| Editor | Chris Clark |
|---|---|
| Categories | Sport,Rugby league |
| Frequency | Weekly duringNRL season |
| Circulation | 22,532 |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Final issue | 2017 |
| Company | Bauer Media Group |
| Country | Australia |
| Based in | Sydney |
| Language | English |
| Website | www.rugbyleagueweek.com.au |
| ISSN | 0035-9742 |
Rugby League Week (frequently abbreviated toRLW) was the highest sellingAustralianrugby leaguemagazine, ahead of major competitorBig League. It was published weekly (on Wednesdays) during the Australian rugby league season, which runs from March to late September (roughly corresponding to the southern hemisphereautumn andwinter). The magazine was headquartered inSydney.[1]
Rugby League Week was launched in 1970.[2] In 2001 the magazine's name was changed toLeague Week, to avoid confusion withrugby union. It reverted toRugby League Week in 2003.[1] It was owned byBauer Media Group.[3] The former owner wasACP Magazines.[1] The last edition was published on 27 March 2017.[4]
The magazine contained news coverage of Australian rugby league, focused primarily on the first-gradeNRL competition (previously theNSWFL) but with coverage also devoted to lower-level competitions. There were usually also several profiles of rugby league players in each edition. A number of league personalities, includingMark Geyer,Stacey Jones andWally Lewis, had regular columns; unconfirmed rumours and miscellaneous gossip are reported in a column written by 'The Mole'.
Each edition contains previews of the games to be played in the next NRL round, running from Friday to Monday. Details of every match from the previous round are also included: the games are assessed and each player who took the field, as well as the referee, is given a rating. Details of when and by whom points were scored are also included. (Before the formation of theBrisbane Broncos, these ratings and details were also given for theBrisbane Rugby League competition.) Results, but not ratings, are published for most notable rugby league competitions in Australia, as well as major competitions inNew Zealand andEngland.
Related to the rating of players ever sinceRugby League Week was first published during the1970 NSWRFL season has been its Player of the Year award.
Since 1978, players have been rated out of ten for every game. To deal with absences from club rugby due to interstate and Test duty, the five lowest scores of every player are deleted from their final score. After these five lowest scores are removed, the player with the highest score wins the award.
From 1970 to 1977, the method of judging was the same except that players were awarded points out of five instead of ten.
In 1981Rugby League Week named 'The Immortals', four players that they considered to be the greatest in Australian history. In 1999 another two were added and in 2003 another one. At the end of the 2012 NRL season it was decided that Andrew Johns would become the eighth immortal. Currently numbering eight, The Immortals are:
Since the1978 NSWRFL season, Rugby League Week has rated each player in each premiership and representative game on a scale of 1-10. There have been 17 players since 1978 to achieve the rare feat of being rated 10/10 for a game.Manly-Warringah second row forwardTerry Randall had the honour of being the first player to be rated 10/10 in the opening round of the 1978 season.Parramatta halfbackPeter Sterling is the only player to achieve this twice whileBrad Fittler is the only player to receive 10/10 in a representative game having done so in the second test of the1995 Trans-Tasman Test series againstNew Zealand.[5]
RLW's 10/10 ratings since 1978 include: