National Rugby League

The National Rugby League ("NRL") is a the premier rugby league competition in Australia (and, in recent times, New Zealand). At present, the League consists of fifteen teams - fourteen from Australia, and one from New Zealand. The NRL is one of Australia's most popular sporting competitions, in terms of game attendance, television audience, sale of merchandise, and general community support.

Teams

Current clubs

Brisbane Broncos established 1988
Canberra Raiders established 1982
Canterbury Bulldogs established 1935
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks established 1967
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles established 1947
Melbourne Storm established 1998
Newcastle Knights established 1988
New Zealand Warriors established 1995
North Queensland Cowboys established 1995
Parramatta Eels established 1947
Penrith Panthers established 1967
St George Illawarra Dragons formed in 1999
South Sydney Rabbitohs established 1908
Sydney Roosters established 1908
Wests Tigers formed in 2000

To be Admitted in 2007

Gold Coast Titans

Former clubs

Adelaide Rams Established 1997 - Years in NRL: 1998
Balmain Tigers Established 1908 - Years in NRL: 1998-1999 - Formed Wests Tigers with Magpies in 2000
Gold Coast Established 1988 - Years in NRL: 1998
Illawarra Steelers Established 1982 - Years in NRL: 1998 - Formed St George Illawarra Dragons with St George in 1999
North Sydney Bears Established 1908 - Years in NRL: 1998-1999 - Formed Northern Eagles with Manly in 2000
Northern Eagles Established 2000 - Years in NRL: 2000-2002 - Club reverted to Manly Sea Eagles
St. George Dragons Established 1921 - Years in NRL: 1998 - Formed St George Illawarra Dragons with Steelers in 1999
Western Suburbs Magpies Established 1908 - Years in NRL: 1998-1999 - Formed Wests Tigers with Balmain in 2000

History of the competition before the NRL

Although much structural re-organisation occurred 1995-1998, the NSWRL, ARL, Super League and the NRL are, by convention, considered to be a single continuous competition, from the first competition in 1908 to present.

For example, the Brisbane Broncos have won five titles, two were in the NSWRL, one in Super League, and two in the present day NRL. Each of these premierships carry an equal status, and do not need to be qualified. Playing records, such as points scored, do not differentiate between the various incarnations of the top level competition.

The NRL Trophy itself features a depiction of a famous photoNorm Provan and Arthur Summons photo, that of Norm Provan and Arthur Summons after the 1963 NSWRL Grand Final.

1908: The beginning of the NSWRL Premiership

The inaugural New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) Premiership began in 1908, and was made up of eight Sydney-based teams and one team from Newcastle. Cumberland joined the competition after the first round, meaning that they played one game fewer than the rest of the field for the season. Still known as the "foundation clubs" today, these nine teams battled against one another during the 1908 season, with South Sydney taking the first premiership honours after beating Eastern Suburbs in the Final.

Club	Years Contested	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Win/Loss	Played	Premiers	Minor Premiers	Runers-Up
Club	Years Contested	Matches Rugby League Tables / Win-Loss Records / All Teams, As of Round 10, 2006,					Seasons
Balmain	1908 - 1999	1705	871	68	766	53.08%	92	11	7	9
Cumberland	1908	8	1	0	7	12.50%	1	0	0	0
Eastern Suburbs	1908 - current	1880	995	67	818	54.71%	98	12	16	14
Glebe	1908 - 1929	297	163	6	128	55.89%	22	0	1	4
Newcastle	1908 - 1909	20	9	0	11	45.00%	2	0	0	0
Newtown	1908 - 1983	1305	583	59	663	46.93%	76	3	6	7
North Sydney	1908 - 1999	1665	678	71	916	42.85%	92	2	2	1
South Sydney	1908 - 1999 2002 - current	1813	940	45	828	53.09%	96	20	17	13
Western Suburbs	1908 - 1999	1691	734	49	908	44.86%	92	4	5	8

1908 - 1994: expansion of the NSWRL Premiership

The New South Wales Rugby League premiership had been running since 1908. Sydney suburban teams came and went throughout its history but it was not until 1982 did the competition see expansion outside of the Sydney area. The two new inclusions were from the Australian Capital Territory - the Canberra Raiders as well as the introduction of a team from the southern New South Wales region, the Illawarra Steelers.

Moving along in time saw further pressure for expansion in the NSWRL. In 1988, for the very first time, two Queensland teams joined the competiton, with the inclusions of the Brisbane Broncos and the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants seeing the game move beyond the outer borders of New South Wales. Also at the same time pressure mounted from the central coast of New South Wales with the return of a Newcastle franchise. Their return was an 86 year wait in the wilderness and this time around the franchise was badged the Newcastle Knights.

Club	Years Contested	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Win/Loss	Played	Premiers	Minor Premiers	Runers-Up
Club	Years Contested	Matches Rugby League Tables / Win-Loss Records / All Teams, As of Round 10, 2006,					Seasons
Annandale	1910 - 1920	153	25	6	122	18.30%	1	0	0	0
University	1920 - 1937	242	47	5	190	20.45%	18	0	0	1
St. George	1921 - 1998	1545	910	56	579	60.71%	78	15	15	12
Canterbury-Bankstown	1935 - current	1502	778	53	671	53.56%	71	8	6	8
Manly-Warringah	1947 - 1999 2003 - current	1261	719	35	507	58.41%	56	6	9	9
Parramatta	1947 - current	1321	608	38	675	47.46%	59	4	5	4
Cronulla	1967 - current	932	456	22	454	50.11%	39	0	2	3
Penrith	1967 - current	917	379	26	512	42.75%	39	2	2	1
Illawarra	1982 - 1998	396	153	13	230	40.28%	17	0	0	0
Canberra	1982 - current	606	323	9	274	54.04%	24	3	1	2
Brisbane	1988 - current	457	299	11	147	66.63%	18	5	4	0
Newcastle	1988 - current	446	234	14	198	54.04%	18	2	0	0
Gold Coast	1988 - 1998	246	53	9	184	23.37%	11	0	0	0

1994 - 1997: ARL and Super League

The Australian Rugby League took over control of the Winfield Cup in 1995. Due to Government laws prohibiting the advertising of tobacco products introduced in the 1990s, the competition was renamed the ARL Optus Cup for 1996-97. It was played for by the 16 NSWRL teams that played in 1994 and four new clubs, the North Queensland Cowboys, the South Queensland Crushers, the Auckland Warriors and the Western Reds.

Canterbury won the 1995 Grand Final over Manly, Manly beat St. George in 1996 and Newcastle beat Manly in 1997. At the end of 1995 the Gold Coast Seagulls changed their name to the Gold Coast Chargers and moved from Tweed Heads to Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast.

Super League was a breakaway competition that had its beginnings in 1995, but had its first and only season in 1997. It was made up of 10 teams based in four states , one territory and two countries (Australia and New Zealand), with Brisbane defeating Cronulla in the Grand Final at Brisbane's ANZ Stadium.

The ARL continued to run in 1997, with the remaining 12 teams competing for the Optus Cup.

Club	Years Contested	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Win/Loss	Played	Premiers	Minor Premiers	Runers-Up
Club	Years Contested	Matches Rugby League Tables / Win-Loss Records / All Teams, As of Round 10, 2006,					Seasons
Auckland	1995 - current	273	124	4	145	46.15%	11	0	1	1
North Queensland	1995 - current	274	94	6	174	35.40%	11	0	0	1
South Queensland	1995 - 1997	65	13	1	51	20.77%	3	0	0	0
Western Reds	1995 - 1997	61	24	1	36	40.16%	3	0	0	0
Adelaide	1997 - 1998	42	13	1	28	32.14%	2	0	0	0
Hunter Valley	1997	18	7	0	11	38.89%	1	0	0	0

The history of the National Rugby League

1998: The beginning of the National Rugby League

With twenty-two teams playing in two competitions in 1997 crowd attendances and corporate sponsorships were spread very thinly, and many teams found themselves in financial difficulty. On September 23, 1997 the ARL announced that it was forming a new company to control the competition in 1998 and invited Super League clubs to participate. On October 7 Rupert Murdoch announced that he was confident that there would be a single competition in 1998 and in the following months the National Rugby League, jointly owned by the ARL and News Limited, was formed.

It was announced that the 1998 Season would have 20 teams competiting, 19 Super League/ARL teams and the Melbourne Storm, who were owned by News Limited. Clubs on both sides of the war were shut down. News decided to close the Hunter Mariners and the financially ruined Western Reds, who were $10million in debt at the end of 1997, while the ARL decided to close down the South Queensland Crushers, who were also in severe financial trouble. At the end of 1998 News Limited decided to close down the Adelaide Rams and the ARL closed down the Gold Coast Chargers, even though they were one of the few clubs to make a profit during the Super League war.

Club	Years Contested	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Win/Loss	Played	Premiers	Minor Premiers	Runers-Up
Club	Years Contested	Matches Rugby League Tables / Win-Loss Records / All Teams, As of Round 10, 2006,					Seasons
Melbourne	1998 - current	219	122	4	93	56.62%	8	1	0	0
St. George Illawarra	1999 - current	193	100	5	88	53.11%	7	0	0	1
Wests Tigers	2000 - current	161	66	3	92	41.93%	6	1	0	0
Northern Eagles	2000 - 2002	76	30	1	45	40.13%	3	0	0	0

1999-2002: 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. St. George were the first club to take up the offer, and they merged with the Illawarra Steelers at the end of 1998. Balmain and Western Suburbs formed the jointventure club, the Wests Tigers at the end of 1999, while North Sydney and Manly-Warringah merged to form the ill-fated Northern Eagles. 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 11 November 2001 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.

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, and the competition has become more and more popular each season.

2003-2005: Record popularity

The 2003 season was widely regarded as the most successful since the beginning of the National Rugby League in 1998. The Penrith Panthers rose from the bottom of the table to win the Premiership, while the Broncos returned to Lang Park mid-year. Season 2004 proved even more successful than 2003, with the North Queensland Cowboys going from 11th position in 2003 to 3rd in 2004, narrowly missing out on a maiden Grand Final berth.

In 2005, the NRL reached record levels of popularity. Crowd average records were broken in 2003, 2004 and 2005, Rugby League Tables / Attendances 1957-2006 / All Teams and from 2004 to 2005 there was a 39% increase in sponsorship, a 41% increase in merchandise royalties and a 12% increase in playing participationCourier Mail. 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.

2005: More legal action

In 13 September 2005, the Seven Network began proceedings in the Federal Court in Sydney naming 22 parties (including the NRL) in a conspiracy to shut down the C7 pay television stationSeven's footy legal battle to kick off, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 9 2005. C7 had unsuccessfully bid $72,000,000 per annum for the right to broadcast the NRL competition on pay television. After News Limited re-signed these rights, C7 was left without a major sport to broadcast and subsequently ceased operation in March 2002. It is alleged that News Limited used its position as half-owner of the NRL to secure the rights. Jonathan Sumption, QC representing the Seven Network, has said

It is inconceivable that News would have been able to get away with this if it had not controlled one, half the NRL, two, the leading pay TV broadcaster and three, the largest cable network in Australia.News plotter used NRL spot to outbid C7, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 14 2005

The case is being heard by Justice Ron Sackville. The Seven Network is seeking up to $1.1 billion in damages. Sumption also stated that:

Other alternative remedies (to stop Foxtel illegally acquiring sports) would be to make News and PBL divest Fox Sports or stop them buying AFL or NRL rights in a non competitive environmentSeven wants $1.1b payback over C7 demise, The Age, September 19 2005

2006 Season

The 2006 National Rugby League season kicked off on Friday, March 10th, between defending premiers Wests Tigers and early favourites St George Illawarra Dragons at Telstra Stadium. The rivalry for this season-opener was fierce, since St George Illawarra were the team Wests defeated in 2005 to gain entry to the Grand Final. In a complete turnaround to their disastrous 2005 campaign, the Newcastle Knights recorded a stunning set of results while the North Queensland Cowboys were premiership favourites, for the first time in the club's history. As the season continues, the form of these clubs has faded away. The current front runners include the Melbourne Storm, Canterbury Bulldogs,St George Illawarra Dragons and Brisbane Broncos.

How the NRL works

The draw

The fifteen NRL teams play each other in a rotating roster that lasts for twenty-six rounds, typically from the middle of March through to September. This is known as the regular season.

The teams are divided into three groups ("pools"), chosen by each teams finishing position after the conclusion of the regular season of the previous year. Using this method, for seasons 2002-2006, teams that finished 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th and 13th are in Pool 1, 2nd, 5th, 8th, 11th and 14th make up Pool 2 while 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th and 15th are in Pool 3.Each team plays the other teams within their group once (4 games), and the teams outside their group twice (20 games), for a total of 24 games and 2 byes.

This system has varied from year to year since 1988, due to changes in the number of teams participating. Indeed, in 2007 with the inclusion of Gold Coast, this will inevitably change again, although it is not yet known how this will be arranged.

The rounds

There is one round every weekend. Currently, seven games occur in each round, usually on Friday night (7:30 p.m. local time), Saturday (5:30 p.m. and two games at 7:30 p.m. local time) and Sunday (2:30 p.m. and two games at 3:00 p.m. local time) during the regular season, with one team receiving the bye.

However, for two rounds during the season, three teams have the bye in the same round, at State of Origin time. Players involved in Origin games (held mid-week) cannot participate in club matches on the weekend before, in order to partially address the disadvantage this creates, teams who have supplied the bulk of players to the State of Origin series in the previous season will receive a bye at this time.

This will change with the inclusion of the Gold Coast in 2007. As part of the television broadcasting agreement, which applies to the 2007-2011 seasons, there will be two matches on Friday nights, three matches on Saturday nights, two matches on Sunday afternoons, and one match on Monday nights. The arrangements with regards to byes are not yet known.

Points and ladder

The winner of each game per round is awarded two points on the League Ladder. The team with the bye is also awarded two points automatically. If a game is drawn between the two teams, each team is awarded one point each. (However, drawn matches are first subject to the golden point process, introduced in 2003.).

At the end of the regular season, the eight teams with the highest point totals on the ladder qualify for the finals. In the event of two or more teams sharing the same competition points, the finishing order is decided by points differential i.e. points scored during games minus points conceded.

Prior to 1995, however, a team could not be excluded from the finals system by points differential alone, in these cases, a mid-week playoff (or, if required, series of playoffs, such as in 1960) was held to determine the finalists.

Finals series

Currently the NRL is using the McIntyre Final Eight System, this has also varied over the years Rugby League Tables - Notes.

This consists of a number of knockout and sudden-death games over four weeks between the top eight teams in August and September until there are only two teams remaining. In the first week, the top four seeds play at their respective home grounds. From Week Two onwards, all final matches are scheduled to be played in Sydney; however, some matches have been moved in special circumstances, to some controversy.

The top two then play in the Grand Final, which currently takes place in Sydney on the first Sunday of October.

Since 1999 the Grand Final has been contested at Telstra Stadium, the primary athletics venue during the 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney. From 1988 to 1998 the Grand Final was held at Sydney Football Stadium, and until 1987 was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground for around eighty years.

The NRL announced in June 2006 that the National Rugby League Grand Final will continue to be held at Sydney's Telstra Stadium until at least 2012, when it will be considered to be moved interstate if certain circumstances arose.Sydney locks in grand final for six years

Salary Cap

The National Rugby League adopted a salary cap based on the Australian Football League model in the early 1990s. In the NRL, clubs found to have breached the salary cap rules usually incur a fine. For example, six clubs were fined for minor infractions in 2003.

However in mid-2002, the Canterbury Bulldogs were found guilty of serious and systemic breaches. In addition to a more substantial fine, they were stripped of their competition points accumulated to that date, and hence denied a place in the finals. As the club had been leading the competition table prior to the penalty's imposition, this was a shattering outcome for the club and its fans. Furthermore, in the 2006 pre-season the New Zealand Warriors revealed that their former management had rorted the salary cap in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. As a punishment the club was stripped of four comeptition points for 2006 and fined 430,000 Australian dollars. They also must play 2007 under a reduced salary cap.

NRL Premiers

Past winners of the National Rugby League

Season	Premiers	GF Score	Runner-up	GF Attendance	Minor Premiers
1998	Brisbane Broncos	38 - 12	Canterbury Bulldogs	40,857	Brisbane Broncos
1999	Melbourne Storm	20 - 18	St George Illawarra Dragons	107,558	Cronulla Sharks
2000	Brisbane Broncos	14 - 6	Sydney Roosters	94,277	Brisbane Broncos
2001	Newcastle Knights	30 - 24	Parramatta Eels	90,414	Parramatta Eels
2002	Sydney Roosters	30 - 8	New Zealand Warriors	80,130	New Zealand Warriors
2003	Penrith Panthers	18 - 6	Sydney Roosters	81,166	Penrith Panthers
2004	Canterbury Bulldogs	16 - 13	Sydney Roosters	82,127	Sydney Roosters
2005	Wests Tigers	30 - 16	North Queensland Cowboys	82,453	Parramatta Eels

Previous premiers:
Premiers under the NSWRL/ARL banner
Premiers under the Super League banner
Total premiership tallies

NRL in the Media

Magazines

Big League
Rugby League Week
Rugby League Review

Television Shows

Program Name	Broadcaster	Release Day	Release Time (AEST)	Type of Program
NRL Scoreboard	Fox Sports 1	Monday	8:30PM	Discussion
NRL on Fox	Fox Sports 1	Wednesday	7:30PM
The Footy Show	Nine	Thursday	9:30PM	Comedy
Friday Night Football	Nine	Friday	8:30PM	NRL Match
Super Saturday	Fox Sports 1	Saturday	3:00PM	NRL Matches
The Sunday Footy Show	Nine	Sunday	11:00AM	Discussion
The Sunday Roast	Nine	Sunday	12:00PM	Discussion
Sunday Football	Nine	Sunday	4:00PM	NRL Match

Radio

Due to current radio deals, only ABC Local Radio and 2GB hold the rights to broadcast NRL matches, however 2GB on-sells its coverage to many other stations in cities, towns and regional areas.

Broadcaster	Program Name	Air Day	Air Time (AEST)	Stream
ABC Local Radio	Grandstand Rugby League	Saturday Sunday	5:00PM - 10:00PM 12:00PM - 6:00PM	702 ABC Sydney (Real Media) 702 ABC Sydney (Windows Media)
2GB	Weekend Detention	Saturday	12:00PM - 8:00PM	2GB 873 Sydney (Real Media)
2GB	Sunday Football	Sunday	12:00PM - 6:00PM	2GB 873 Sydney (Real Media)

External links

References

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