 | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2014 |
| Inaugural season | 2014 |
| Number of teams | 16 Male 4 Female |
| Country | Australia |
| Current Champions |  North Queensland Cowboys St. George Illawarra Dragons (NRLW) (2020) |
| Most titles |  New Zealand Kiwi Ferns(2 titles) North Queensland Cowboys(2 titles) |
| Broadcast partner | Fox Sports (AU) Sky Sports (NZ) |
| Related competition | Rugby League World Cup 9s |
TheNRL Nines is arugby league nines competition, normally held during theNRL preseason each year. It was initially held inAuckland,New Zealand, between 2014 and 2017 before going on hiatus.
Returning in 2020, hosting duties moved toPerth,Western Australia, before being cancelled in 2021. The series has not returned since.
Two national women's teams compete in one section of the tournament and sixteen NRL club men's teams compete in the other. Each of the men's squad must include at least 12 of their top 25 players in their squad, and at least one marquee player. The winner of the men's tournament receivedAUD$500,000 with a total prize pool of AUD$2,250,000. In the first four editions, the competition has had eight different finalists and four different winners, though the 2016 title was later stripped from the Parramatta Eels for breaching the salary cap.
Since 2015 theKiwiferns and theJillaroos also competed in a three-game series, with the Kiwiferns winning the series 2-1. These games are played during the final stages of the men's tournament and allow the male players more of a break between their games while providing a broader tournament. Also in 2015, the pools were given traditional Maori names that were chosen by a public vote and were:Rangitoto,Waiheke,Piha andHunua Ranges.[1]
The women's teams wereNRL Women's Premiership sides instead of national teams.
The 2021 series was cancelled entirely, not due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Australia, but due to an overly-crowded preseason schedule.[2][3]
When the 2022 Fixtures list was released by the NRL, it included no mention of theWorld Club Challenge or NRL Nines competitions.[4]
TheWorld Club Challenge did make its return in 2023, and again in 2024, but the NRL Nines competition was absent for both years.[5]
There are a number of rule variations that are implemented to ensure the games are faster and to ensure fewer delays and stoppages.[6]
The major rule changes that differ from regular NRL games are:
Note – TheParramatta Eels were stripped of their 2016 Auckland Nines title due to a breach of theNRL salary cap. The 2016 title was withheld by the NRL rather than awarding it to the runners up.[7]
| Year | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Referee | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Auckland Nines | ||||||
| 2014 | North Queensland Cowboys | 16 – 7 |  Brisbane Broncos | B. Cummins | Eden Park | 16 February 2014 |
| 2015 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 18 – 14 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | M. Cecchin | Eden Park | 1 February 2015 |
| 2016 |  Parramatta Eels | 22 – 4 |  New Zealand Warriors | G. Sutton | Eden Park | 7 February 2016 |
| 2017 |  Sydney Roosters | 10 – 8 |  Penrith Panthers | G. Atkins | Eden Park | 5 February 2017 |
| NRL Nines | ||||||
| 2020 | North Queensland Cowboys | 23 – 14 | St George Illawarra Dragons | G. Atkins | Perth Oval | 15 February 2020 |
| 2021 | Competition not held due to packed pre-season schedule.[8][9] | |||||
| 2022 | Competition Not Held | |||||
| 2023 | Competition Not Held | |||||
| 2024 | Competition Not Held | |||||
| Team | Premiers | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Queensland Cowboys | 2 | 0 | 2014, 2020 | – |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | 1 | 0 | 2015 | – |
| Sydney Roosters | 1 | 0 | 2017 | – |
| Brisbane Broncos | 0 | 1 | – | 2014 |
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 0 | 1 | – | 2015 |
| New Zealand Warriors | 0 | 1 | – | 2016 |
| Penrith Panthers | 0 | 1 | – | 2017 |
| St George Illawarra Dragons | 0 | 1 | – | 2020 |
| Parramatta Eels | 0 | 0 | – |
| Year | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Referee | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Nines | ||||||
| 2020 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 28 – 4 | Brisbane Broncos | A. Gee | Perth Oval | 15 February 2020 |
| 2021 | Competition not held due to packed pre-season schedule.[10][11] | |||||
| 2022 | Competition Not Held | |||||
| 2023 | Competition Not Held | |||||
| 2024 | Competition Not Held | |||||
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St George Illawarra Dragons | 1 | 0 | 2020 | – |
| Brisbane Broncos | 0 | 1 | – | 2020 |
From 2015 to 2017, the New Zealand Kiwi Ferns and the Australia Jillaroos played a three match series, as theNRL Women's Premiership had not yet been formed. The NRL Women's competition was formed in 2018, and in 2020 the structure of the Women's competition changed to a club competition similar to the Men's.
| Women's series results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Winner | Wins | Losses | Drawn | Venue |
| 2015 | New Zealand Kiwi Ferns | 2 | 1 | 0 | Eden Park |
| 2016 | New Zealand Kiwi Ferns | 2 | 1 | 0 | Eden Park |
| 2017 |  Australia Jillaroos | 3 | 0 | 0 | Eden Park |
Since 2001, the National Rugby League premiership has been sponsored byDowner Group and known as the 'NRL Telstra Premiership'. Subsequently, the competition was simply known as the 'Dick Smith NRL Nines', being sponsored by the Australasian electronics retail chain until 2016.[12]
