History of the National Rugby League
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This article details the history of the National Rugby League (NRL).
Contents |
[edit] History of the competition before the NRL
Although much structural re-organisation occurred 1995-1998, the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), Australian Rugby League (ARL), Australian 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 six titles, two were in the NSWRL, one in Super League, and three 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 photo[1], that of Norm Provan and Arthur Summons after the 1963 NSWRL Grand Final.
[edit] 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 | Traditional Colours | Years Contested | Matches [2] | Seasons | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Win/Loss | Played | Premiers | Minor Premiers | Runners-Up | |||||
| Balmain Tigers |  |
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 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 | Traditional Colours | Years Contested | Matches [3] | 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 | ||
[edit] 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. Also in 1995, the Eastern Suburbs franchise changed their moniker to Sydney City Roosters in an effort to broaden their appeal. The Canterbury-Bankstown side also adopted the Sydney name, as did the Balmain Tigers. While the Roosters continued for years to come with Sydney in their name, the Bulldogs and Tigers quickly reverted to their traditions just a year later.
The Sydney Bulldogs 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 | Traditional Colours | Years Contested | Matches [4] | Seasons | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Win/Loss | Played | Premiers | Minor Premiers | Runers-Up | |||||
| 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 |  |
1997 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 38.89% | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
[edit] The history of the National Rugby League
[edit] 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 | Traditional Colours | Years Contested | Matches [5] | Seasons | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Win/Loss | Played | Premiers | Minor Premiers | Runers-Up | |||||
| Melbourne |  |
1998 - current | 219 | 122 | 4 | 93 | 56.62% | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 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 | ||
| Gold Coast Titans |  |
2007 - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
[edit] 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. The Bulldogs continued in their present form without merging in 1999, however dropped the Canterbury from their club name to simply become known as the Bulldogs. Balmain and Western Suburbs formed the joint venture club, the Wests Tigers at the end of 1999, while North Sydney and Manly-Warringah merged to form 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 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.
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 2002 season. They made the Grand Final that year.
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 Moffet, and the competition has become more and more popular each season.
Since 2001, the NRL Grand Final has been played on Sunday nights, a shift from the traditional Sunday afternoon slot used for over a decade prior.
[edit] 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, [6] and from 2004 to 2005 there was a 39% increase in sponsorship, a 41% increase in merchandise royalties and a 12% increase in playing participation[7]. 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 2005, a record national audience of 4.1 million tuned into watch the grand final between the West Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys. [1]
[edit] 2005: 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 station[8]. 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.[9]
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 environment[10]
[edit] 2006: A unique year
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.
Melbourne, after leading the competiton for most of the season, comfortably claimed the minor premiership, with the Bulldogs, Brisbane, and Newcastle making up the top four. Manly, St George Illawarra, Canberra and Parramatta took places five to eight.
The 2006 NRL Grand Final 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 perceived "heartland" of the NRL) contested the grand final for the first time ever.
The game itself once again enjoyed immense support, with more record TV ratings, particularly capturing Melbourne on Grand Final night[citation needed]. Crowds were down on 2005, however were better than any other year prior to that.
[edit] 2007: Expansion once more
The 2007 NRL season is set to kick-off on 16 March 2007. Foundation clubs South Sydney and Sydney Roosters will celebrate their 100th season in Rugby League, although only the latter has played in each and every of those 100 seasons. These two clubs are already confirmed to meet in the return of Monday night football in Round 1 on 19 March 2007. The 2007 season, most importantly, sees expansion club the Gold Coast Titans enter the national competition. This brings the number of teams in the NRL back to 16, meaning week-in, week-out byes are a thing of the past. The Titans will play their inaugural premiership match against the Dragons at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday 18 March. The Grand Final will take place on Sunday 30 September at Telstra Stadium.
