105-586: The NRL Grand Final is an annual rugby league match to determine the premiers of every National Rugby League season. It is a major sport event in Australia and regarded as the biggest showcase of rugby league football in the world. Since 1999, it has been contested at Stadium Australia in Sydney. The first year it was held at Stadium Australia, it set a new record for attendance at an Australian rugby league game, with 107,999 people attending. The two teams that play in
210-407: A brawl during the match. 2008 – Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles secure a record 40–0 win over Melbourne Storm . 2011 – Lights at the stadium accidentally go out, causing the post-game ceremony to become delayed. 2014 – South Sydney Rabbitohs win their first premiership in 43 years, beating Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 30–6, with Clive Churchill Medallist Sam Burgess playing almost
315-553: A breakaway faction of England's Rugby Football Union (RFU). Both organisations played the game under the same rules at first, although the Northern Union began to modify rules almost immediately, thus creating a new simpler game that was intended to be a faster-paced form of rugby football. Similar breakaway factions split from RFU-affiliated unions in Australia and New Zealand in 1907 and 1908, renaming themselves "rugby football league s" and introducing Northern Union rules. In 1922,
420-565: A decree by the RFU banning the playing of rugby at grounds where entrance fees were charged led to twenty-two clubs (including Stockport, who negotiated by telephone) meeting at the George Hotel, Huddersfield , on 29 August 1895 and forming the "Northern Rugby Football Union". Within fifteen years of that first meeting in Huddersfield, more than 200 RFU clubs had left to join the rugby league. In 1897,
525-405: A four-yearly cycle in the 2010s; as of 2023 , the holders are Australia . A short-sided version of the sport, rugby league nines , using modified rugby league rules also exists, and is comparable to rugby sevens . Wheelchair rugby league is a mixed-gender sport using heavily modified rugby league rules for disabled and able-bodied players. Unlike wheelchair rugby which adopted its name after
630-569: A grand final, and no distinction is made between grand finals played under the auspices of the various governing bodies. The NRL grand final is traditionally held in Sydney , as most NRL clubs are based in there and the current venue for the grand final, Stadium Australia is the second highest capacity stadium in Australia, after the Melbourne Cricket Ground . It was announced in June 2019 that
735-474: A match was played as a tiebreaker to decide the season's premiership winner. From 1926 to 1953, finals were played under the Argus system , which produced a deciding game in two slightly differing ways. All of these deciding games are now deemed to be grand finals, whether they were referred to as such at the time or not. From 1954 to the present, using a variety of systems, the deciding match has been explicitly termed
840-437: A mix of the two sports' rules. Much more so than rugby union, rugby league shares significant similarities with North American gridiron codes. Although described as evolving from both rugby and association football , the basic structures of American and Canadian football are remarkably similar to rugby league through a process of parallel evolution: a try-and-goal based scoring system, a set number of plays before handover of
945-629: A professional level. 45 national teams are ranked by the RLIF and a further 32 are officially recognized and unranked. The strongest rugby league nations are Australia , England , New Zealand , Samoa and Tonga . The Rugby League World Cup is the highest form of representative rugby league. Countries that have contested are Australia , Cook Islands , England , Fiji , France , Ireland , Italy , Jamaica , Lebanon , New Zealand , Papua New Guinea , Russia , Samoa , Scotland , South Africa , Tonga , US and Wales . The 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which
1050-453: A result play stops much less frequently in rugby league, with the ball typically in play for 50 out of the 80 minutes compared to around 35 minutes for professional rugby union. Other differences include that there are fewer players in rugby league (13 compared to 15) and different rules for tackling . Rugby union has more detailed rules than rugby league and has changed less since the 1895 schism. Since rugby union turned professional in
1155-508: A series of knock-out finals which culminated in a September grand final played in Brisbane between the Brisbane Broncos and Cronulla . Super League was a rugby league competition that was held in Australia in 1997. It was created by News Corporation after an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the pay television rights to Australian rugby league games. After two years of legal battles
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#17328550008661260-472: A space-themed ad with players running through outer-space and the tag-line "Super League: It's out of this world". Super League Television commercials featured the song Two Tribes by Frankie goes to Hollywood By mid season the account had moved again and Sydney agency VCD produced much of the game promotional and club fixture print ads that ran in newspapers throughout the season. This commenced VCD's association with Super League that would continue with
1365-415: A team's creative unit or 'playmakers'. During the interactions between a team's 'key' players (five-eighth, half-back, fullback, lock forward, and hooker), the five-eighth and half-back will usually be involved in most passing moves. These two positions are commonly called the "halves". The forwards' two responsibilities can be broken into "normal play" and "scrum play". For information on a forward's role in
1470-401: A value of 2 points when kicked from beyond the 40 metre line. Field position is crucial in rugby league, achieved by running with or kicking the ball. Passing in rugby league may only be in a backward or sideways direction. Teammates, therefore, have to remain on-side by not moving ahead of the player with the ball. The ball may be kicked ahead, but if teammates are in front of the kicker when
1575-542: Is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 m (74 yd) wide and 112–122 m (122–133 yd) long with H-shaped posts at both ends. It is one of the two major codes of rugby football , the other being rugby union . It originated in 1895 in Huddersfield , Yorkshire , England, as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) over
1680-555: Is also notable for a controversial try scored by Dragons winger Johnny King . Wests players tackled him and believed him to be held; however, the referee ruled play on. 1965 – A then record crowd of 78,056 packed into the Sydney Cricket Ground to see St. George captain Norm Provan play his last NSWRFL game. It was also St. George's 10th straight premiership. 1966 – St. George win their 11th straight premiership, at
1785-468: Is conducted under the direction of the Federation of International Touch (FIT). Though it shares similarities and history with rugby league , it is recognised as a sport in its own right due to its differences which have been developed over the sport's lifetime. Touch is a variation of rugby league with the tackling of opposing players replaced by a touch. As touches must be made with minimal force, touch
1890-432: Is the dominant winter sport in the eastern Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland . The game is also among the predominant sports of Tonga and is played in other Pacific nations such as Samoa and Fiji . Researchers have found that rugby league has been able to help with improving development in the islands. In Australia, and indeed the rest of the region, the annual State of Origin series ranks among
1995-488: Is therefore considered a limited-contact sport. The original basic rules of touch were established in the 1960s by members of the South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club in Sydney, Australia . OzTag is a non-contact form of rugby league, and can be seen as a variation of British tag rugby. Cronulla Sharks and St George Dragons halfback Perry Haddock introduced the sport in Australia while coaching
2100-413: Is worth. One of the main differences is the rules of possession. When the ball goes into touch , possession in rugby union is contested through a line-out , while in rugby league a scrum restarts play. The lesser focus on contesting possession means that play focuses more on powerful running, hard tackling, forward progression and the contest for field position (commonly compared to an "arm wrestle"); as
2205-579: The 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final replay at Odsal Stadium , Bradford , England, setting a new record for attendance at a rugby football match of either code. Also in 1954, the Rugby League World Cup, the first for either code of rugby, was formed at the instigation of the French. In 1966, the International Board introduced a rule that a team in possession was allowed three play-the-balls and on
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#17328550008662310-505: The 1999 NRL season . Figure shown is the total attendance which is officially counted for both games. ** The official attendance of the 1954 Challenge Cup Final replay was 102,569. Unofficial estimates put the attendance as high as 150,000, Bradford Police confirming 120,000. 1997 Super League (Australia) season#Grand final The 1997 Super League season (also known as the Telstra Cup due to sponsorship by Telstra Corporation )
2415-451: The ARL and NZRL . Since rugby league was introduced to Australia in 1908, it has become the largest television sport and 3rd most attended sport in Australia. Neighbouring Papua New Guinea is one of two countries to have rugby league as its national sport (with Cook Islands ). Australia's elite club competition also features a team from Auckland , New Zealand's biggest city. Rugby league
2520-613: The International Rugby League . Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands and is a popular sport in countries such as England , Australia , New Zealand , France , Tonga , Fiji , Samoa , Lebanon , Jamaica , and Malta . The first Rugby League World Cup was held in France in 1954, the first World Cup of either rugby code, and has been held sporadically ever since, settling into
2625-616: The Labour Day public holiday that falls on the first Monday of October in New South Wales. The game itself is usually preceded by an opening ceremony featuring a headline musical act , a Welcome to Country , and a rendition of the Australian national anthem sung by well-known Australasian and international artists. The Provan-Summons Trophy , the NRL's premiership trophy, is usually delivered to
2730-648: The Melbourne Storm were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships due to salary cap breaches exposed by the NRL, however the Clive Churchill Medallists from those years still continue to be recognised. The NRL present premiership rings for the players and coach of grand final winning sides. After the 2004 NRL Grand Final which was won by the Bulldogs, one of their players, Johnathan Thurston gave his premiership ring to teammate Steve Price who missed
2835-670: The New South Wales Rugby Football League was founded at Bateman's Hotel in George Street. Unlike in England, where both codes maintained their own geographic areas of dominance, in Australia rugby league went on to displace rugby union entirely as the primary football code in New South Wales and Queensland , while Australian rules football dominated the rest of Australia. On 5 May 1954, 102,569 spectators watched
2940-722: The Ottawa Aces were scheduled to join the English league pyramid, becoming the only Canadian team in the system after the Wolfpack were denied re-entry. The club subsequently relocated to Penryn, Cornwall , and are now known as Cornwall R.L.F.C. In 2021, the North American Rugby League announced an attempt to be North America's professional championship, with Canadian club Toronto Wolfpack joining several USA Rugby League clubs, New York Freedom and Cleveland Rugby League to form
3045-615: The Penrith Panthers , the Hunter Mariners and eventual runners-up, Cronulla . The Grand final was played at Brisbane 's ANZ Stadium in front of 58,912 people; the ground record for that venue. Brisbane defeated Cronulla 26–8 to win their third* premiership. The Auckland Warriors had teams in the Reserve grade and two age-group grand finals but lost all three. The grand finals: The winners in all grades were: The Senior Grade and
3150-572: The Rugby League European Federation and Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation expanding the game to new areas such as Chile , Canada , Ghana , Philippines , Czech Republic , Germany , The Netherlands , Sweden , Norway , Spain , Sri Lanka , Hungary , Turkey , Thailand and Brazil to name a few. The two most prominent full-time professional leagues are the Australian National Rugby League and
3255-551: The Super League grand final. This was the first night grand final, the first top level rugby league grand final to be played outside of Sydney before a record crowd for any sporting event in Queensland of 58,912. 1999 – A record crowd of 107,999 watch the two newest clubs Melbourne Storm and St George Illawarra Dragons battle it out. St. George Illawarra led 18–14 before a late penalty try to Melbourne winger Craig Smith gave
NRL Grand Final - Misplaced Pages Continue
3360-463: The Sydney Cricket Ground in the lowest-scoring grand final of all time. 1943 – Newtown defeat North Sydney 34–7 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in front of a then record crowd of 60,922. This grand final would be North Sydney's final appearance in a decider before exiting the competition in 1999 and also Newtown's last premiership before their exclusion at the end of 1983 . 1952 – Western Suburbs defeated South Sydney 22–10. The match
3465-603: The Sydney Cricket Ground , and the largest to any sporting event in Brisbane since 52,000 attended the opening ceremony of the 1982 Commonwealth Games , also held at the venue, then known as the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium. Jon Stevens and Olivia Newton-John also performed in the pre-match entertainment. The match was broadcast live by Australian Pay-TV channel Fox Sports with Greg Clark, Wally Lewis and Gary Freeman providing commentary, with Peter Jackson on
3570-548: The line-out was abolished and in 1898 professionalism introduced. In 1906, the Northern Union changed its rules, reducing teams from 15 to 13 a side and replacing the ruck formed after tackles with the play-the-ball . By this point, rule changes meant the game organised by the RFL was distinct as a sport from its union cousin. A similar schism to that which occurred in England took place in Sydney , Australia. There, on 8 August 1907
3675-466: The 1990s, when News Corporation paid for worldwide broadcasting rights. The media giant's "Super League" movement created changes for the traditional administrators of the game. In Europe, it resulted in a move from Rugby League being a winter sport to a summer one, as the new Super League competition tried to expand its market. In Australasia, the Super League war resulted in long and costly legal battles and changing loyalties, causing significant damage to
3780-518: The 1992 St George Jersey Flegg side. Together with Chris Parkes, the two took the sport to fields across Australia. Today, it is played by over 200,000 players in organised leagues across the country. League Tag replaces tackling with the removal of one of two tags carried on an opponent's hips, attached directly to specific League Tag shorts with Velcro patches, but otherwise retains almost all other rules of traditional rugby league (such as kicking). A number of additional rules are also added relating to
3885-506: The 2017 Kingstone Press League 1 in their inaugural season and earned promotion to the 2018 Rugby League Championship. In 2019 The Wolfpack won promotion to the Super League, lasting only a few months before having to withdraw due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic . New ownership is currently trying to revive the club with matches against amateur clubs in the US and Canada. Beginning in 2022,
3990-576: The 2020 and 2021 Grand Finals would be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground , while Stadium Australia underwent redevelopment. However, after the Government of New South Wales scrapped plans to redevelop Stadium Australia in July 2020, the matches would return to being planned at Stadium Australia until at least 2046. In 2021, the NRL Grand Final was played at Lang Park in Brisbane, as it was not possible for
4095-498: The ARL post the re-unification. Minor premiers Brisbane only played two finals games (including the grand final), both against Cronulla winning both convincingly. The Super League Grand final crowned a week of festivities, including a ball, street parade and massive game-night fireworks display, of the sort the Broncos' management had wanted the ARL to bring to Brisbane before
4200-647: The British Super League (with teams from New Zealand and France respectively). Other professional and semi professional leagues include Australia's Queensland Cup (which includes a team from Papua New Guinea ) and NSW Cup , the British RFL Championship and RFL League 1 , the French Super XIII and Elite 2 . The Papua New Guinea National Rugby League operates as a semi-professional competition and enjoys nationwide media coverage, being
4305-578: The NRL, the medal's recipient is chosen by the selectors of the Australian national team and announced and awarded to the player judged best and fairest on the ground at every post-grand final ceremony. The Clive Churchill Medal has been awarded ever since the 1986 NSWRL season when its first recipient was Parramatta's Peter Sterling . The only three players to have won the award more than once are Canberra's Bradley Clyde ( 1989 and 1991 ), Melbourne Storm's Billy Slater ( 2009 and 2017 ) and Penrith Panthers' Nathan Cleary ( 2021 and 2023 ). In 2010,
NRL Grand Final - Misplaced Pages Continue
4410-525: The National Rugby League, this was reduced to ten prior to the 2008 season and further reduced to eight prior to the 2016 season. If a team has to interchange a player due to the blood bin rule or due to injury, and this was the result of misconduct from the opposing team, the compromised team does not have to use one of its allocated interchanges to take the player in question off the field. The backs are generally smaller, faster and more agile than
4515-605: The Northern Union also changed its name to the Rugby Football League and thus over time the sport itself became known as "rugby league" football. In 1895, a schism in Rugby football resulted in the formation of the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU). The success of working class northern teams led to some compensating players who otherwise would be on their job and earning income on Saturdays. This led to
4620-624: The Provan-Summons Trophy to the winning captain. In 2019, the Government of New South Wales secured the grand final for Stadium Australia until at least 2046. First grade rugby league in NSW began in 1908, the first premiership deciding game was played at the Royal Agricultural Society Showground , with Souths defeating Easts 14–12. From 1912 to 1925, no finals system was in place; however, in 1916, 1922, 1923 and 1924,
4725-598: The Provan-Summons Trophy until 2013, the 50th anniversary of the 1963 grand final. The trophy is awarded following each grand final to the captain of the winning club. The Clive Churchill Medal is the award given to the player judged to be man-of-the-match in the National Rugby League 's annual grand final . The award was created to honour Clive Churchill , one of the greatest rugby league players in Australian history, following his death in 1985. A prestigious honour in
4830-411: The RFU reacting to enforce the amateur principle of the sport, preventing "broken time payments" to players who had taken time off work to play rugby. Northern teams typically had more working class players (coal miners, mill workers etc.) who could not afford to play without this compensation, in contrast to affluent southern teams who had other sources of income to sustain the amateur principle. In 1895,
4935-820: The Reserve Grade were called the Telstra Cup The Under-19s Grade was called the Mal Meninga Cup The Under-17s Grade was called the Terry Lamb Cup At the end of the season, an Australian team was selected from the Telstra Cup Premiership's clubs to play in the Super League Test series against Great Britain in England. The test matches The Super League Tri Series The ten Super League-aligned clubs contested
5040-508: The Storm a 20–18 win to become the first Victorian team to win a NRL premiership and the quickest NRL club to win their first-ever premiership, which they accomplished in only their second season. 2001 – Newcastle win the first night grand final in Sydney , 30–24 over Parramatta. 2002 – Pre-game entertainment Billy Idol arrived on ground on board a hovercraft, but due to technical issues – "waiting for some power" – he did not perform. It
5145-1323: The Super League competition. The Western Reds renamed themselves the Perth Reds for the Super League competition. The Bulldogs reinstated 'Canterbury' to their name (but not Bankstown). 1st season Ground: Adelaide Oval Coach: Rod Reddy Captain: Kerrod Walters 3rd season Ground: Ericsson Stadium Coach: John Monie → Frank Endacott Captain: Matthew Ridge 10th season Ground: ANZ Stadium Coach: Wayne Bennett Captain: Allan Langer 16th season Ground: Bruce Stadium Coach: Mal Meninga Captain: Ricky Stuart 63rd season Ground: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Chris Anderson Captain: Simon Gillies 31st season Ground: Shark Park Coach: John Lang Captain: Andrew Ettingshausen 1st & final season Ground: Topper Stadium Coach: Graham Murray Captain: Tony Iro 3rd season Ground: Stockland Stadium Coach: Tim Sheens Captain: Ian Roberts & John Lomax 3rd & final season Ground: WACA Ground Coach: Dean Lance Captain: Mark Geyer 31st season Ground: Penrith Stadium Coach: Royce Simmons Captain: Steve Carter Teaser ads had been created by Mojo Sydney in 1996 around
5250-553: The amount is probably not reflective of the magnitude of participating in the event. It is often assumed simply that the winner of the premiership typically experiences an increase in revenue through increases in membership and merchandise sales. The following is a list of Grand Finals in the NRL era (1998–present). *Melbourne Storm were stripped of their 2007 and 2009 premierships, as well as their 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships, due to salary cap breaches . Reduced crowd due to stadium capacity restrictions The 2021 Grand Final
5355-447: The ball comes into contact with the ground. An attacking team gets a maximum of six tackles to progress up the field before possession is changed over. Once the tackle is completed, the ball-carrier must be allowed to get to his feet to ' play-the-ball '. Ball control is also important in rugby league, as a fumble of the ball on the ground forces a handover, unless the ball is fumbled backwards. The ball can also be turned over by going over
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#17328550008665460-421: The ball is kicked, they are deemed off-side. Tackling is a key component of rugby league play. Only the player holding the ball may be tackled. A tackle is complete, for example, when the player is held by one or more opposing players in such a manner that he can make no further progress and cannot part with the ball, or when the player is held by one or more opposing players and the ball or the hand or arm holding
5565-569: The best grand final ever—a year coincidentally believed to be the greatest by some, Canberra come from 14–2 down to beat Balmain 19–14 in extra time. Canberra became the first team outside of NSW to win the competition. 1992 – The Brisbane Broncos defeat St. George 28–8 to become the first Queensland team to win the grand final. 1997 – Newcastle winger Darren Albert scored a try with six seconds left to deliver Newcastle their first ever premiership, 22–16 over Manly . 1997 (SL) – Brisbane defeat Cronulla for their third premiership in
5670-469: The code in an extremely competitive sporting market. In 1997 two competitions were run alongside each other in Australia, after which a peace deal in the form of the National Rugby League was formed. The NRL has since become recognised as the sport's flagship competition and since that time has set record TV ratings and crowd figures. The objective in rugby league is to score more points through tries , goals and field goals (also known as drop goals) than
5775-439: The code's big schism in 1995. The game was on 20 September and despite stormy weather, a record crowd in Queensland rugby league history was at ANZ Stadium for the first ever night grand final and the first Australian top level grand final to be played outside Sydney . It attracted a ground record of 58,912 people, the biggest crowd for a grand final since 65,959 attended the drawn 1977 Sydney Rugby League grand final played at
5880-482: The competition in 1999. South Sydney captain-coach Jack Rayner reportedly never spoke to George Bishop following the grand final, even though both men lived in the same suburb of Sydney for years after the match. 1956 – St. George beat Balmain to claim the first of a world record 11 straight premierships. 1963 – St. George beat Western Suburbs 8–3 in a match famous for the iconic 'Gladiators' photo of Norm Provan and Arthur Summons covered in mud. It
5985-432: The competition was played for a single season in 1997 before merging with the rival Australian Rugby League competition in 1998 to form the National Rugby League . For this season video refereeing was introduced to rugby league for the first time. The Telstra Cup premiership was held over eighteen rounds. The season was dominated by the minor premiers, the Brisbane Broncos , who won 14 of their 18 matches, losing only to
6090-422: The decider due to injury. The Melbourne Storm were stripped of their premierships in 2007 and 2009, but the players involved in those premierships were still allowed to keep their premiership rings. In 2014 NRL premiership ring was worth $ 8000 made by Zed N Zed Jewellery. Since 2015, Affinity Diamonds have produced the NRL premiership rings Prize money of AUD$ 400,000 is awarded to the victorious club. However
6195-455: The entirety of the match with a broken cheekbone and eye socket after sustaining the injuries in the first tackle of the match. 2015 – The North Queensland Cowboys' first premiership after 21 seasons in the NRL and widely regarded as one of the all-time best (along with the Raiders' 1989 win). The first all- Queensland NRL grand final sparked talk of future deciders being held in Queensland. It
6300-461: 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 . The player judged to be the man of the match by the selectors of the ARL national team is awarded the prestigious Clive Churchill Medal , and the Prime Minister of Australia is typically available to hand
6405-457: The first drawn grand final, 9-all after extra time. They come back the next week for a grand final replay and St. George win 22–0. 1978 – Manly and Cronulla play out the second consecutive drawn grand final, 11–11. There is no extra time and the replay is played on the following Tuesday, won by Manly 16–0. 1987 – Manly defeat Canberra 18–8 in the last grand final played at the Sydney Cricket Ground . 1989 – Known by many as
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#17328550008666510-611: The five years prior to the Second World War , the sport's popularity increased as Frenchmen became disenchanted with the state of French rugby union in the 1930s. However, after the Allied Forces were defeated by Germany in June 1940, the Vichy regime in the south seized assets belonging to rugby league authorities and clubs and banned the sport for its association with the left-wing Popular Front government that had governed France before
6615-530: The football, each play restarting from a set piece position and ended by a tackle. Although the Canadian Football League in particular maintained the word 'rugby' in its name for many years, alluding to that shared past, the introduction of the forward pass and unlimited substitution in North American games created a fundamentally different species of game from either original rugby code. Although
6720-407: The forwards. They are often the most creative and evasive players on the field, relying on running, kicking and handling skills, as well as tactics and set plays, to break the defensive line, instead of brute force. Generally forwards play a more collision oriented game, making ground by pure strength, and tackling near the play-the-ball. Usually, the stand-off/five-eighth and scrum-half/half-back are
6825-406: The fourth tackle a scrum was to be formed. This was increased to six tackles in 1972 and in 1983 the scrum was replaced by a handover. 1967 saw the first professional Sunday matches of rugby league played. The first sponsors, Joshua Tetley and John Player , entered the game for the 1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season . Television had an enormous impact on the sport of rugby league in
6930-401: The grand final are determined from the preceding finals series , where the top eight finishing teams on the season's premiership ladder qualify in a three-week playoff tournament. The grand final had been played on Saturday afternoons and then Sunday afternoons. From 2001 to 2007, the game was moved to an evening start to make the most of prime time television. Between 2008 and 2012, a compromise
7035-503: The ground, with the ball usually set in a kicking tee , and the opposing team not allowed to directly challenge the kicker. The Super League in Europe and the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australasia are the world's premier club competitions. Globally, rugby league is played internationally , predominantly by European , Australasian , and Pacific Island countries, and is governed by
7140-411: The historic link between the codes continues to be acknowledged, neither Canadian or American football is commonly considered a rugby code today except in the broadest sense, and are more commonly referred to collectively as gridiron codes, or simply as 'football' within their respective countries. Players on the pitch are divided into forwards and backs , although the game's rules apply to all players
7245-440: The invention of the sport previously called murderball and is not directly linked to rugby union, wheelchair rugby league has grown out of the parent sport, and retains key aspects of that sport such as an egg shaped ball, the forward-pass rule and conversions. While not a Paralympic sport, the sport has its own Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup . A further variation for ambulatory disabled players, physical disability rugby league ,
7350-412: The issue of payments to players. The rules of the game governed by the new Northern Rugby Football Union progressively changed from those of the RFU with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to spectators, on whose income the new organisation and its members depended. In rugby league, points are scored by carrying an oval ball and touching it to the ground beyond
7455-504: The league's inaugural season. Several brand new clubs from Western USA were scheduled to join in 2022 but never played. The new competition is sanctioned by Canada Rugby League , but not yet by the United States governing body. Unfortunately, while some exhibition matches were played in 2021 and 2022, NARL was defunct by 2023 The early 21st century has seen other countries take up the game and compete in international rugby league with
7560-580: The match to be played at Stadium Australia due to the COVID-19 lockdown in New South Wales . It was the first major rugby league grand final to be played in Queensland since the 1997 Super League grand final. The winners of the grand final qualify to play the winners of the Super League Grand Final in the World Club Challenge . The Provan-Summons Trophy is the NRL's main prize, awarded to
7665-453: The mid-1990s, it has increasingly borrowed techniques, tactics and even laws from rugby league, while high-profile players and coaches from the league game have increasingly gone on to success in the union code in those countries where both codes are popular (e.g. Andy Farrell , Jason Robinson and Henry Paul ). The inherent similarities between rugby league and rugby union have at times led to experimental hybrid games being played that use
7770-530: The most popular sporting events. The Rugby League European Federation are responsible for developing rugby league in Europe . In England, rugby league has traditionally been associated with the historic northern counties of Yorkshire , Lancashire , and Cumberland , where the game originated, especially in towns and cities along the M62 corridor . Its popularity has also increased elsewhere. As of 2024 , only two of
7875-413: The national sport of the country. Five main variant sports of rugby league exist worldwide; Touch , OzTag , League tag , Nines , and Sevens . Touch, OzTag, and League Tag are all non-contact versions of the sport, where as Nines and Sevens are both reduced form (shorter match times and smaller teams) of the sport. Touch (also known as touch football or touch rugby) is a variant of rugby league that
7980-548: The new Super League, although the club was dissolved in 1997. In 2006, the Super League admitted the Catalans Dragons, a team from Perpignan in the southern Languedoc-Roussillon region. They have subsequently reached the 2007 Challenge Cup Final and made the playoffs of the 2008 Super League XIII season. The success of the Dragons in Super League has initiated a renaissance in French rugby league, with new-found enthusiasm for
8085-455: The north of England there have been complaints about its lack of profile in the British media. On the eve of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup final where England would face Australia, English amateur rugby league coach Ben Dawson stated, "we're in the final of a World Cup. First time in more than 30 years and there's no coverage anywhere". France first played rugby league as late as 1934, where in
8190-450: The only teams currently competing in the competition who have not featured in a grand final since the start of the NRL (1998). 1909 – South Sydney win the premiership by forfeit over Balmain . There was an agreement that both sides would play the match; however, Balmain never showed up, and South Sydney kicked off to a side that did not turn up, scored a try and were declared premiers. 1924 – Balmain defeat South Sydney 3–0 at
8295-404: The opposing team's goal line; this is called a try , and is the primary method of scoring, worth four points. The opposing team attempts to stop the attacking side scoring points by tackling the player carrying the ball and denying forward progress. On occasion, where a clear try scoring opportunity has been thwarted by foul play, a penalty try may be awarded without the ball being grounded over
8400-475: The opposition within the 80 minutes of play. If after two-halves of play, each consisting of forty minutes, the two teams are drawing , a draw may be declared, or the game may enter extra time under the golden point rule, depending on the relevant competition's format. The try is the most common form of scoring, and a team will usually attempt to score one by running and kicking the ball further upfield or passing from player-to-player in order to manoeuvre around
8505-400: The opposition's defence. A try involves touching the ball to the ground on or beyond the defending team's goal-line and is worth four points. A goal is worth two points and may be gained from a conversion or a penalty . A field goal, or drop goal, is only worth one point and is gained by dropping and then kicking the ball on the half volley between the uprights in open play. A field goal has
8610-542: The position they play, similarly to association football . Substitutes (generally referred to as "the bench") are allowed in the sport, and are typically used when a player gets tired or injured , although they can also be used tactically. Each team is currently allowed four substitutes, and in Australia and New Zealand, these players occupy shirt numbers 14 to 22. There are no limitations on which players must occupy these interchangeable slots. Generally, twelve interchanges are allowed in any game from each team, although in
8715-467: The premiership, only three of which were based in Sydney (none of which were NSWRFL foundation clubs), compared to seven in the rival Australian Rugby League competition , which was run at the same time. A further team from greater New South Wales , two teams from Queensland , and one each from Australian Capital Territory , South Australia , Western Australia and Auckland in New Zealand made up
8820-603: The right post, the match went to golden point extra time, the first grand final to do so. The Kyle Feldt kick-off to begin golden point was dropped by the Broncos' Ben Hunt . From the ensuing set of six, Thurston kicked the winning field goal, and he was subsequently awarded the Clive Churchill Medal . It also ended Brisbane's undefeated streak in grand finals, having won all six previous deciders. 2016 – Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks win their first premiership in their 50th season by defeating Melbourne Storm 14–12. This
8925-501: The same way. Each position has a designated number to identify himself from other players. These numbers help to identify which position a person is playing. The system of numbering players is different depending on which country the match is played in. In Australia and New Zealand, each player is usually given a number corresponding to their playing position on the field. However, since 1996 European teams have been able to grant players specific squad numbers, which they keep without regard to
9030-496: The scrum see rugby league scrummage . Forward positions are traditionally named after the player's position in the scrum yet are equal with respect to "normal play" with the exception of the hooker. Forward positions are traditionally assigned as follows: Rugby league is played in over 70 nations throughout the world. Papua New Guinea is the only country to have rugby league as its national sport . Four countries – Australia, England, France, and New Zealand – have teams that play at
9135-524: The sideline. Rugby league and rugby union are distinct sports with many similarities and a shared origin. Both have the same fundamental rules, are played for 80 minutes and feature an oval-shaped ball and H-shaped goalposts. Both have rules that the ball cannot be passed forward, and dropping it forwards leads to a scrum. Both use tries as the central scoring method and conversion kicks , penalty goals and drop goals as additional scoring methods. However, there are differences in how many points each method
9240-526: The specific issues associated with a tag based game. Rugby League played with nine players per team with nine minutes per half, in addition to slight rule modifications to aid the game. Rugby League played with seven players per team with seven minutes per half, in addition to slight rule modifications to aid the game. The top five attendances for rugby league test matches (International) are: The top five attendances for domestic based rugby league matches are: * NRL double header played to open Round 1 of
9345-633: The sport in the south of the country where most of the Super XIII teams are based. In other parts of Europe, the game is played at semi-professional and amateur level. As of 2023, there is no professional rugby league in North America. From 2017 to 2020, the Toronto Wolfpack were North America 's only active professional Rugby League team, competing in the English Rugby League system. They won
9450-462: 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 , 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
9555-409: The theme of "Superleague: It's Coming". They featured Super League players performing superhuman feats. One notable execution included Canberra's Bradley Clyde inside a rodeo corral being stormed by a runaway bull with the suggestion that he is about to singlehandedly bring the bull to ground. By season launch in 1997 Foxtel's ad agency Young and Rubicam Sydney had the Super League account and created
9660-432: The time a world record in any football code. 1969 – Balmain win a controversial grand final 11–2 over South Sydney . The game causes controversy due to Balmain's lay down tactics. 1975 – Eastern Suburbs beat St. George by a then record 38–0 score line. St. George fullback Graeme Langlands plays the game in white boots and has a painkiller injection go wrong. 1977 – St. George and Parramatta play out
9765-482: The try line. In addition to tries, points can be scored by kicking goals. Drop goals (or field goals) can be attempted from the hand at any time for a single point. Following a successful try, the scoring team gains a free kick to try at goal with a conversion worth a further two points. Penalty kicks at goal, known simply as penalties, may also be awarded for general foul play, and are also worth two points. Unlike drop goals, penalty kicks and conversions are taken from
9870-559: The twelve Super League teams are based outside of these traditional counties: Catalans Dragons and London Broncos . One other team from outside the United Kingdom, Toulouse Olympique , competes in the British rugby league system , although not at the highest tier Super League level, but rather in the second tier Championship . Super League average attendances are in the 8,000 to 9,500 range. The average Super League match attendance in 2014
9975-566: The war. The sport was unbanned after the Liberation of Paris in August 1944 and the collapse of the Vichy regime, although it was still actively marginalised by the French authorities until the 1990s. Despite this, the national side appeared in the finals of the 1954 and 1968 World Cups, and the country hosted the 1954 event. In 1996, a French team, Paris Saint-Germain was one of eleven teams which formed
10080-469: Was 8,365. In 2018 average Super League match attendance was 8,547. Ranked the eighth most popular sport in the UK overall, rugby league is the 27th most popular participation sport in England according to figures released by Sport England ; the total number of rugby league participants in England aged 16 and over was 44,900 in 2017. This is a 39% drop from 10 years ago. While the sport is largely concentrated in
10185-462: Was a breakaway professional rugby league football competition in Australia and the only one to be run by the News Limited -controlled Super League organisation. Eight teams which had broken away from the existing Australian Rugby League , in addition to the newly created Adelaide Rams and Hunter Mariners , competed over eighteen weekly rounds of the regular season. The top five teams then played
10290-417: Was also notable as Brisbane Broncos ended their biggest drought from a grand final since entering the competition (in 1988) and it was Bennett's first season back in Brisbane after leaving in 2008. North Queensland Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt scored a try from a Michael Morgan try-assist after the full-time siren to level the game at 16–16. After Jonathan Thurston missed the sideline conversion, hitting
10395-652: Was also only their fourth grand final appearance since entering the competition in 1967. Their other grand final appearances came in 1973 , 1978 and 1997 Super League Grand Final . The Sharks won only one of their final five regular-season games. However, it was enough to break through for their inaugural premiership. Rugby league Rugby league football , commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby XIII in non- Anglophone Europe and South America, and referred to colloquially as football , footy , rugby , or league in its heartlands,
10500-523: Was also the first year that a New Zealand–based team played in a grand final, making this the first Trans-Tasman grand final. 2005 – Wests Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall throws a magic flick pass to winger Pat Richards as the Tigers become the first joint venture to win the premiership, 30–16 over the North Queensland Cowboys . 2006 - Security and police kick out multiple fans for
10605-538: Was created and had its first world cup in 2022 to coincide with the rescheduled 2021 Rugby League World Cup competitions. Rugby league football takes its name from the bodies that split to create a new form of rugby, distinct from that run by the Rugby Football Unions, in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand between 1895 and 1908. The first of these, the Northern Rugby Football Union , was established in 1895 as
10710-495: Was held in Brisbane for the first time in the competition's history due to an ongoing COVID-19 lockdown in New South Wales , which prompted the NRL to relocate it from Stadium Australia in Sydney , where every NRL Grand Final since 1999 had been hosted. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the match was attended by only 39,322 spectators because the Government of Queensland limited Lang Park to seventy-five percent of its maximum capacity. The Gold Coast Titans and Dolphins are
10815-476: Was hosted by England during October and November 2022, staged the Men's , Women's and Wheelchair competitions together for the first time. The competition formerly featured 16 teams, but has been cut down to 10 for the upcoming 2026 Rugby League World Cup . The Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation 's purpose is to spread the sport of rugby league throughout their region along with other governing bodies such as
10920-465: Was reached between official broadcaster Nine Network 's preferred starting time of 7pm and the traditional starting time of 3pm, with the grand final beginning at 5pm AEDT. In 2013, the evening start resumed and has occurred since. Previously, the grand final did not have a set date but, with the exception of 2020 , since 2001, it has been played the Sunday falling between 30 September and 6 October, preceding
11025-432: Was remembered due to its controversy with claims the referee George Bishop had put a big wager on Western Suburbs winning the game. Souths claimed that they were denied two fair tries and Wests had scored one try off a blatant knock on. Western Suburbs player Hec Farrell was sent off in the second half of the match. This would prove to be the last premiership Western Suburbs would win as a stand-alone entity before exiting
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