New South Wales Rugby League premiership
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The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was a rugby league competition run between 1908 and 1994.
[edit] 1908: The beginning of the NSWRL Premiership
The inaugural New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) 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 | Traditional Colours | Years Contested | Matches [1] | Seasons | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Win/Loss | Played | Premiers | Minor Premiers | Runners-Up | |||||
| 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 | ||
[edit] 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 football club. Their return was an 79 year wait in the wilderness and this time around the football club was badged the Newcastle Knights.
| Club | Traditional Colours | Years Contested | Matches [2] | Seasons | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Win/Loss | Played | Premiers | Minor Premiers | Runers-Up | |||||
| Annandale |  |
1910 - 1920 | 153 | 25 | 6 | 122 | 18.30% | 11 | 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-Sutherland |  |
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 | ||
After 1988, fair results of the expansion teams were showing. Increasing pressure mounted again for further team inclusions. In 1995, some seven years later, further growth into Queensland occurred with two more teams. The 'South Queensland Crushers' and the 'North Queensland Cowboys'. Also a new face in Western Australia the 'Western Reds'. Along with the competitions first international inclusion - 'Auckland Warriors' from New Zealand. The game took on a national look and with that a new name. The competition ran with twenty teams (the largest scale the competition had ever seen). The new national concept was called the 'Australian Rugby League' (ARL) competition.
[edit] Premiers
Between 1912 and 1925 there was no semi-final system and a final was only played if two clubs finished level at the conclusion of the Minor Premiership. Souths won the 1909 premiership when Balmain forfeited in protest against the final being played as a preliminary match before a promotional game between the national Rugby League and Rugby Union sides. The 1937 season also featured no finals as the year was disrupted by the Kangaroos tour.
|
|
| Past winners of the NSWRL Premiership |
- 1909: Balmain refused to play the final in protest to the game being held as a curtain-raiser to a Kangaroos v Wallabies match. Souths played, kicked off, scored & were declared premiers.
- 1910: Top two played off for the title. In the event of a drawn match, the superior record during the season secured the title, Newtown had compiled 23 competition points, Souths 22.
- 1977-78: Drawn games requiring a replay.
