 2002 2013 2018 2019 4 2000 2003 2004 2010 5 2004 2013 2014 2015 2018 3 Brisbane Broncos 3 1998 2000 2006 1 2015 2 1998 2000 Penrith Panthers 3 2003 2021 2022 1 2020 2 2003 2020 2022 5 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2 2008 2011 2 2007 2013 06 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 1 2004 3 1998 2012 2014 1 2012 7 North Queensland Cowboys 1 2015 2 2005 2017 08 St George Illawarra Dragons 1 2010 1 1999 2 2009 2010 South Sydney Rabbitohs 1 2014 1 2021 010 Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 1 2016 0 1 1999 Newcastle Knights 1 2001 0 0 Wests Tigers 1 2005 0 013 Parramatta Eels 0 3 2001 2009 2022 2 2001 2005 14 Image 16px New Zealand Warriors 0 2 2002 2011 1 2002 15 Canberra Raiders 0 1 2019 0Notes These stats NRL era only 1998 to present dd dd Ranking Teams are ranked in order of premierships won grand final runners up then minor premierships won To see the complete list of premiers in Australian Rugby League see List of National Rugby League Premiers Players EditNational Rugby League footballers are among Australasia s most famous athletes citation needed commanding multimillion dollar playing contracts and sponsorship deals Each club in the NRL has a top squad of twenty five players who are signed under a salary cap For the most part the players who play in NRL matches are sourced from these top squads During a season the need may arise for a club to use players outside these 25 in which case players are usually sourced from the club s corresponding NRL Under 20s team or a feeder club in the New South Wales Cup or Queensland Cup 52 53 54 55 Demographics Edit In the recent years the influence of Polynesian players on the NRL has grown with figures from the 2011 season showing that 35 of NRL players and over 45 of NRL Under 20s players are of Polynesian background 56 This increase in Polynesian players has been blamed for the decline of Indigenous players dropping from 21 in the 1990s to 11 for the 2009 season 57 Ben Barba at the Dally M awardsThe first Indigenous Australian to play in the NSWRL NRL was New South Wales Rugby League premiership player George Green who debuted in 1909 Since that time many high profile indigenous athletes have played in the competition including Arthur Beetson the first Aboriginal person to captain an Australian national team in any sport 58 and former Test match representatives Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis At the elite level of the game Indigenous Australians represented 35 of the roster for the Kangaroos 21 of players at the 2012 State of Origin series 12 of NRL players and a further 8 of the NRL Under 20s players 59 By way of comparison 2 3 of the Australian population identified themselves as Indigenous in the 2006 Australian census 60 To celebrate the strong Indigenous ties to the game the NRL holds a preseason All Stars game featuring a team made up of Indigenous Australians playing a publicly voted team consisting of the non Indigenous players and an Indigenous Leadership Group has formed consisting of the game s elite Indigenous players The Leadership Group hosts regular multi day camps where all Indigenous NRL players are invited to learn more about Indigenous culture 61 Both the All Stars match and the Leadership Group were ideas pioneered by former player Preston Campbell 62 with the All Stars man of the match receiving the Preston Campbell medal Salary cap Edit Main article National Rugby League salary cap A salary cap was introduced to the NSWRL in 1990 to even the playing field of teams in the Winfield Cup 63 As of 2013 the club grant is 7 1 million which covers the salary cap of 5 85 million and a minimum wage for 80 000 for the top twenty five players at each club 64 The salary cap will increase to 6 3 million in 2014 6 55 million in 2015 6 8 million by 2016 and 7 million in 2017 65 The cap is actively policed 66 and penalties for clubs found to have breached the NRL salary cap regulations include fines of lesser of half the amount involved or 500 000 and or deduction of premiership points For example six clubs were fined for minor infractions in 2003 These infractions are usually technical in nature and can sometimes be affected by third party factors such as loss of sponsorship revenue affecting an allowance During the 2007 season the NRL implemented ways of creating a fair and more beneficial cap for players and clubs In 2010 following the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal the NRL introduced requirements for players and their agents to sign statutory declarations pledging their contracts comply with salary cap regulations where previously only club chairmen and chief executives did so for biannual salary cap audits 67 Major breaches of the cap See also Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs salary cap breach Melbourne Storm salary cap breach and Parramatta Eels salary cap breach In 2002 the Bulldogs were fined the maximum of 500 000 and deducted all 37 premiership points received during the season after it was found that they had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap totalling 2 13 million over the past three years including 750 000 in 2001 and 920 000 in 2002 these were described by NRL chief executive David Gallop as exceptional in both its size and its deliberate and ongoing nature The points penalty meant that the club won the 2002 wooden spoon Souths would have finished last if not for the breaches and as the club had been leading the competition table prior to the imposition of the penalties this was a shattering outcome for the club and its fans Two senior club officials were jailed for fraud as a result of these breaches In 2005 the New Zealand Warriors were fined 430 000 and were ordered to start the 2006 season with a four premiership point deficit and cut their payroll by 450 000 after club officials revealed that their former management had exceeded the salary cap by 1 1 million over the last two years The points penalty meant that the Warriors missed a finals berth in 2006 On 22 April 2010 following revelations by an internal whistleblower and investigation by the NRL Storm officials revealed that the club had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap regulations between 2006 and 2010 by running a well organized dual contract and bookkeeping system that concealed a total of 3 78 million in payments made to players outside of the salary cap from the NRL This included 303 000 in 2006 459 000 in 2007 957 000 in 2008 1 021 million in 2009 and 1 04 million in 2010 As a result the club was stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships 2006 2008 minor premierships and the following year the 2010 World Club Challenge trophy They were also fined a then Australian sporting record of 1 689 million 1 1 million in NRL prize money which was equally distributed between the remaining 15 clubs 89 000 in prize money from the World Club Challenge which was distributed to the Leeds Rhinos and a maximum of 500 000 for breaching the salary cap regulations In addition they were ordered to cut their payroll by 1 0125 million deducted all eight premiership points received during the 2010 season and barred from receiving premiership points for the remainder of the 2010 season The points penalty meant that the club won the 2010 wooden spoon The former directors attempted unsuccessful legal action against the penalties which collapsed and the club also had to pay the NRLs legal costs The matter was also referred to ASIC the Australian Tax Office the Victorian State Revenue Office and the Victoria Police to investigate possible fraud however by May 2011 these investigations were closed 68 The players themselves were found to have not done anything wrong during this time so individual awards are recognised in addition the players were still eligible for Test State of Origin selection Prior to the start of the 2016 NRL season the Parramatta Eels faced the prospect with starting the season on 4 points due to salary cap indiscretions in 2015 however the NRL was satisfied with governance changes at the Eels and no points were deducted 69 However it was revealed in March that third party payments had been made by several companies to several players which is strictly prohibited in the NRL 70 On 3 May 2016 NRL CEO Todd Greenberg announced that the club would be docked the twelve competition points they have accrued so far this season as well as fined 1 million and stripped of the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines title it won in February 42 In addition the NRL also announced that the Eels would not be able to accrue any further competition points until they fall under the salary cap which they were reported to be 500 000 over as of 3 May 2016 71 Five officials including chairman Steve Sharp deputy chairman Tom Issa director Peter Serrao chief executive John Boulous and football manager Daniel Anderson were also sacked 72 On 9 July after over 2 months of club officials contesting the preliminary penalties Parramatta were handed their punishment with the addition of their for against points tally accumulated from rounds 1 9 being deducted 73 In 2018 the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles were fined 750 000 two officials Neil Bare and Joe Kelly were suspended and a 660 000 penalty was applied to the salary cap for 2018 and the next year for breaches of the salary cap Manly was proved by the NRL chief executive that third party payments and deals were made to attract more players to the club citation needed Judiciary and Integrity Unit Main article NRL Judiciary The NRL Judiciary is made up of former players who convene in three man panels to rule on on field incidents The judiciary is currently chaired by Wollongong district court judge Paul Conlon and made up of former players Mal Cochrane Michael Buettner Bradley Clyde Sean Garlick Don McKinnon and Bob Lindner 74 75 An integrity Unit was formed on 7 February 2013 and was headed by former Federal Court judge Tony Whitlam since 2022 the new head of the NRL intergrity Unit is former Manly Sea Eagles front row forward Jason King 76 Awards EditProvan Summons trophy Edit The Provan Summons Trophy is awarded to the winner of the grand final The Provan Summons trophy is the NRL s main prize awarded to the team that wins the premiership Its sculptured design is similar to the Winfield Cup trophy which was introduced for the 1982 NSWRFL season It is a three dimensional cast of a famous photo called The Gladiators 77 which depicts a mud soaked Norm Provan of St George and Arthur Summons of Western Suburbs embracing after the 1963 NSWRFL season s Grand Final It was not officially named the Provan Summons Trophy until 2013 the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Grand Final 78 The trophy is awarded following each grand final to the captain of the winning club The trophy was mysteriously broken during grand final celebrations in 2021 79 Each player from the premiership winning side are also awarded Premiership Rings J J Giltinan Shield Edit Created in 1951 the J J Giltinan Shield is awarded to the club ranked highest on the NRL ladder after the premiership season concludes Typically this team is known as the minor premiers Clive Churchill medal Edit The Clive Churchill Medal is awarded to the most outstanding player in a grand final It is named after former Australian fullback Clive Churchill Dally M awards Edit The Dally M Medal is the highlight of the Dally M Awards and was named after Henry Herbert Dally Messenger who was instrumental in the establishment of rugby league football in Australia The awards were introduced in 1980 by News Limited The Dally M has been the official player of the year award and the highest individual honour in Australian rugby league since the unification of the game in 1998 Before 1998 the highest award was the Rothmans Medal The medal is awarded usually by the Australian Prime Minister at the annual Dally M Awards night As well as honouring the best and fairest player of the year the Dally M awards recognise the premier player in each position the best coach and the most outstanding rookie of the season The Immortals Edit Originally The Immortals were Four players named by the sport s major Australian magazine Rugby League Week as the nation s greatest ever Established in 1981 the group of four former Test captains Clive Churchill Bob Fulton Reg Gasnier Johnny Raper and were those appointed by Rugby League Week between 1981 and 2012 Wally Lewis Graeme Langlands added in 1999 Arthur Beetson 2003 Andrew Johns 2012Following the demise of Rugby League Week the Australian Rugby League Commission took ownership of The Immortals concept and expanded the group on 1 August 2018 by inclusion of Mal Meninga Norm Provan Frank Burge Dave Brown and Dally Messenger 80 Queensland Rugby League s Team of the Century Edit The Queensland Rugby League s Team of the Century is a team that consisted of the greatest rugby league players from 1909 to 2008 This team was picked by six judges in 2008 from a list of 100 nominated players New South Wales Rugby League s Team of the Century Edit The New South Wales Rugby League s Team of the Century is a team that consisted of the greatest rugby league players from 1908 to 2007 Audience Edit A 2004 match between Brisbane and Canterbury Bankstown The 2022 season rated 134 447 million viewers in Australia at an average viewership of 620 000 per game with a roughly 60 40 split between viewers when games are broadcast both free to air on Nine and subscription viewers on Fox League and Kayo Sports 81 The 2022 season also attracted 3 265 911 spectators through the gates at an average of 16 248 per match Media coverage EditTelevision Edit ANZ and Pacific Edit Within Australia all matches are broadcast on both the Nine Network and Fox Sports through 2027 The Fox Sports contract was signed in May 2020 and the NRL extended their contract with Nine in December 2021 to match the length of the contract with Fox Sports through 2027 82 83 In New Zealand all matches including representative fixtures such as the All Stars Match and the State of Origin series are shown live on Sky Sport 84 85 86 Prime broadcasts select games live in New Zealand starting from the 2022 season and will continue to broadcast every Warriors match on delay Detailed Australian coverage Edit By Matchday Edit Thursday Night Football is broadcast live on the Nine Network and simulcast on Fox League and Kayo Kickoff is at 7 50 pm Friday Night Football consists of 2 matches The first match kicks off at 6 00 pm and is broadcast live on Fox League The second match kicks off at 7 55 pm and is broadcast live on the Nine Network and simulcast on Fox League and Kayo Super Saturday consists of three matches The first match kicks off at 3 00 pm the second match kicks off at 5 30 pm and the third match kicks off at 7 35 pm All three matches are broadcast live on Fox League and are simulcast live on Kayo During the final five rounds of the year the 7 35pm match is also simulcast on Nine NRL Sunday Ticket consists of two matches The first match kicks off at 2 00 pm and is broadcast live on Fox League and Kayo The second match kicks off at 4 10 pm and is broadcast live on the Nine Network and simulcasted on Fox League and Kayo During daylight savings the 2 00 pm game is moved to 6 10 pm By Network Edit Fox League and Kayo televise all matches live and commercial free excluding the grand final Nine Network televises the Thursday night game the second Friday night game and the second Sunday afternoon game first in daylight savings as well as the last five Saturday 7 30pm games of the year and all matches of the finals series including the NRL Grand Final The State of Origin series is televised exclusively live on the Nine Network with extensive pre game and post game coverage starting at 7 00 pm The NRL Grand Final televised exclusively live on the Nine Network Since 2013 the match has kicked off at 7 30 pmSource 87 NRL related television programmes Edit In Australia there are television shows dedicated to discussing the NRL The programmes are listed in order of the day and time viewed in their primary broadcast market NRL 360 Mondays Wednesdays 6 30 pm on Fox League 502 Hosted by Braith Anasta and Paul Kent Sunday Night with Matty Johns following Sunday Football on Fox League 502 Hosted by Matthew Johns The Fan Tuesdays 7 30 pm on Fox League 502 Hosted by Andrew Voss The Late Show with Matty Johns Thursdays 10 00 pm on Fox League 502 Hosted by Matthew Johns League Legends Sundays 6 30 pm on Fox League 502 Hosted by Tim Sheridan Broadcast during the off season The Sunday Footy Show Sunday 11 00 am on Channel Nine a recap of Thursday Friday and Saturday s games and preview of Sunday s games 100 Footy Mondays 10 30 pm on Channel 9 A recap of the weekend results along with topical discussions on the major issues surrounding the game Hosted by James Bracey Over The Black Dot Wednesdays 8 30 pm on NITV An Indigenous Australian perspective on the NRL featuring highlights discussion and interviews Bloke in a Bar Mondays Wednesdays at 3 00pm on Youtube Hosted by Denan KempFormer shows Barefoot Sports Thursday 8 30 pm on NITV Hosted by Brad Cooke and formerly known as The Barefoot Rugby League Show One Week at a Time Mondays at 9 30 pm on One recapping the weekend games The Game Plan Thursday 8 30 pm on Channel Ten Hosted by Steve Roach Joel Caine and Andrew Moore The Matty Johns Show Thursdays 7 30 pm on Channel Seven A more sketch and regular segment oriented version of The Footy Show and The Game Plan not related to Monday Night with Matty Johns The Sunday Roast Sunday Midday on Channel Nine Now incorporated into the Sunday Footy Show NRL Full time a weekly half hour highlights show for the UK audience On the Couch with Sterlo League Life Wednesdays 7 30 pm on Fox League 502 Hosted by Yvonne Sampson Queenslanders Only Wednesdays 8 00 pm on Fox League 502 Hosted by Hannah Hollis Airs at 7 00 pm Queensland time during the month of March due to NSW Daylight Saving Time Narrow World of Sports Fridays 10 00 pm on Fox League 502 Hosted by James The Professor Rochford NZ Coverage Edit Sky Sport All games live on Sky Sport 4 including State of Origin and the grand final Prime New Zealand Warriors games on delay Some select matches live Three Select State of Origin games livePacific Edit In most Pacific countries all matches are broadcast on Digicel and other networks in these four countries Such as in Fiji where it is on Mai TV and in PNG where it is on TVWan Country Broadcaster Tonga Digicel Tonfon TV Samoa Digicel TV3 Papua New Guinea Digicel TVWan Fiji Digicel Mai TV 88 Outside ANZ and Pacific Edit The NRL is also available to the rest of the world 89 Country Region BroadcasterIn flight ship Sport24Worldwide WatchNRL streaming Sub Saharan Africa exc North ESPN Brunei Malaysia Singapore Premier Sports Asia United Arab Emirates MENA Premier Sports MENA Netherlands discontinued in 2020 Canada Sportsnet France beIN Sports United Kingdom Ireland Sky Sports United States Fox Soccer Plus Germany Austria Switzerland Sport1 Internet Edit Outside of Australia New Zealand and the Pacific Islands all matches are currently available in high definition on the subscription streaming service Watch NRL which operates through its website and a dedicated app Watch NRL is operated by Fox Sports Australia A selection of classic NRL games is available for free worldwide on the league s website Radio Edit Australia Edit The NRL has several exclusive rights partners to broadcast matches live via radio nationwide FM coverage is provided by Triple M while AM coverage is contracted to ABC Local Radio and 2GB All radio coverage is available to be streamed live from the NRL website 2GB has the commercial rights to four matches per week covering the game through the Continuous Call Team program 90 2GB also air representative games as well as all matches throughout the finals series and all three matches on Grand Final day The coverage is networked to stations across the country typically those owned by Southern Cross Media Group Grant Broadcasters and other station groups on Nine Radio ABC Local Radio has the rights to seven NRL matches per week in the Australian Capital Territory Queensland and New South Wales Triple M has exclusive access to Thursday night Saturday 4 pm and Sunday night matches and is broadcast on commercial stations across the country 90 Triple M also broadcast the State of Origin series the finals series and the grand final 91 92 2SM formerly held the rights to air Thursday Night and Sunday 4pm games via NRL Nation These games were also aired across their affiliates across NSW 2UE also formerly held rights to matches Current Broadcasters 93 94 Triple M Four games live per week includes all Cowboys Raiders Knights and Titans home game live on home stations 2GB Four games live per week includes Sunday 4 00pm exclusive ABC Seven games live per weekPrint Edit Big League was the competition s official publication released Thursday and produced by News Magazines The publication ceased operations in 2020 leaving the game without an official program 95 LeagueUnlimited s Front Row Magazine provides an unofficial match program each week 96 Theme songs Edit1985 1988 The Boys Are Back in Town Thin Lizzy 1989 What You Get Is What You See Tina Turner 1990 1995 Simply The Best Tina Turner 1997 SL Two Tribes Frankie Goes to Hollywood 1997 ARL It s My Game NSWRL 1998 Tubthumping Chumbawamba 1999 Blow That Whistle Thomas Keneally 2000 What A Game Tom Jones 2001 Racing Car Noises over Action Highlights 2003 2007 That s My Team Hoodoo Gurus 2008 Centenary of Rugby League Campaign 2009 Feels Like Woah Wes Carr 2010 Social Currency Children Collide 2011 2012 This Is Our House Bon Jovi 97 2013 Something s Got a Hold on Me Jessica Mauboy 2014 My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark Fall Out Boy 2015 Let Me Entertain You Robbie Williams 2016 History Happens 2017 Let s Make History 2018 Whatever It Takes Imagine Dragons 2019 High Hopes Panic at the Disco 2020 The Best Tina Turner 2021 2022 2023 When We Were Young song Architects x Fox LeagueVideo games EditMain article Rugby League video game series There have been many top selling video games made for the Australian rugby league market The games below are sorted by year released E T s Rugby League named for Andrew Ettingshausen was released on Amiga in 1992 Australian Rugby League 1995 for Sega Mega Drive ARL 96 was a PC game published by EA Sports for the 1996 season Rugby League 2003 for Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 and Xbox Rugby League 2 2005 for Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 and Xbox Rugby League 2 World Cup Edition 2008 for PlayStation 2 NRL Mascot Mania 2009 for Nintendo DS Rugby League Challenge 2009 for PlayStation Portable Rugby League 3 2010 for Wii Rugby League Live 2010 for PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 2011 for Microsoft Windows Rugby League Live 2 2012 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Rugby League Legends 2012 iOS 98 Rugby League Live 2 World Cup Edition 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Rugby League Live 3 2015 for Steam PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Rugby League Live 4 2017 for Steam PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Rugby League Live 4 World Cup Edition 2017 for Steam PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 PlayStation 4 and Xbox OneCheerleading Edit The Flames the cheersquad for the St George Illawarra Dragons performing during an NRL match in 2018 Most NRL teams have a squad of dancers for cheerleading that are usually involved in dancing charity work fundraisers and modelling Some Notable NRL cheerleaders are Jennifer Hawkins for the Newcastle Knights Chloe Butler for the Emeralds and Tabrett Bethell for the Cronulla Sharks Mermaids Cheer squads Edit Name NRL ClubHog s Breath Cafe Broncos Cheer Squad 99 Brisbane BroncosThe Sapphires 100 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsCronulla Sharks Mermaids 101 102 Cronulla Sutherland SharksManly Seabirds 103 104 105 Manly Warringah Sea EaglesNewcastle Knights Cheerleaders 106 Newcastle KnightsNorth Queensland Cowgirls Spirit 107 North Queensland CowboysPenrith Pantherettes 108 109 Penrith PanthersThe Roosters Girls 110 111 Sydney RoostersNote The Wests Tigers South Sydney Rabbitohs St George Illawarra Dragons Parramatta Eels Gold Coast Titans Melbourne Storm New Zealand Warriors Canberra Raiders and Dolphins do not have active cheer squads Records EditSee also List of NRL records Official NRL statistics encompass all first grade competitions namely the New South Wales Rugby League Australian Rugby League Super League and the present day NRL Team Edit Most premierships 21 South Sydney Rabbitohs Most minor premierships 20 Sydney Roosters Most premierships in a row 11 St George Most wooden spoons 17 Western Suburbs Magpies Highest score in a game 91 St George against Canterbury 1935 Largest winning margin in a game 85 St George against Canterbury 1935 Longest winning streak 19 matches Eastern Suburbs Roosters 1975 Melbourne Storm 2021 Longest undefeated streak 35 matches Eastern Suburbs 1935 1938 Longest losing streak 42 matches University 1934 1936 Individual Edit Most games played Cameron Smith 430 games Leading pointscorer Cameron Smith 2 810 points 48 tries 1307 goals 4 field goals Leading tryscorer Ken Irvine 212 tries Most points in a Full Season including Finals 342 Hazem El Masri 16 tries 139 goals 2004 Most points in a Regular Season 300 Reuben Garrick 21 tries 110 goals 2021 112 Most tries in a season 38 Dave Brown 1935 Most points in a game 45 Dave Brown 1935 Most tries in a game 8 Frank Burge 1920 Coaches Edit interim coach See also List of current NRL coaches Nat Name Club Year beginning tenure Year as head coach of Club Previous NRL clubs Kevin Walters Brisbane Broncos Beginning 2021 2nd Ricky Stuart Canberra Raiders Beginning 2014 9th Sydney Roosters 2002 06 Cronulla 2007 10 Parramatta 2013 Michael Potter Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Middle 2022 1st Wests Tigers 2013 14 Craig Fitzgibbon Cronulla Sutherland Sharks Beginning 2022 1st Justin Holbrook Gold Coast Titans Beginning 2020 3rd Des Hasler Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Beginning 2019 4th Manly Sea Eagles 2004 11 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 2012 17 Craig Bellamy Melbourne Storm Beginning 2003 19th Brisbane 2002 Adam O Brien Newcastle Knights Beginning 2020 3rd Stacey Jones Image 16px New Zealand Warriors Middle 2022 1st Todd Payten North Queensland Cowboys Beginning 2021 2nd Image 16px NZ Warriors 2020 Brad Arthur Parramatta Eels Beginning 2014 9th Ivan Cleary Penrith Panthers Beginning 2019 4th Image 16px NZ Warriors 2006 11 Penrith Panthers 2012 15 Wests Tigers 2017 18 Jason Demetriou South Sydney Rabbitohs Beginning 2022 1st Anthony Griffin St George Illawarra Dragons Beginning 2021 2nd Brisbane 2011 14 Penrith Panthers 2016 18 Trent Robinson Sydney Roosters Beginning 2013 10th Brett Kimmorley Wests Tigers Middle 2022 1stPremiership Winning Coaches NRL Era Edit Nationality Name No Premierships as head coach Years No Runner ups as head coach Years No Minor Premierships as head coach Years Wayne Bennett 4 1998 2000 2006 2010 2 2015 2021 4 1998 2000 2009 2010 Craig Bellamy 3 2007 2009 2012 2017 2020 4 2006 2008 2016 2018 5 2011 2016 2017 2019 2021 Trent Robinson 3 2013 2018 2019 0 4 2013 2014 2015 2018 Des Hasler 2 2008 2011 3 2007 2012 2014 1 2012 Ivan Cleary 2 2021 2022 2 2011 2020 2 2020 2022 Ricky Stuart 1 2002 3 2003 2004 2019 1 2004 Paul Green 1 2015 1 2017 0 Steve Folkes 1 2004 1 1998 0 John Lang 1 2003 0 2 1999 2003 Chris Anderson 1 1999 0 0 Michael Hagan 1 2001 0 0 Tim Sheens 1 2005 0 0 Michael Maguire 1 2014 0 0 Shane Flanagan 1 2016 0 0Match officials EditMain article NRL match officials On Field Match Officials 113 Grant Atkins Chris Butler Ben Cummins Adam Gee Peter Gough Liam Kennedy Ashley Klein Ziggy Przeklasa Adamski Todd Smith Chris Sutton Gerard Sutton Sideline Officials 113 Kasey Badger Darian Furner Phil Henderson Keiren Irons Liam Kennedy Nick Morel David Munro Matt Noyen Drew Oultram Cameron Paddy Ziggy Przeklasa Adamski Wyatt Raymond Belinda Sharpe Jon Stone Michael Wise Bunker Review Officials Video Referees Grant Atkins also an on field match official Kasey Badger also an on field match official Steve Chiddy Adam Gee also an on field match official Ashley Klein also an on field match official Chris Butler also an on field match official Matt Noyen also an on field match official Alan Shortall Gerard Sutton also an on field match official Steve Chiddy was in the bunker for some matches in for the first 8 rounds of 2022 but due to errors made he s only been in the bunker for the New Zealand vs Tonga women s international since He is likely not to return to the bunker as the NRL are looking to phase out former on field officials 114 Sponsorship EditThe NRL and its clubs receive significant revenue from sponsorships with sponsors logos appearing on most parts of players and referees uniforms the playing surface and even the ball itself Since 2001 the National Rugby League premiership has been sponsored by Telstra and known as the NRL Telstra Premiership Prior to this the competition was simply known as the National Rugby League 115 The Telstra Premiership has had five competition logos since 2001 The first lasting only through the 2001 regular season was the Telstra logo with an elongated circle enclosing the word Premiership From the Finals series of 2001 through to the end of 2006 the logo was based around the shape of a football with the words Telstra Premiership on respective lines along the bottom culminating with a small football similar to the one in the official NRL logo at the peak The main colours were dark blue and orange the corporate colours of Telstra The company worked with the NRL to create the third logo for the 2007 season onward as part of a new sponsorship deal This logo was quite similar to the original National Rugby League emblem From the 2011 Finals Series a newer logo was commissioned in concert with a corporate re brand undertaken by Telstra The 2007 logo remained on club jerseys until 2012 due to the lateness of the change and was phased out in time for the 2013 NRL Season From 2013 under a dramatic image rebranding of the competition the Telstra Premiership logo was changed in conjunction with a new sponsorship deal to incorporate the key elements of rugby league in Australia to include the shield and chevrons the green and gold a red Telstra logo perched above the top of the shield and for the first time the iconic Provan Summons trophy awarded to the premiers at the end of the season centred in the middle of the badge At the end of the 2018 season the NRL launched a bold new look for its Telstra Premiership The new look aims to modernise the Telstra Premiership brand as well as integrate it more seamlessly with the 16 clubs The new brand highlighting the shield and the chevron which have both been synonymous with Rugby League since the game s inception 116 Other notable sponsorships include KIA Thursday Night Football KFC Friday Night Football Bundaberg Rum Super Saturday Chemist Warehouse Sunday Football Steeden is the official match ball supplier Westpac sponsor the match ball The State of Origin series and the Australian Test matches Kangaroos Youi and Harvey Norman sponsor the on field match officials and Swyftx sponsors the NRL Bunker Other Official NRL Sponsors are Coca Cola Amatil Hankook Hisense Home Hardware Rebel TWE Wolf Blass Accor Drinkwise P amp O Gallagher and EISS Super Partners of the NRLW Competition are Telstra Harvey Norman Chemist Warehouse Flight Centre and Rebel 117 See also Edit Sports portalList of National Rugby League stadiums Rugby league in Australia New South Wales Rugby League premiership List of sports attendance figures the NRL s attendance in a worldwide context NRL Women s Premiership the official league for women s rugby league in Australia starting in 2018References Edit Official National Rugby League statistics encompass all Sydney first grade competitions namely the New South Wales Rugby League premiership Australian Rugby League Super League and the present day NRL Redcliffe Dolphins poised to be unveiled as NRL s 17th team for 2023 season The Guardian 11 October 2021 Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League Rugby league PDF Australian Human Rights Commission Report hreoc gov au Archived from the original PDF on 23 May 2012 Retrieved 13 May 2012 Toby Miller Geoffrey A Lawrence Jim McKay 2001 Globalization and sport playing the world SAGE p 82 ISBN 9780761959694 Retrieved 4 July 2011 Schwarz David 2 September 2009 Spike TV To Telecast National Rugby League Playoffs and Championship Game Reuters Archived from the original on 12 September 2012 Retrieved 19 September 2009 RFL cool on bigger Challenge Sky Sports 2 March 2009 Retrieved 4 July 2011 Canberra Raiders RL1908 com Retrieved on 15 January 2006 Illawarra Steelers RL1908 com Retrieved on 14 January 2006 Club History Newtown Jets Established 1908 Retrieved on 14 January 2006 Archived by the Wayback Machine beta 1 RL1908 com Retrieved on 14 January 2006 a b c 2 Archived 8 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine Sydney Football Stadium Magic Moments sydneycricketground com au Sydney Cricket amp Sports Ground Trust Archived from the original on 16 August 2007 Retrieved 2 September 2009 Clive Palmer Says Goodby to Tony Abbott Thecouriermail com au Retrieved 19 January 2016 permanent dead link Magnay Jacquelin Walter Brad Shtargot Sasha 25 September 2006 Storm the sentimental favourite in Sydney The Age Melbourne Stevenson Andrew 3 October 2006 Rugby league the game they play in Melbourne The Sydney Morning Herald Australia Retrieved 16 December 2009 3 Archived 27 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Team of the Century Announced National Rugby League 17 April 2008 Archived from the original on 21 May 2010 Retrieved 13 April 2009 All Stars Match National Rugby League Archived from the original on 16 February 2010 Retrieved 4 July 2011 3d broadcast National Rugby League Team of the Century Announced National Rugby League 16 June 2010 Attendance Record National Rugby League Archived from the original on 7 September 2010 4 Archived 8 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine Adrian Proszenko 11 September 2010 Never say die Roosters pull off great escape The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 19 January 2016 News Article Nrl com 7 January 2012 Archived from the original on 9 March 2013 Retrieved 1 July 2013 Walter Brad 6 December 2017 NRL Women s Premiership set to launch National Rugby League Retrieved 7 December 2017 AFL suspends season in response to coronavirus with AFLW season cancelled but NRL plays on for now ABC News 22 March 2020 Retrieved 22 March 2020 NRL 2020 season to continue despite coronavirus Australia gobsmacked News com au Retrieved 23 March 2020 Bordering on disgraceful NRL under fire over insane virus call Yahoo Sport Retrieved 23 March 2020 NRL suspends competition due to coronavirus pandemic National Rugby League 23 March 2020 Retrieved 24 March 2020 NRL shut down 2020 season coronavirus updates how much it will cost when will the NRL be back Fox Sports 23 March 2020 Retrieved 24 March 2020 NRL 2020 season shut down Peter V landys Todd Greenberg coronavirus Queensland government borders shut Fox Sports 23 March 2020 Retrieved 24 March 2020 sport Guardian agencies 9 April 2020 NRL aims for 28 May restart for suspended 2020 season The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 15 April 2020 a b Press Australian Associated 11 April 2020 NRL insists it has green light to restart as NSW government again calls move into question The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 15 April 2020 Eels bust Broncos as footy returns with a bang National Rugby League 28 May 2020 Retrieved 2 June 2020 1 3 million reasons to smile NRL return most watched since 2014 National Rugby League 29 May 2020 Retrieved 2 June 2020 Chammas Jake Niall Sam McClure Michael 1 May 2020 AFL and NRL why the differences in return to play The Age Retrieved 11 December 2022 Redcliffe based Dolphins confirmed to join NRL as 17th franchise in 2023 season ABC News 13 October 2021 Moffett switches codes espn com au 27 October 1999 Retrieved 19 July 2022 Mackay Duncan 6 November 2001 Australian Moffett lands Sport England job The Guardian Retrieved 19 July 2022 David Gallop stands down as CEO NRL com National Rugby League 5 June 2012 Retrieved 19 July 2022 Mr Dave Smith announced as CEO NRL com National Rugby League 23 November 2012 Retrieved 19 July 2022 a b Gabor Martin 3 May 2016 Eels breaches must stop today Greenberg NRL com Retrieved 3 May 2016 Andrew Abdo Champions of Change Coalition 2021 Retrieved 19 June 2022 Andrew Abdo appointed NRL CEO NRL com 3 September 2020 Retrieved 19 July 2022 Majority of NRL Clubs Vote in Favour of Proposed Pre Season Nines Tournament in New Zealand The Daily Telegraph Sydney Retrieved 19 January 2016 5 Archived 7 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine Aussie Stadium Australian Stadiums Retrieved 22 January 2007 Stats Things you didn t know about NRL grand finals over 104 years of rugby league history Rugby League NRL Scores NRL Ladder Fox Sports 27 September 2012 Retrieved 1 July 2013 NRL to host a twilight Grand Final Australia ABC News 18 December 2007 Retrieved 12 February 2008 Fellowship of the rings The Sydney Morning Herald 8 March 2005 NSW to retain NRL grand final The Sydney Morning Herald 8 June 2010 Retrieved 14 June 2010 NRL star Greg Inglis extends contract with Melbourne Storm 10 September 2008 Wing s yen for Japanese rugby opens the door for unsettled Hunt to move south The Sydney Morning Herald 22 July 2009 Retrieved 19 January 2016 Karmichael Hunt rejected All Blacks Wallabies 30 July 2009 Archived from the original on 1 August 2009 Willie Mason All Set for Japan Rugby Move The Daily Telegraph Sydney Retrieved 19 January 2016 Crunch time for juniors weighty issue The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 1 July 2013 League s Polynesian powerplay muscles in on indigenous numbers LHQNews The Sydney Morning Herald 24 April 2009 Retrieved 1 July 2013 Rugby league tackling equality News com au 4 August 2012 Retrieved 1 July 2013 First NRL Indigenous Players Camp Rugby League One Community Rloc com au 21 January 2013 Archived from the original on 7 August 2013 Retrieved 1 July 2013 Australian Bureau of Statistics 25 October 2007 Australia 2006 Census QuickStats Retrieved 9 November 2007 Walshaw Nick 7 January 2013 Kangaroos and South Sydney superstar Greg Inglis organisers NRL first Indigenous leadership drive NRL Rugby League NRL Scores NRL Ladder Fox Sports Retrieved 1 July 2013 First NRL Indigenous Players Camp NRL com 7 January 2012 Retrieved 1 July 2013 Middleton David 2008 League of Legends 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia PDF National Museum of Australia p 27 ISBN 978 1 876944 64 3 Archived from the original PDF on 17 May 2008 NRL Season Has Billions Reasons to Boast Couriermail com au Retrieved 19 January 2016 NRL clubs in line for windfall The Sydney Morning Herald 24 July 2012 Retrieved 1 July 2013 Solomon David 2007 Pillars of power Australia s institutions Federation Press p 204 ISBN 9781862876453 Players accountable for salary cap tvnz co nz New Zealand Television New Zealand Limited 17 August 2010 Retrieved 17 August 2010 dead link News Ltd to Hand Salary Cap Report to Police Couriermail com au Retrieved 19 January 2016 Parramatta Eels avoid four point NRL penalty over governance issues theage com au 2 March 2016 Retrieved 3 March 2016 Parramatta Eels salary cap investigation findings to be handed down by the NRL ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation 3 May 2016 Retrieved 3 May 2016 Brunsdon Simon 3 May 2016 Parramatta Eels players will not be forced out amid cap drama promises RLPA Fox Sports Australia Retrieved 3 May 2016 Parramatta Eels docked 12 competition points by the NRL for salary cap breaches ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation 3 May 2016 Retrieved 3 May 2016 Parramatta final determination NRL com 9 July 2016 Dean Ritchie amp Christian Nicolussi 4 June 2010 Johnathan Thurston let off backfires on NRL The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 14 June 2011 Retrieved 3 June 2010 via Herald Sun Brent Read amp Stuart Honeysett 10 June 2010 The rule shift that saved Jarryd Hayne The Australian Australia Retrieved 9 June 2010 NRL creates integrity unit in response to Crime Commission probe into Australian sport The Sydney Morning Herald 24 July 2012 Retrieved 1 July 2013 The Gladiators St George Leagues Club Archived from the original on 22 July 2008 Retrieved 14 May 2008 NRL Trophy named after Provan and Summons nrl com National Rugby League 21 August 2013 Retrieved 19 July 2014 NRL demand please explain from Panthers over broken tropy yahoo sport Yahoo 8 October 2021 Retrieved 17 October 2021 Five rugby league greats named as Immortals including three pre WWII players Australia ABC News 1 August 2018 Retrieved 1 August 2018 2022 NRL NRLW Season TV Ratings Sports Industry AU 12 September 2022 Retrieved 9 November 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link NRL announces new broadcast deal with Nine Foxtel National Rugby League 28 May 2020 Retrieved 24 June 2020 NRL agrees to new five year broadcast deal with Nine ABC News 20 December 2021 Retrieved 6 May 2022 NRL signs NZ broadcast deal NRL com 7 January 2012 Retrieved 1 July 2013 League to screen as Sky TV NRL reach last minute deal Sport NZ Herald News The New Zealand Herald 7 March 2013 Retrieved 1 July 2013 How To Watch The 2021 NRL Grand Final Live Stream Reddit Crackstreams And Match Preview Sports Report Retrieved 2 October 2021 Watch Live Watch Nrl com Retrieved 21 November 2021 Facebook https m facebook com story php story fbid 5945428142161030 amp id 145130835524152 amp eav AfYgbjGjPiCoWmGgyQeFq ebWW9q62YZoY3Bi3ApNfge7X80FdZcXXkwUvKHoigXo78 amp paipv 0 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help International Broadcasters NRL Football Operations Retrieved 24 June 2020 a b Samuel s Blog NRL radio rights for 2013 Samuelgordonstewart com 4 March 2013 Retrieved 1 July 2013 NRL Radio Rights awarded Radiotoday com au 4 January 2013 Retrieved 1 July 2013 Triple M picks up Saturday NRL radio rights Mumbrella 17 July 2013 Pryde Scott 20 December 2021 NRL lock in next broadcast deal to end of 2027 Zero Tackle Retrieved 13 November 2022 SCA AND THE NRL EXTEND AUDIO BROADCAST RIGHTS AGREEMENT TO 2027 Southern Cross Austereo southerncrossaustereo com au Retrieved 13 November 2022 NRL s Big League magazine a victim of 2020 The New Daily 13 May 2020 Retrieved 26 May 2021 The Front Row League Unlimited League Unlimited Retrieved 13 November 2022 Bon Jovi Song Named NRL Theme The Daily Telegraph Sydney Retrieved 19 January 2016 Rugby League iPhone Game Rugby League Legends Rllegends com Archived from the original on 15 January 2016 Retrieved 19 January 2016 Cheerleaders Broncos Retrieved 23 May 2016 The Sapphires Bulldogs Archived from the original on 22 March 2016 Retrieved 23 May 2016 Mermaids Sharks Retrieved 23 May 2016 Cronulla Sharks Mermaids Retrieved 20 September 2015 via Facebook Manly Seabirds Home Archived from the original on 24 February 2016 Retrieved 4 March 2016 The Official Manly Seabirds Retrieved 20 September 2015 via Facebook Cheerleaders Sea Eagles Archived from the original on 6 November 2016 Retrieved 23 May 2016 Knights 2016 cheerleader auditions Knights Newcastleknights com au 19 January 2016 Retrieved 23 May 2016 Spirit cheerleaders Cowboys Archived from the original on 6 March 2016 Retrieved 23 May 2016 Cheerleaders Panthers Penrithpanthers com au Retrieved 23 May 2016 The Official Penrith Panthers Cheersquad Retrieved 20 September 2015 via Facebook Girls Roosters Retrieved 23 May 2016 The Roosters Girls Retrieved 20 September 2015 via Facebook Sea Eagles winger Reuben Garrick breaks all time record in 17 year first News com au Retrieved 5 September 2021 a b Referees amp Match Officials National Rugby League Operations Retrieved 21 September 2022 Note Not all match officials are shown on this page NRL s secret plan to overhaul besieged Bunker wwos nine com au Retrieved 9 January 2023 NRL Telstra Premiership The World of Rugby League Archived from the original on 8 February 2007 Retrieved 22 January 2007 Bold new brand for Telstra Premiership National Rugby League 20 October 2018 Retrieved 11 May 2021 Partners National Rugby League Retrieved 11 May 2021 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to National Rugby League Official website Official Livestream channel Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title National Rugby League amp oldid 1151903716, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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