- New South Wales Rugby League
-
Not to be confused with New South Wales Rugby Union.This page is for the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales. For information about the New South Rugby League Premierships run from the inception of rugby league in Australia until the ARL Premierships, see New South Wales Rugby League premiership
New South Wales Rugby League 
Founded 1907[1] Formerly named New South Wales Rugby Football League Responsibility New South Wales Headquarters Phillip Street, Sydney Key people Colin Love[2] (Chair) Website nswrl.com.au 
As of 2 December 2009The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907[1] and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided to remove the itinerant "F" from the organisation's title. From 1908 to 1994, the NSWRL ran Sydney's, then New South Wales', and eventually Australia's top-level rugby league club competition from their headquarters (or "Bunker" as it was nicknamed during the Super League war) on Phillip Street, Sydney. The organisation is responsible for administering the New South Wales rugby league team.
Contents
New South Wales Rugby League clubs
Current New South Wales members
The following clubs are the member clubs of the NSWRL.
Club First season in
top divisionBalmain Tigers 1908 Canterbury Bulldogs 1935 Canberra Raiders 1982 Cronulla Sharks 1967 Illawarra Steelers 1982 Manly Sea Eagles 1947 Newcastle Knights 1988 Newtown Jets 1908 North Sydney Bears 1908 Parramatta Eels 1947 Penrith Panthers 1967 St. George Dragons 1921 South Sydney Rabbitohs 1908 Sydney Roosters 1908 Western Suburbs Magpies 1908 History of the NSWRL
Main article: Rugby League in Australia#HistorySee also: New South Wales Rugby League premiershipThe New South Wales Rugby Football League was responsible for the introduction of rugby league into Australia in 1907. Since that time the NSWRFL has built a rich tradition at all levels of the game. Great names and great games illuminate the League's growth since 1907 up to the present day. The NSWRFL was formed in August 1907, when player discontent with the administration of the New South Wales Rugby Union, over rejection of compensation payments for injuries and lost wages, led to a breakaway movement. Key figures in the new movement were James Joseph Giltinan, legendary cricketer Victor Trumper, Alex Burdon, Peter Moir, Labor politician Henry Hoyle, George Brackenregg and Jack Fenely. The first rugby league game in New South Wales was played on 17 August 1907, in which New Zealand defeated New South Wales Rugby League team 12-8.
The Sydney premiership was started on 20 April 1908. Nine teams contested the initial season. They were:
- Balmain
- Cumberland
- Eastern Suburbs
- Glebe
- Newcastle
- Newtown
- North Sydney
- Western Suburbs
- South Sydney
The NSWRFL premiership was continued on the successful basis of the first competition in 1908.
Royal Agricultural Society Shield
The Royal Agricultural Society Shield, or RAS Shield was the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL)'s first premiership trophy. It was presented to each year's premiership winning rugby league team; the first to win three successive titles would take permanent ownership of the shield. The Eastern 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 the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales in its first year of competition.
Leading journalist Claude Corbett wrote in Sydney, Sun, newspaper on, 1 May 1914, "The Royal Agricultural Society Shield, which was presented at the inception of the League'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."
In 1929 Jersey Flegg was appointed to the position of president of the NSWRFL.
Mid-way through the 1909 season, Edward Larkin was appointed full-tme secretary of the NSWRFL.[3]
J.J. Giltinan Shield
In 1951, the NSWRFL originated the J.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 the National Rugby League competition.
Following Jersey Flegg's death in 1960, Bill Buckley was made the NSWRFL's new president.
In 1967 the NSWRFL grand final became the first football grand final of any code to be televised live in Australia. The Nine Network had paid $5,000 for the broadcasting rights.[4]
The NSWRFL had also commenced a very popular and successful mid-week competition in 1974, originally known as the Amco 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.
In 1980, the NSWRFL President Kevin Humphries, who had been chairman of the League since 1973, was instrumental in the establishment of the State of Origin series between teams representing the NSWRFL and Queensland 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.
Sydney suburban teams came and went throughout the NSWRFL's history but it was not until 1982 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, the Winfield Cup. 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.
Winfield Cup
Main article: Winfield CupThe magnificent Winfield 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 1982-95.
Based on John O'Gready's world famous photograph of Norm Provan (St George) and Arthur Summons (Wests) after the 1963 Grand Final, the trophy represented the premiership pinnacle for players in the Winfield Era. Its image of the big man and the little man encompasses many of the finer things about Rugby League – the mateship after battle, the satisfaction of the shared experience on the playing field – no matter how hard and tough the struggle has been, the message that Rugby League, for all its professionalism, is still a game.
The Winfield Cup captured these and many other enduring things about League in its primary image, "The Gladiators" and the famous trophy, like the JJ 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 and Ken Arthurson became the new chairman. In 1988, two Queensland teams joined the competition, 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. At the same a team from the Hunter region of New South Wales was included, with the return of a Newcastle franchise. Their return was the end of an 81 year wait in the wilderness and this time around the franchise was badged the Newcastle Knights.
In 1990 the NSWRL introduced a salary cap system to even the playing field of teams in the Winfield Cup.[5]
The Winfield Cup competition was handed over to the control of the Australian Rugby League for the 1995 season, with the inclusion of teams from North Queensland, Western Australia and New Zealand. This period of expansion created tremendous success for the competition and rugby league in general. Over 3 million fans attended competition matches in the 1995 season and this figure remained the record for a single season attendance until 2009. The 2010 NRL Season now holds the record for highest aggregate attendance, with a total of 3149927.
Representative
Main articles: Rugby League State of Origin and City vs Country OriginThe NSWRL manages the New South Wales State 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 the Queensland 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 the Rugby League State of Origin series and is often referred to as a selection trial for the New South Wales Blues team.
The annual State of Origin series between the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland 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 and Brisbane 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.
Other activities
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 accreditaion process for coaches, trainers, first aid and match officials.
See also
- Australian Rugby League
- Rugby league in New South Wales
- National Rugby League
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership
- Queensland Rugby League
- Rugby League State of Origin
- Super League (Australia)
References
- ^ a b ARL (2007). "Australian Rugby Football League Annual Report 2007" (pdf). Australian Rugby League Limited. pp. 2. http://www.australianrugbyleague.com.au/files/ARL_2007_Annrep_1.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- ^ "NSWRL Western Sydney Academy". New South Wales Rugby League. 2009-02-22. http://www.nswrl.com.au/article.php?id=556. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
- ^ Cunneen, Chris (2001). The best ever Australian Sports Writing. Australia: Black Inc.. p. 321. ISBN 1-86395-266-7. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=66OBschGE_YC&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ Masters, Roy (2009-10-04). "Messenger can watch a better league broadcast in the US than south of the border". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Digital. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/messenger-can-watch-a-better-league-broadcast-in-the-us-than-south-of-the-border-20091004-ghve.html. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ Middleton, David (2008). League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia. National Museum of Australia. pp. 27. ISBN ISBN 978-1-876944-64-3. http://www.nma.gov.au/shared/libraries/attachments/league_of_legends/rugby_league_a_work_in_progress/files/22453/F_RL_work_in_progress.pdf.
Further reading
- Heads, Ian (1992). True blue: the story of the NSW Rugby League. Ironbark Press. ISBN 1875471138, 9781875471133. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uvrmPAAACAAJ.
External links
State of Origin New South Wales Queensland Players · Squads · Records
Stadium Australia · NSWRLSeries 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989
1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999
2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009
2010 • 2011 • Results & Statistics • Roy and HG's commentary • Super League Tri-Series • Australian Rugby LeagueRugby League in Australia Australian Rugby League National Teams: Australian Kangaroos · Australian Jillaroos · Junior Kangaroos · Australian Schoolboys • Prime Minister's XIII
Competitions: State of Origin · City vs Country · All Stars Game · Affiliated States ChampionshipNational Rugby League Telstra Premiership · Toyota Cup (U20's)
New South Wales Rugby League Open Age comps: New South Wales Cup · Bundaberg Red Cup · Amco Cup (defunct) · NSWRL Premiership (defunct)
Underage Comps: Jersey Flegg Cup (U20's - defunct) · S.G. Ball Cup (U18's) · Harold Matthews Cup (U16's) · ARL Schoolboy Cup (High School) · Tertiary Rugby League (University)New South Wales
Country Rugby LeagueGroup Competitions: 2 · 3 · 4 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 14 · 16 · 17 · 19 · 20 · 21
Divisional Competitions: Canberra RL · Central Coast RL · Illawarra RL · Newcastle RL · Northern Rivers RL
Other Cups: Clayton Cup · Castlereagh Cup · Woodbridge Cup · Mid-West Cup · Outback RL
Defunct Groups and Leagues: 1 · 5 · 8 · 12 · 13 · 15 · 18 · Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League · North-West Plains CupQueensland Rugby League Divisions: Central · Northern · South East Queensland · South West · Wide Bay
Main Competitions: Queensland Cup · Brisbane A-Grade · Foley Shield · Brisbane Second Division · FOGS Colts Challenge (U18's) · Mal Meninga Cup (U18's) · Cyril Connell Cup (U16's)Northern Territory Rugby League South Australian Rugby League Adelaide First Grade Premiership
Tasmanian Rugby League Victorian Rugby League Melbourne Rugby League • Central Highlands Rugby League • Goulburn Murray Rugby League
Western Australia Rugby League Other Leagues Masters • Police • Secondary Schools • Women
Rugby League in: Australian Capital Territory · New South Wales · Northern Territory · Queensland · South Australia · Western Australia · VictoriaRugby League in Oceania Main Articles Australia · Cook Islands · Fiji · New Zealand · Papua New Guinea · Samoa · Tokelau · Tonga · Solomon Islands
Major Federations Australia · New South Wales · New Zealand · Pacific Islands Rugby League Federation · Papua New Guinea · Queensland
National Teams American Samoa · Australia · Cook Islands · Fiji · New Caledonia · New Zealand · Niue · Papua New Guinea · Samoa · Tokelau · Tonga · Solomon Islands
Pacific Cup 1975 · 1977 · 1986 · 1988 · 1990 · 1992 · 1994 · 1996 · 1997 · 2004 · 2006 · 2009
Competitions ANZAC Test · Four Nations · Peter Leitch QSM Challenge Trophy
Categories:- Organizations established in 1908
- 1908 in rugby league
- Rugby league in New South Wales
- Rugby league governing bodies in Australia
- Sports governing bodies in New South Wales
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
