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| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1907; 118 years ago (1907) |
| Replaced by | New South Wales Rugby Football League |
| Chair | Dave Trodden |
| Number of teams | 413 senior clubs (across 33 leagues) |
| Website | nswrl.com.au |
TheNew South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australianrugby league football competition operator inNew South Wales and theAustralian Capital Territory and is a member of theAustralian Rugby League Commission.
It was registered on 21 December 1983[1] and succeeded the New South Wales Rugby Football League which had been formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907.[2]
The NSWRFL and then NSWRL operated Sydney's, then New South Wales' and eventually Australia's premier rugby league club competition from1908 to1994.
The organisation administers theNew South Wales rugby league team forState of Origin.
Of all of the club in New South Wales, some are some who field teams in theNRL,New South Wales Cup andNew South Wales Jersey Flegg Cup, and there are some who no longer field teams in theNRL, but continue to field teams in theNew South Wales Cup andNew South Wales Jersey Flegg Cup.
The following clubs are the direct full member clubs of the NSWRL.
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Rugby league was first played in New South Wales in 1907. The New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) was formed in August 1907, when player discontent with the administration of theNew South Wales Rugby Union, over rejection of compensation payments for injuries and lost wages, led to a breakaway movement. Key figures in the new league wereJames Joseph Giltinan, legendary cricketerVictor Trumper,Alex Burdon,Peter Moir, Labor politicianHenry Hoyle,George Brackenreg andJack Feneley. The first NSWRFL game was played on 17 August 1907, in which aNew Zealand team defeated aNSW team 12–8.
TheSydney premiership was started on 20 April 1908. Nine teams contested the initial season. These were the nine teams:
Balmain Tigers
(Central) Cumberland Fruitpickers
Eastern Suburbs Roosters
Glebe Dirty Reds
Newcastle Rebels
Newtown Jets
North Sydney Bears
Western Suburbs Magpies
South Sydney RabbitohsThe NSWRFL premiership was continued on the basis of the first competition in1908. In 1929,Jersey Flegg was appointed to the position of president of the NSWRFL and in 1941 he became chairman of theAustralian Rugby League Board of Control. At the time of his death in 1960, aged 82, he was still serving in these roles.
When NSWRFL president Flegg died in 1960,Bill Buckley replaced him and also became boss of theAustralian Rugby League, a position he remained in from 1960 until his death in 1973. In 1973,Kevin Humphreys was appointed President of NSWRFL and Chairman of Australian Rugby League (ARL). Under himState of Origin was introduced.
In 1983, Humphreys was succeeded in these positions byKen Arthurson. Under Arthurson, the NSWRFL was succeeded by the New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) and the clubs in the league expanded outside the borders of the state and even the country until, in 1994, after the 87th consecutive premiership season, theAustralian Rugby League (ARL) replaced the NSWRL in the operation of the premier competition.
Notwithstanding the handover of control of the game at the elite level across Australia to the ARL, NSWRL retained responsibility for both the administration of theNew South Wales rugby league team inState of Origin series, as well as day-to-day management of the state-basedNew South Wales Cup second-tier premiership, as well as junior representative competitions and divisional leagues throughout NSW and the ACT. It did so in conjunction with the NSWCountry Rugby League before their merger in 2019. In a similar way, the rivalQueensland Rugby League retained responsibility for that state's Origin team and lower tier competitions.
TheRoyal Agricultural Society Shield, orRAS Shield was the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL)'s first premiership trophy. It was presented to each year's premiership winningrugby league team; the first to win three successive titles would take permanent ownership of the shield. TheEastern Suburbs club achieved this feat winning premierships in 1911, 1912 and 1913.
The hand crafted silver and oak designed shield was donated to the NSWRL by theRoyal Agricultural Society of New South Wales in its first year of competition.[citation needed]
Leading journalistClaude Corbett wrote in Sydney, Sun, newspaper on, 1 May 1914, "The Royal Agricultural Society Shield, which was presented at the inception of theLeague's first grade competition has been won outright by Eastern Suburbs, who upset all calculations by winning the premiership three years in succession. The club has presented the shield to their captain,Dally Messenger, 'as a token of appreciation of his captaincy'."[citation needed]
In 1929,Jersey Flegg was appointed to the position of president of the NSWRFL.
Midway through the 1909 season,Edward Larkin was appointed full-time secretary of the NSWRFL.[3]
In 1951, the NSWRFL originated theJ.J. Giltinan Shield, following his death in 1950. This trophy was awarded to the premiers of the NSWRFL competition, being named after one of the founding fathers of the NSWRFL and rugby league in Australia. The trophy remains today, being awarded to the minor premiers of theNational Rugby League competition.
Following Jersey Flegg's death in 1960,Bill Buckley was made the NSWRFL's new president.
In 1967, the NSWRFLgrand final became the first football grand final of any code to be televised live in Australia. TheNine Network had paid $5,000 for the broadcasting rights.[4]
In 1973, NSWRFL bossKevin Humphreys negotiated rugby league's first television deal with theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation.[5] The NSWRFL had commenced a very popular and successful mid-week competition in 1974, originally known as theAmco Cup, but later as the Tooth Cup and the National Panasonic Cup. The success of this competition, which included teams from both Brisbane and New Zealand, ultimately created pressure for further expansion in the NSWRFL competition.[citation needed]
In 1980, the NSWRFL PresidentKevin Humphreys, who had been chairman of the League since 1973, was instrumental in the establishment of theState of Origin series between teams representing the NSWRFL andQueensland Rugby League (QRL). The immediate success of this series, which remains the premier representative competition in Australia, and the overriding success of the Queensland team further pressured the NSWRFL to expand the club competition outside the boundaries of the state.[citation needed]
Sydney suburban teams came and went throughout the NSWRFL's history but it was not until1982 that the competition included expansion outside of the Sydney area. This corresponded with the adoption of commercial sponsorship of the competition for the first time, theWinfield Cup. The two new inclusions were from the Australian Capital Territory – theCanberra Raiders – as well as a team from the southern New South Wales region – theIllawarra Steelers.
TheWinfield Cup trophy remains a permanent symbol of one of the game's most successful eras. Cast in bronze by Alan Ingham, it was the game's ultimate prize for the duration of the Winfield sponsorship from 1982 to 1995.[citation needed]
Based on John O'Gready's world famous photograph ofNorm Provan (St George) andArthur Summons (Wests) after the1963 Grand Final, the trophy represented the premiership pinnacle for players in the Winfield Era.
TheWinfield Cup captured these and many other enduring things about League in its primary image, "The Gladiators" and the famous trophy, like the J.J. Giltinan Shield, remains an important part of the game's heritage.
The League's name was changed in 1984 to the New South Wales Rugby League andKen Arthurson became the new chairman. In 1988, twoQueensland teams joined the competition, with the inclusions of theBrisbane Broncos and theGold Coast-Tweed Giants seeing the game move beyond the outer borders of New South Wales. At the same time, a team from the Hunter region of New South Wales was included, with the return of a franchise forNewcastle. Their return was the end of an 81-year wait in the wilderness and this time around the franchise was badged theNewcastle Knights.
In 1990, the NSWRL introduced asalary cap system to even the playing field of teams in the Winfield Cup.[6]
TheWinfield Cup competition was handed over to the control of theAustralian Rugby League for the1995 season, with the inclusion of teams from North Queensland, South Queensland, Western Australia and New Zealand. This period of expansion created tremendous success for the competition and rugby league in general.
The Knock On EffectNSW Cup (formerly known asNSW Cup, VBNSW Cup, Intrust Super Premiership and Canterbury Cup NSW) is the States's top-tier competition and clubs run as direct feeders toNRL sides. Canterbury of New Zealand have naming rights from Season 2019 to Season 2020.
On 24 August 2018, the NSWRL and CRL entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in relation to a possible merger. In October 2019 CRL merged with NSWRL after NSWRL agreed a new constitution and the CRL voted to wind up its affairs immediately.[7]
New South Wales is home to the followingNational Rugby League teams:
| Club | Location | Home Ground(s) & Capacity | First season |
|---|---|---|---|
 Canterbury Bulldogs | Sydney (Belmore) | Stadium Australia (82,500), Belmore Sports Ground (19,000) | 1935 |
 Cronulla Sharks | Sydney (Cronulla) | Endeavour Field (20,000) | 1967 |
 Manly Sea Eagles | Sydney (Brookvale) | Brookvale Oval (23,000) | 1947 |
 Newcastle Knights | Newcastle (New Lambton) | Newcastle ISC (33,000) | 1988 |
 Parramatta Eels | Sydney (Parramatta) | Western Sydney Stadium (30,000) | 1947 |
 Penrith Panthers | Sydney (Penrith) | Penrith Stadium (22,000) | 1967 |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | Sydney (Redfern) | Stadium Australia (82,500) | 1908 |
 St. George Illawarra Dragons* | Sydney (Carlton), Wollongong | Jubilee Oval (20,500), Wollongong Showground (20,000) | 1999 |
| Sydney Roosters | Sydney (Moore Park) | Sydney Football Stadium (42,500) | 1908 |
 Wests Tigers* | Sydney, (Campbelltown), Sydney, (Lilyfield), Sydney, (Parramatta) | Western Sydney Stadium (30,000), Leichhardt Oval (20,000), Campbelltown Stadium (18,000), | 2000 |
Region 1 – North Coast Bulldogs/Northern Rivers Titans[edit]
| Region 2 – Greater Northern Tigers[edit]
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Region 3 – Bidgee Bulls/Monaro Colts (Riverina & Monaro)[edit]
| Region 4 – Western Rams[edit]
|
Region 5 – Greater Southern (Illawarra-South Coast Dragons)[edit] | Region 6 – NMR Knights/Central Coast Roosters (Newcastle & Central Coast)[edit]
|
* = Top-level Country leagues; Premiers eligible forClayton Cup as best regional team in the state.
The NSWRL manages the New South WalesState of Origin team as well the NSW Residents, Jim Beam Cup, under-19s, under-17s and under-16s and Indigenous rugby league teams. These teams traditionally play against teams from theQueensland Rugby League.
City vs Country is an annual match that takes place between a City side selected by the NSWRL and a Country side selected by New South Wales Country Rugby League. It is played before theState of Origin series and is often referred to as a selection trial for theNew South Wales Blues team.
The annualState of Origin series between theNew South Wales Blues and theQueensland Maroons is the most popular sporting event in NSW. Sydney has hosted many State of Origin matches since the series began in 1980. The three-game series are held in Sydney andBrisbane with the first and third games in one city and the second in the other. These rotate every year, so if two games are played in Sydney one year, then those games are played in Brisbane the next.
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The NSWRL conducts a development academy from the NSW Institute of Sport facility at Narrabeen. This facility is actively involved in the conduct of competitions and carnivals involving junior league and schools based teams. The academy also conducts several camps, focusing on development as well as running the accreditation process for coaches, trainers, first aid and match officials.
Radio coverage is presented by Steele Sports who call two games of the Intrust Super Premiership each weekend. Steele Sports includes a large team from across Sydney: Alby Talarico (founder), Curtis Woodward (lead caller), Daniel Pettigrew (lead caller), Jack Clifton, Keith 'The chairman' Payne, Tony Dosen, Lewis Shepperd, Luke Potter and Matt French.
Hawkesbury Radio call Penrith Panthers matches while Alive FM call selected Wentworthville games. Each year, they host theTom Brock Lecture in their headquarters.
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