History of the National Rugby League

:"This article deals with the history of the current National Rugby League. For histories of prior Australian first grade competitions, see New South Wales Rugby League premiership, Australian Rugby League and Super League (Australia)."

This article details the history of the National Rugby League (NRL) the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. Formed in the aftermath of the Super League war of the mid-1990s, the NRL has, in its relatively brief history, enjoyed growth and record attendance figures.

1998: The beginning of the National Rugby League

With twenty-two teams playing in two competitions in 1997 crowd attendances and corporate sponsorships were spread very thinly, and many teams found themselves in financial difficulty. On September 23, 1997 the ARL announced that it was forming a new company to control the competition in 1998 and invited Super League clubs to participate. On October 7 Rupert Murdoch announced that he was confident that there would be a single competition in 1998 and in the following months the National Rugby League, jointly owned by the ARL and News Limited, was formed.

It was announced that the 1998 Season would have 20 teams competing, 19 Super League/ARL teams and the Melbourne Storm, who were owned by News Limited. Clubs on both sides of the war were shut down. News decided to close the Hunter Mariners and the financially ruined Western Reds, who were $10million in debt at the end of 1997, while the ARL decided to close down the South Queensland Crushers, who were also in severe financial trouble. At the end of 1998 News Limited decided to close down the Adelaide Rams and the ARL closed down the Gold Coast Chargers, even though they were one of the few clubs to make a profit during the Super League war.

1999-2002: Rationalisation

One condition of the peace agreement between the ARL and News Limited was that there would be a 14 team competition in 2000. The 20 clubs that played in 1998 would be assessed on various items such as sponsorship, crowds, on-field success and the like. It was also announced that clubs that merged would receive a large sum of money, as well as a guaranteed position in the 2000 NRL Competition. St. George were the first club to take up the offer, and they merged with the Illawarra Steelers at the end of 1998. The Bulldogs continued in their present form without merging in 1999, however dropped the "Canterbury" from their club name to simply become known as the Bulldogs.

The 1999 NRL Grand Final brought about a new official world record attendance for a game of rugby league. 107,999 spectators saw the Melbourne Storm play the newly-merged St. George Illawarra Dragons in the decider at Stadium Australia.

Balmain and Western Suburbs formed the joint venture club, the Wests Tigers at the end of 1999, while North Sydney and Manly-Warringah merged to form the ill-fated Northern Eagles. As part of another image makeover, a number of teams also released new club logos. The most notable of these was the Sydney Roosters, dropping the "City" section of their name for the 2000 season and beyond. Souths were controversially axed from the competition at the end of 1999 for failing to meet the criteria.

This move was highly controversial and on 11 November 2001 80,000 marched in protest at their continued exclusion. South Sydney challenged the decision in the Federal Court claiming that the NRL agreement was exclusionary, intended to unfairly exclude South Sydney, and breached the Trade Practices Act. Justice Paul Finn ruled that the agreement did not specifically exclude any club and dismissed the Rabbitohs claims for re-instatement into the national competition. Souths appealed this decision and were re-admitted into the competition in 2002.

The Auckland Warriors experienced much financial hardship in the early part of the decade, ultimately collapsing before being resurrected as the New Zealand Warriors for the 2002 season. They made the Grand Final that year.

In 2001, Australia's largest telecommunications provider Telstra became naming rights sponsor of the NRL, with the competition's name becoming the NRL Telstra Premiership, while in 2002 David Gallop took over the CEO role from David Moffett, and the competition has become more and more popular each season.

Since 2001, the NRL Grand Final has been played on Sunday nights, a shift from the traditional Sunday afternoon slot used for over a decade prior.

2003-2005: Record popularity

The 2003 season was widely regarded as the most successful since the beginning of the National Rugby League in 1998. The Penrith Panthers rose from the bottom of the table to win the Premiership, while the Broncos returned to Lang Park mid-year. Season 2004 proved even more successful than 2003, with the North Queensland Cowboys going from 11th position in 2003 to 3rd in 2004, narrowly missing out on a maiden Grand Final berth.

Crowd average records were broken in 2003, 2004 and 2005 [ [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/crowds/summary.html Rugby League Tables / Attendances 1957-2006 / All Teams] ] . In 2005, the NRL reached record levels of popularity for its competition. Total crowds for the competition season almost reached the figures for the last year of the competition conducted by the ARL competition of 1995, prior to the Super League war. From 2004 to 2005 there was a 39% increase in sponsorship, a 41% increase in merchandise royalties and a 12% increase in playing participation [ [http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,16448462%255E23214,00.html Courier Mail] ] . In 2005 Business Review Weekly ranked the NRL 497 in revenue of Australian private companies, with revenue of A$66.1m (+7%) with 35 employees. In 2005, a record national audience of 4.1 million tuned into watch the grand final between the West Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys. [http://www.theage.com.au/news/league/storm-the-sentimental-favourite-in-sydney/2006/09/24/1159036415096.html]

2005: Legal action

In 13 September 2005, the Seven Network began proceedings in the Federal Court in Sydney naming 22 parties (including the NRL) in a conspiracy to shut down the C7 pay television station [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Sevens-footy-legal-battle-to-kick-off/2005/09/09/1125772682492.html Seven's footy legal battle to kick off] , The Sydney Morning Herald, September 9 2005] . C7 had unsuccessfully bid $72,000,000 per annum for the right to broadcast the NRL competition on pay television. After News Limited re-signed these rights, C7 was left without a major sport to broadcast and subsequently ceased operation in March 2002. It is alleged that News Limited used its position as half-owner of the NRL to secure the rights. Jonathan Sumption, QC representing the Seven Network, has said

:"It is inconceivable that News would have been able to get away with this if it had not controlled one, half the NRL, two, the leading pay TV broadcaster and three, the largest cable network in Australia." [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/News-plotter-used-NRL-spot-to-outbid-C7/2005/09/14/1126377368420.html News plotter used NRL spot to outbid C7] , The Sydney Morning Herald, September 14 2005]

The case is being heard by Justice Ron Sackville. The Seven Network is seeking up to $1.1 billion in damages. Sumption also stated that:

:"Other alternative remedies (to stop Foxtel illegally acquiring sports) would be to make News and PBL divest Fox Sports or stop them buying AFL or NRL rights in a non competitive environment" [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/Business/Seven-wants-11b-payback-over-C7-demise/2005/09/19/1126981985470.html Seven wants $1.1b payback over C7 demise] , The Age, September 19 2005]

2006: A unique year

The 2006 National Rugby League season kicked off on Friday, March 10th, 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 perceived "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 nightFact|date=February 2007. Crowds were down on 2005, however were better than any other year prior to that.

2007: Expansion once more

The 2007 NRL Season kicked off on Friday 16 March 2007 with eight games each round. Monday night football returned during the 2007 season, the first match saw the Sydney Roosters go down to the South Sydney Rabbitohs 18-6 on 19 March 2007. The opening round also saw two matches at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, the first featuring reigning champions Brisbane against fellow Queensland side the Cowboys, while the second match featured the new club, the Gold Coast Titans. The finals series was contested over a period of four weeks, culminating with the NRL Grand Final held on Sunday 30 September 2007 where Melbourne beat Manly 34-8.

Another change from the previous season included 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. This system was not used however, but rather teams were given just a single bye during the year, grouped in periods that assisted clubs around the representative fixtures.

Teams that have joined the NRL since its inception

National Rugby League Premiers

See also

* National Rugby League
* Rugby League in Australia

References