Australia
National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL competition (sometimes referred to as the Telstra Premiership for sponsorship purposes) is contested by 16 teams, 15 based in Australia and one based in New Zealand, and is the Southern Hemisphere's elite rugby league championship.
Broncos vs Panthers
Match scheduled:
Date: 18-06-2010
Time: 09:00 until 11:00
Round #15 - NRL Telstra Premiership 2010
Watch live rugby TV
06: A unique year
The 2006 National Rugby League season kicked off on Friday, March 10, between defending premiers Wests Tigers and early favourites St. George Illawarra Dragons at Telstra Stadium.
Melbourne, after leading the competition for most of the season, comfortably claimed the minor premiership, with the Bulldogs, Brisbane, and Newcastle making up the top four. Manly, St George Illawarra, Canberra and Parramatta took places five to eight.
The 2006 NRL Grand Final won by the Brisbane Broncos over the Melbourne Storm, 15-8. The matchup was a significant milestone in the history of the NRL, as two interstate teams (teams not from New South Wales, the "heartland" of the NRL) contested the grand final for the first time ever.
The game itself once again enjoyed immense support, with more record TV ratings, particularly capturing Melbourne on Grand Final night[citation needed]. Crowds were down on 2005, however were better than any other year prior to that.
[edit] 2007: Further expansion
In its tenth season the NRL returned to having a club based on the Gold Coast, Queensland with the inclusion of the Gold Coast Titans. The Titans were the first professional sporting team to occupy the Gold Coast since 1998, when the Gold Coast Chargers were one of the teams removed during the NRL's rationalisation process between the end of the Super League war and the 2000 season.
The 2007 NRL season kicked off on Friday 16 March 2007 with eight games each round. 2007 also saw the return of Monday Night Football and the inclusion of two Friday night games. Both of which turned out to be ratings successes. Another change from the previous seasons was a reduction in the number of byes per team in the season. With an odd number of teams contesting between 2002 and 2006, the draw meant that at least one team would have to have a bye each weekend. With the inclusion of the 16th team for the 2007 season, the National Rugby League had the option of reverting to back to the system used between 2000 and 2001 where every team played each round. That system was not used however, with teams were given just a single bye during the year, grouped in periods that will assist clubs around representative fixtures.
The opening round saw two matches at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, the first featuring reigning champions Brisbane against fellow Queensland side North Queensland, while the second match featured the new club, the Gold Coast playing St George Illawarra. The weather during the middle of the season was less than ideal, with cyclonic conditions severely affecting many NRL games played in Sydney and Newcastle.
The finals series was contested over a period of four weeks and saw the newly privatised South Sydney Rabbitohs return to finals football for the first time in decades. The season culminated with the NRL Grand Final on Sunday 30 September 2007 contested between a resurgent Manly and a Melbourne team looking for redemption from last year's Grand Final loss. Melbourne ran out convincing winners with a 34–8 scoreline and the Grand Final achieved the honour of being the most watched television show in Australia in 2007.[16]
[edit] 2008: The Centenary
Throughout 2008, the NRL celebrated 100 years since Rugby League was introduced into Australia, with several initiatives to recognise the important milestone, including an extensive marketing campaign called the 'Centenary of Rugby League'. The competition began in March, with a special Heritage round held in mid-April, coinciding with the first round of competition played in 1908.
At a Gala event on 17 April 2008 the Team of the Century was announced, being: Full-back: Clive Churchill; Wingers: Ken Irvine, Brian Bevan; Centres: Reg Gasnier, Mal Meninga; Five-eighth: Wally Lewis; Half-back: Andrew Johns; Lock: John Raper; Second Row: Norm Provan, Ron Coote; Props: Arthur Beetson, Duncan Hall; Hooker: Noel Kelly; Reserves: Graeme Langlands, Dally Messenger, Bob Fulton, Frank Burge; Coach: Jack Gibson.[17]
For the second year in a row, the Grand Final was played between the Melbourne Storm and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, in the NRL's first ever twilight decider. The Sea Eagles took out the premiership game 40-0, setting the record for the highest winning margin in a Grand Final match. Furthermore, it was the first time a team had been kept scoreless in a Grand Final since 1978.
[edit] 2009-: The second century begins
After the centenary celebrations of 2008, the 2009 season marks the second century of rugby league competition in Australia. The competition began in mid-March. The Grand final this year was played between the Parramatta Eels v Melbourne Storm at the ANZ Stadium. Melbourne Storm defeated Parramatta Eels 23 - 16, to make it 2 premierships out of the last 4 grand-finals for Melbourne Storm, however these premierships have now been stripped due to salary cap breaches due to the unfair advantage they had throughout their 5 previous years of success.
[edit] Future
National Rugby League 2013 Expansion Bid Clubs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bid Area | Home City | Home Ground(s) | Bid Club | Website |
| Central Coast | Gosford, New South Wales North Sydney, New South Wales | Central Coast Stadium (20,119) North Sydney Oval (20,000) | Central Coast Bears | centralcoastbears.com.au |
| Central Queensland | Rockhampton, Queensland | Browne Park (8,000) | ? | cqnrlbid.com.au |
| Fiji | Suva, Fiji | National Stadium (30,000) | ? | ? |
| Logan-Ipswich | Logan, Queensland Ipswich, Queensland | QLD Group Stadium (10,000) | ? | logannrlbid.com |
| Papua New Guinea | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | Lloyd Robson Oval (10,000) | ? | pngnrlbid.com |
| South Australia | Adelaide, South Australia | Hindmarsh Stadium (16,500) | ? | ? |
| Sunshine Coast | Sunshine Coast, Queensland. | Stockland Park (12,000) | ? | ? |
| Toowoomba | Toowoomba, Queensland | Clive Berghofer Stadium (9,000) | ? | ? |
| Western Australia | Perth, Western Australia | ME Bank Stadium (17,228) | WA Reds | waredsrugbyleague.com.au |
| Wellington | Wellington, New Zealand | Westpac Stadium (36,000) | Southern Orcas | ? |
When the Gold Coast Titans were admitted into the 2007 season of the NRL they beat out proposals from Gosford, New South Wales (as the Central Coast Bears) and Wellington, New Zealand (as the Southern Orcas). Central Coast Bears are still looking forward to joining the NRL in the next expansion period, speculated to be a year before the current TV deal comes up for renewal in 2013, whereas Southern Orcas are yet to submit an official bid.
David Gallop has stated that the NRL will not consider expansion until mid 2011 due to previous failed expansion efforts.[18] The NRL also has a fund of $8 million for any club that decides to relocate to a 'strategically identified area'.[19]
[edit] Official franchise bids
There are currently four official bids in progress, all intent on joining the NRL when the current media deal comes up for negotiation around 2012/2013.
• The North Sydney Bears are planning on rejoining the league as the Central Coast Bears and basing themselves out of Gosford, New South Wales and will use Central Coast Stadium. The bid team plans to unite the current North Sydney and Central Coast districts under the one team.[20]
• In 2006 the Western Australia Rugby League announced that the Perth-based WA Reds were to be resurrected with an aim to re-join the NRL in 2013. Currently the senior team plays in the Bundaberg Red Cup and a junior team plays in the underage S. G. Ball Cup, with an aim to having a number of WA-born juniors when the bid joins the NRL [21]
• In October 2008, a Papua New Guinea bid team was launched with government funding and support.[22] An official website was launched in September 2009 detailing the progress of the PNG bid and its aim to provide social and economic benefits for the country as a whole [23]
• In April 2009, a consortium from the Central Queensland region declared their intent to launch a bid for an NRL franchise to be based in Rockhampton in the next expansion period.[24] The bid is aiming to be a new club by 2013.[25]
[edit] Unofficial franchise bids
NRL CEO David Gallop has spoken specifically about adding teams in West Brisbane[26][27][28][29][30], Perth[29][31][32], Adelaide[32], the Central Coast[27][28][29], the Sunshine Coast[27][28][29] and Wellington, New Zealand[29]. Interest in gaining an NRL franchise has also come from Fiji [33]. Interest has also emerged from the Toowoomba & Darling Downs Region, a Rugby League heartland that has no team in the NRL or the Queensland Cup (since the unfortunate demise of the Toowoomba Clydesdales).
[edit] Structure
A Partnership Executive Committee administers the agreement between the Australian Rugby League and News Limited as well as making major financial decisions.[34] Three representatives from each party make up this committee. A National Rugby League Board, which is commissioned by the Partnership Committee and is composed of six delegates - three from each party - is responsible for administering the competition. Both bodies nominate a Chairman to lead each board for a term of 12 months on an alternating basis.[34]
The National Rugby League markets the premiership on behalf of the clubs as well as organising the draw and finals matches. When the draw is finalised, teams are responsible for controlling and organising their assigned home games. Clubs each have their own organisational structure but are also bound to the National Rugby League by a common set of rules in club agreements.[34]
[edit] Competition format and sponsorship
[edit] Regular season
As rugby league is a winter sport in Australasia, the NRL premiership season usually begins in early March following a brief series of trial matches. Games are then played every weekend until the end of September. In most rounds, two matches are played on Friday night, three on Saturday night, two on Sunday afternoon and one on Monday night.
There are currently sixteen clubs in the National Rugby League. Teams are divided into two equal pools of eight at the completion of each season, with each pool of equal strength based on that season's results. During the course of the regular season (which lasts until August) each club plays a total of two games against each team in the opposite pool, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponent's for a total of sixteen games for each club. Teams play six of those seven others in their own group just once during the season, and play the remaining club twice. This results in each team playing 24 games, with two byes in the 26-week regular season, for a total of 192 games.
Teams receive two competition points for a win, and one point for a draw. The bye also receives two points; a loss, no points. Teams on the ladder are ranked by competition points, then match points differential (for and against) and points percentage are used to separate teams with equal competition points. At the end of the regular season, the club which is ranked highest on the ladder is declared minor premiers.
[edit] Finals
The eight highest placed teams at the end of the regular season compete in the finals series, which is contested using the McIntyre Final Eight System. This system has been used for every NRL season with the exception of the first, in 1998.[35] The system consists of a number of knockout and sudden-death games between the top eight teams over four weeks in August and September, until only two teams remain. These two teams then contest the Grand Final, which is usually played on the first Sunday of October. In the first week of the finals, the top four seeds play at their respective home grounds. In week two, matches are played within the home city of the two lower seeded winning teams from week one. In week three, teams play within the home regions of the two seeded winning teams from week one.
The NRL Grand Final is one of Australasia's major sporting events, typically attracting large attendances and high television ratings. The game itself is usually preceded by an opening ceremony featuring entertainment from well-known Australasian and international musical acts. The Prime Minister of Australia is also usually on hand for the trophy-presenting ceremony. In 1998 the Grand Final was held at the Sydney Football Stadium. Since then, it has been contested at Stadium Australia, which was the primary athletics venue for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.[36] The first year it was held at Stadium Australia, the NRL Grand Final broke the world record for attendance at a rugby league game. In June 2006, the NRL announced that the Grand Final will continue to be held at the Stadium until at least 2012, after which the possibility of the game being moved interstate will be considered if certain circumstances arise.[37]. However, it has been announced that the Government of the State of New South Wales has secured the grand final for Stadium Australia until 2022 for $A45 million. [38].
The Grand Final has traditionally been played on Sunday afternoons, but between 2001 and 2007 the Grand Final was played at night, in order to coincide with the primetime period on television. Because this meant that the game finished late at night, the NRL feared losing younger audiences. From 2008, a compromise was reached between official broadcaster Channel 9's preferred starting time of 8 pm and the traditional starting time of 3 pm, with the Grand Final beginning at 5pm AEST.[39]
The winning team of the grand final is presented with the NRL trophy, which is based on the former premiership trophy, the Winfield Cup. In addition, members of the winning team are presented with premiership rings.[40] The player judged to be the man-of-the-match by the Australian national team selectors is awarded the prestigious Clive Churchill Medal.
[edit] Sponsorship
The NRL and its clubs receive significant revenue from sponsorships, with sponsors' logos appearing on most parts of players' and referees' uniforms, the playing surface and even the ball itself. Since 2001, the National Rugby League premiership has been sponsored by Telstra and known as the 'NRL Telstra Premiership'; in earlier seasons, it was simply known as the 'National Rugby League'.[41]
The Telstra Premiership has had three competition logos since 2001. The first, lasting only through the 2001 regular season, was the Telstra logo with an elongated circle enclosing the word Premiership. From the Finals series of 2001 through to the end of 2006 the logo was based around the shape of a football, with the words Telstra Premiership on respective lines along the bottom, culminating with a small football similar to the one in the official NRL logo. The main colours were blue and orange, the corporate colours of Telstra. The company worked with the NRL to create the current logo (pictured) for the 2007 season onward as part of a new sponsorship deal. This new logo is quite similar to the original National Rugby League emblem.
Other notable sponsorships include Powerade (ball), Bundaberg Rum (Friday Night Football), Keno (Saturday Football) and AAMI (referee uniforms).
[edit] Non-traditional venues
Since 1998 NRL clubs have played both trial matches and premiership season games in areas that do not have representation in the NRL.
- The Wests Tigers have played premiership season games in Christchurch in New Zealand.
- The Cronulla Sharks and Penrith Panthers have played premiership season games in Adelaide.
- The Canterbury Bulldogs have taken games interstate to Brisbane, the Gold Coast as well as Wellington.
- In 2003 the Canberra Raiders hosted one game at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
- From 2005-2006 The Parramatta Eels played two premiership season games in Waikato in New Zealand.
- The South Sydney Rabbitohs and Manly Sea Eagles generally play one of their two premiership fixtures at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford. Since then, a number of other Sydney based teams have chosen to move one or two home fixtures to the Central Coast location.
- From 2008, the West Tigers plays host against South Sydney Rabbitohs at the Sydney Cricket Ground to celebrate the season's annual heritage round.
- In 2009:
- The Cronulla Sharks played a home game at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide. They are contracted to play a home game at the venue up until and including the 2011.
- The South Sydney Rabbitohs played a home game against the Melbourne Storm at ME Bank Stadium in Perth.
- Many teams play in rural and other areas not home to a current NRL club during their pre-season campaign. Matches are played in locations such as Cairns, Darwin, Perth, Gosford, Cessnock, Mackay, the Queensland Sunshine Coast and Coffs Harbour.
