text:
National Rugby League

The National Rugby League (known as the NRL Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship) is a professional rugby league competition in Australasia which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand.

Tracing its origins back to the New South Wales Rugby League, which formed in 1908, rugby league competition in Australia had gone through numerous iterations, including the 1990s Super League war, by the time the NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the News Corporation-controlled Super League. The partnership was dissolved in 2012, with control of the NRL going to the re-constituted ARL, which was re-structured with an independent board of directors and renamed the Australian Rugby League Commission.

The season typically runs from March to October, with each team playing 24 matches, with the highest placed team at the end of the regular season awarded the minor premiership. This is followed by a finals series contested between the eight highest placed teams from the regular season. The season culminates in the premiership-deciding NRL Grand Final. The winners play the World Club Challenge against the champions of the Super League. The reigning premiers are the Penrith Panthers, having won their fifth premiership at the end of the 2023 season.

Origin and establishment
The New South Wales Rugby League ran the major rugby league competition of New South Wales from its inception in 1908 until 1994. Following the introduction of a new format for interstate rugby league, the State of Origin series in 1980, the decade of the 1980s brought about expansion of the NSWRL premiership, with the introduction of commercial sponsorship, the Winfield Cup, and the addition of non-Sydney-based teams, Canberra and Illawarra in 1982. Although this move brought more interest in the competition statewide in New South Wales, it would spell the beginning of the demise of some of the traditional Sydney-based clubs as well as having a negative effect on the Brisbane Rugby League premiership. Following the 1983 season, Sydney foundation club Newtown Jets were ultimately forced to withdraw from the competition because of financial difficulties.

Further expansion of the league followed in 1988, with another three teams based outside Sydney introduced to the competition; the Newcastle Knights and the first two Queensland teams, the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast-Tweed Giants. The Brisbane and Newcastle sides proved to be successful and popular and paved the way towards a push for a truly national competition.

This was attempted in 1995 with control of the premiership passing from the NSWRFL to the Australian Rugby League (ARL), who invited four more teams from outside NSW to participate in 1995. Ultimately this competition failed, but in its demise the National Rugby League was born, incorporating the traditional Sydney clubs, successfully coompelling the Sydney market to follow the newly created national competition.

The prospect of a truly national rugby league competition in addition to the introduction of pay television in Australia attracted the attention of global media organisation, News Corporation, and it followed that professional rugby league was shaken to its very foundations in the mid-1990s with the advent of the Super League war. Initially a conflict over broadcasting rights, it became a dispute as to who controlled the sport and which traditional clubs would survive into the new national era, as News Limited formed their own Super League and admitted some former ARL clubs, poaching players from the original ARL league with high salaries. With twenty-two teams of highly varying quality playing in two competitions that year, crowd attendances and corporate sponsorships were spread very thinly, and many teams found themselves in financial difficulty. The ARL undertook moves to invite the traditional clubs that had moved to the Super League competition back into a re-unified competition. Following a period of negotiation with News Corporation, on 23 September 1997 the ARL announced that it was forming a new company to conduct the competition in 1998. On 7 October News' Manaaki Ranginui announced that he was confident that there would be a single competition in 1998. On 19 December, representatives of clubs affiliated with the Australian Rugby League gathered at the Sydney Football Stadium to decide whether to accept News Limited's offer of a settlement – eventually voting in favour by 36 votes to 4. As a result, in the following months the National Rugby League, jointly owned by the ARL and News Limited, was formed.

It was announced that the inaugural National Rugby League (NRL) season of 1998 would have 20 teams competing, 19 remaining Super League and ARL teams plus the Melbourne Storm, who were created by Super League for their 1998 season. Clubs on both sides of the war were shut down. Super League decided to close the Hunter Mariners and the financially ruined Perth Reds, who were $10 million 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. Additionally, at the end of 1998 the NRL decided to close down former Super League club, the Adelaide Rams and former ARL club, the Gold Coast Chargers, despite the Gold Coast franchise being one of the few clubs to make a profit during the Super League war.

1998–2002: 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. The St. George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers were the first clubs to take up the offer, forming the joint-venture St. George Illawarra Dragons at the end of the 1998 season.

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 defeat the newly created 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 created 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 12 November 2000 about 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 2001 season. They made the grand final in 2002 and then again in 2011, losing both encounters to the Sydney Roosters and the re-instated Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, respectively.

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.

In 2001 the NRL Grand Final started to be played on Sunday nights, a shift from the traditional Sunday afternoon slot used for over a decade prior.

2003–2010: Record popularity, expansion and centenary
The 2003 season was widely regarded as the most successful since the beginning of the National Rugby League in 1998. The Manly Warringah Rugby League Football Club took over the NRL licence from the Northern Eagles franchise, after the financial bankruptcy of the North Sydney faction made the joint-venture untenable. The Penrith Panthers rose from the bottom of the table to win the Premiership, while the Brisbane club returned to Suncorp Stadium mid-year. Season 2004 proved even more successful than 2003, with the North Queensland Cowboys going from 11th position in 2003 to third in 2004, narrowly missing out on a maiden Grand Final berth.

Crowd average records were broken in 2003, 2004 and 2005. 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. The average attendance record remained until 2010. From 2004 to 2005, there was a 39% increase in sponsorship, a 41% increase in merchandise royalties, and a 12% increase in playing participation. 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 2004, Canterbury-Bankstown put a year of turmoil and disgrace at the aftermath of the alleged rape scandal to hold aloft the NRL trophy and give the club their first premiership since 1995. In 2005, a record national audience of 4.1 million tuned in to watch the grand final between the Wests Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys.

The 2006 NRL Grand Final was 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. In the city of Melbourne, whose team was playing in their second grand final, the game's television ratings were higher than in Sydney where the game was played. Crowds were down on 2005, however were better than any other year prior to that.

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 season 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 2007 finals series saw the South Sydney Rabbitohs return to finals football for the first time in decades. The season culminated on 30 September 2007, with the grand final contested between Manly and Melbourne. Melbourne won the title 34–8 and the grand final achieved the honour of being the most watched television show in Australia in 2007.

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.

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 Manly club took out the premiership game 40–0, setting the record for the highest winning margin in a Grand Final (although the club formerly known as St. George Dragons were beaten 38–0 in 1975 and using the modern point scale of 4-point tries, this would amount to 46–0.) Furthermore, it was the first time a team had been kept scoreless in a Grand Final since 1978.

The 2009 season marked the beginning of the second century of rugby league in Australia. The grand final that year was played between the Parramatta Eels and once again Melbourne Storm. Melbourne defeated Parramatta 23 – 16 to win the premiership to make it two premierships out of the last four grand finals for the Melbourne side.

In 2010 the Inaugural All Stars Match was held on 13 February, in conjunction with the Sorry Day reconciliation anniversary to promote rugby league's long association and involvement with the Aboriginal community. The first match saw the Indigenous All Stars beat the NRL All Stars 16–12. The success of this event has seen it become a recurring fixture on the rugby league calendar with Queensland awarded the hosting rights for the next three years.

The 29th State of Origin series was also played featuring the world's first live free-to-air 3D TV broadcast. Queensland later made further history by winning an unprecedented fifth series in a row, and winning the 2010 series by a scoreline of 3–0, their first Origin whitewash since 1995.

In 2010 the NRL set a record total season average attendance of 17,367 per game and a record total season aggregate attendance of 3,490,778.

During the 2010 finals series, the second qualifying match between the Wests Tigers and Sydney Roosters became the first McIntyre system final to go into extra time, with the One Hundred Minute Epic described in media circles as one of the greatest of the modern era.

The 2010 Grand Final was played between the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. St. George Illawarra won 32–8. This was the first premiership won by the club in its eleven-year existence and the first time in 31 years for the St. George part of the joint venture.

2010–2019: Establishment of the ARLC
After several years of preparation and build up, on 14 December 2010 the Australian Rugby League and News Corporation agreed upon a constitutional framework paving the way for the establishment of a new and independent commission to govern the sport in Australia. The negotiations of such a framework became drawn out over establishing details, primarily of sponsorship, media rights, funding of state bodies, funding of the Melbourne Storm, debate over News Ltd private ownership of clubs, and also of individual appointments to the new body. The 2011 Grand Final was contested between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors. This was the second grand final involving the New Zealand Warriors. Manly recorded a 24–10 win claiming their second premiership under head coach Des Hasler.

On 10 February 2012, the independent commission, known as the Australian Rugby League Commission assumed control of all levels of the game, replacing former state based boards and assuming full control of the NRL from the NRL partnership (comprising the previous ARL board and News Limited). The current Chairman is Peter V'landys AM. The 2012 Grand Final involved the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Melbourne Storm, this was the first time since 2008 that the first and second placed teams contested the grand final. The Melbourne Storm recorded a 14–4 victory thus achieving their second premiership and claiming some vengeance for the stripped premierships.

The 2013 season saw the resurgence of foundation clubs the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs with both clubs finishing first and second place respectively. The NRL was also left with a black eye after the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks were caught using performance-enhancing substances by ASADA dating back to 2011. The 2013 Grand Final was played between the Sydney Roosters and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles with the Roosters recording a 26–18 victory.

The 2014 season started with the introduction of the Auckland Nines and was marred by the handing down of a million dollar fine to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks for their role in the ASADA scandal while head coach Shane Flanagan was suspended for the entirety of the 2014 season. The 2014 Grand Final was contested by the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. This was South Sydney's first grand final appearance since 1971. South Sydney would break their 43-year premiership drought with a 30–6 victory.

The 2015 season saw the return of the Queensland juggernauts, The North Queensland Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos who would finish inside the top four and contest the 2015 Grand Final. The 2015 Grand Final is considered by many to be the greatest grand final of all time as a high intensity match ended in dramatic circumstances when North Queensland scored as the full-time siren sounded. Johnathan Thurston would miss the conversion from the sideline as the ball hit the post thus sending the match into golden point, the first golden point grand final. Ben Hunt would drop the ball on the kick-off and hand the North Queensland side the chance to win which was converted as Johnathan Thurston successfully kicked a field goal to win the match 17–16.

The 2016 season saw the Melbourne Storm return to the minor premiership position while the Canberra Raiders returned to the top four for the first time since the 2003. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and reigning premiers North Queensland would fill out the top four. The season continued a trend of the minor premiership not being decided to the final round, the fourth consecutive year. The 2016 Grand Final was contested between the Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, it was the Cronulla's fourth grand final appearance while it was the seventh for the Melbourne club. The match was a tight affair and was not settled until after the siren had sounded. The Cronulla-Sutherland claimed their first premiership ending a famous 49-year drought by a score of 14–12.

Following the success generated by the 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup, a national women's league was established, and the first season commenced in September 2018 comprising four clubs aligned to existing NRL clubs.

2020–2021: COVID affected seasons and further expansion
On 22 March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NRL became one of the last major sports in the world to continue playing games. Following the imposition of the first COVID-19 restrictions, the NRL initially announced it would be moving forward with the season. The decision prompted a wave of condemnation online, including from Australian personalities and sport people. The following day after Queensland closed its borders, the NRL announced that the season would have to be suspended indefinitely. It was feared that some teams would not survive this period without income, as it was foreseen as a financial catastrophe.

On 9 April 2020, ARL Commissioner Wayne Pearce announced the NRL would return on 28 May. The announcement came under heavy criticism from the Government of New South Wales and health officials, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying she had not approved a return. However, the NRL released documents signed by NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, showing approval for the NRL to continue without crowds. The competition ended up kicking off on that date, with the Parramatta Eels defeating the Brisbane Broncos 34–6 at Suncorp Stadium behind closed doors. The match drew the highest TV ratings for a regular season game since 2014. The NRL returned a full two weeks before any other sport in Australia, and were the first sport to return to play worldwide that actually ceased play.

In October 2021, after months of speculation, the NRL and the ARLC announced that the competition would expand to 17 teams, with the admission of the Dolphins for the 2023 season. The Dolphins are based in the far northern suburb of Redcliffe, near Brisbane.

Governance
Since the NRL commenced in 1998 there have been six CEOs, they are:

Since the Australian Rugby League Commission was inaugurated in 2012, there have been three chairmen:
 * 1998–1999: Neil Whittaker
 * 1999–2001: David Moffett
 * 2002–2012: David Gallop
 * 2012–2015: David Smith
 * 2016–2020: Todd Greenberg
 * 2020–present: Andrew Abdo

 * 2012–2017: John Grant
 * 2017–2019: Peter Beattie
 * 2019–present: Peter V'landys

Teams
The NRL currently consists of seventeen clubs. Nine clubs are based within the Greater Sydney area (including one that also represents the Illawarra region south of Sydney), another in regional New South Wales, four in Queensland, and one each in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and New Zealand. The league operates on a single group system, with no divisions or conferences and no relegation or promotion.

A total of twenty-three clubs have played in the NRL since its first season in 1998. Eleven clubs have been members for every season.

Two of the clubs currently in the NRL were founded in 1908, the first year of rugby league competition in Australia: the Sydney Roosters (founded as 'Eastern Suburbs') and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Wests Tigers are a merger of two other foundation clubs: The Western Suburbs Magpies and the Balmain Tigers.

Former teams

 * aAlso known as the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants and Gold Coast Seagulls through the club's existence.
 * bKnown as the Perth Reds in the 1997 Super League.

Pre-season
The NRL pre-season typically begins in February and ends in early March. Clubs generally use this time to organise trial matches to test playing combinations. However, some clubs play for trophies: Easts and Wests play for the Foundation Cup while South Sydney and St. George Illawarra play for the Charity Shield. The trials are typically played in cities and towns that normally don't host NRL matches. In the past a World Sevens rugby league football tournament has been hosted, however this was scrapped due to injury concerns. 2023 saw the introduction of the NRL Pre-season Challenge to create a more structured pre-season for each club.

All Stars match
Beginning in 2010, the All Stars match has become a major fixture in the NRL preseason. The teams are chosen via public voting and the two sides play for the Arthur Beetson Trophy. In 2018, the game was temporarily removed from the calendar due to the World Cup being played the previous year citing an excessive player workload. The match returned in 2019 and was hosted in Melbourne with the Australian Indigenous All Stars taking on the New Zealand Maori All Stars.

NRL Nines
In 2014, the inaugural rugby league nines tournament took place, featuring all sixteen NRL clubs. It was initially staged at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand. Women's nines games were also fixtured alongside the main tournament between the Australian and New Zealand natioanl women's teams, however in later tournaments included NRLW teams. It was envisaged that the tournament would become a regular fixture each year, however, by 2018 the tournament was removed from the calendar citing an excessive player workload, it was brought back in 2020 but hasn't been played since for the same reason.

World Club Challenge
The World Club Challenge is an annual pre-season match played between the champion of the National Rugby League and the champion of the Super League. The first match of its kind was the 1976 World Club Challenge and it was then played sporadically throughout the late 80s and 90s, including a one off Super League tournament in 1997, before becoming a regular annual pre-season fixture since 2000.

In 2015, the competition was expanded to include two exhibition games before the Challenge game. This expanded series, called the World Club Series, ran from 2015 to 2017. The first two Series saw the leagues' champions joined by two invited teams from each league, resulting in a three-game series. Each invited team represented their league in a single game, played in the days leading up to the usual Challenge match. In 2017, only one invited team from each league participated, with the NRL citing tight schedules, distant travel and long seasons as an impediment to the Series. In 2018 the series was cancelled, with only the usual Challenge match played and has continued as a single match since.

Premiership rounds
As rugby league is a winter sport in Australia, the NRL premiership season begins in early March, with games played every weekend for 27 weeks, until the start of September. In most rounds, one match is played on Thursday night, two on Friday night, three on Saturday and two on Sunday. 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.

Rugby League Las Vegas
Beginning in the 2024 season Rugby League Las Vegas is an annual event held at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas showcasing the sport of rugby league. The event was created by the NRL to expand the audience of the competition and develop rugby league in the United States. It features two Round 1 NRL matches and from 2025, a Round 1 Super League game as well. The event is currently contracted until 2028.

Magic Round
In 2019, the NRL introduced Magic Round, which featured all 16 teams playing at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane over the weekend. It was deemed a success and has now been a scheduled annual event since.

Themed rounds
Special themed weeks within the premiership rounds include ANZAC Round, Heritage Round, Women in League Round, Retro Round, Beanies for Brain Cancer round, and Rivalry Round. Separate trophies between rival teams are also presented throughout the season.

In 2022, the NRL held various themed rounds, including a Pride Round (to celebrate and respect inclusivity of LGBTQI players); Multicultural Round; ANZAC Round; Brain Cancer Round; and Women in League Round. However, following the boycott of the game by seven Manly players who refused to wear the specially designed jersey and ensuing poor publicity, it was decided not to have a Pride Round in 2023, but to stick with the other four rounds.

Mid-season representative rounds
As well as playing for their club in the premiership, NRL players are regularly selected to play in a number of representative competitions that are conducted throughout each season. The representative rounds generally occurs in a period of that runs from about the middle of April until the middle of July each year. These matches include:

 * The annual Anzac Test between Australia and New Zealand (Early to mid April)
 * The New South Wales City vs Country Origin match (Early to mid April, same weekend as the Anzac Test)
 * Test matches between Pacific Island Nations, played on the same weekend as the Anzac Test and City vs Country Origin. These games feature matches placed between the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga, and includes the Melanesian Cup and Polynesian Cup
 * The three match State of Origin series (June – July)
 * Additionally, players from outside Oceania may travel home to take part in training camps or matches for their national side.

Finals series
The eight highest placed teams at the end of the regular season compete in the finals series. The system consists of a number of games between the top eight teams over four weeks in September, until only two teams remain. These two teams then contest the grand final, which is usually played on the first Sunday of October. From 1998 to 2011, the NRL used the McIntyre final eight system but with the introduction of the ARLC, it was decided to change to the current format which was perceived as fairer for teams finishing in the top four.

Grand final
The NRL Grand Final, which determines the season's premiers, is one of Australia's major sporting events and is one of the largest attended club championship events in the world. It has been contested at Sydney's Stadium Australia each year since 1999, with the exception of 2021 when it was played at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium due to the COVID pandemic. The first year it was held at Stadium Australia, the NRL Grand Final broke the record for attendance at an Australian rugby league game, with 107,999 people attending.

The Grand Final had traditionally been played on Sunday afternoons, shifting to 8 pm in 2001, then to 7 pm thereafter. However, from 2008, a compromise was reached between official broadcaster Nine Network's preferred starting time and the afternoon starting time of 3 pm, with the grand final beginning at 5 pm AEST.

Each year the NRL Grand Final Breakfast, a function that is attended by both teams, hundreds of guests and screened live on Australian television is held during the week before the game.

The game itself is usually preceded by an opening ceremony featuring entertainment and the singing of the national anthem by well-known Australasian and international musical acts. After the pre-game entertainment it is traditional for the NRL trophy to be delivered to the field by an Australian Army helicopter shortly before kick off.

At the conclusion of the grand final there is a presentation ceremony where the winning team are awarded premiership rings. The player judged to be the man-of-the-match by the Australian national team selectors is awarded the prestigious Clive Churchill Medal and the Prime Minister of Australia is typically on-hand to hand the trophy to the winning captain.

In 2010 the Government of New South Wales secured the grand final for Stadium Australia until 2022 for $45 million.

Post-season internationals
Following the premiership's conclusion other representative matches occasionally occur. These are:
 * The quadrennial World Cup
 * The Four Nations tournament – Australia, New Zealand and England plus another qualifier
 * The Prime Minister's XIII match in Papua New Guinea
 * The Rugby League World Cup 9s
 * Additional test Matches between Australia and New Zealand.
 * The Rugby League Pacific Championship
 * Tours to European Rugby League countries, or hosting tours of European Rugby League national teams

By season

 * Notes
 * a: Melbourne Storm were stripped of their 2007, 2009 premiership titles and their 2006, 2007, 2008 minor premiership titles due to their breach of the salary cap. The titles were withheld by the NRL rather than awarding them to the runners up.

By club
Although the NRL was not formed until 1998, the league recognises clubs who were named Premiers before the league's foundation. Clubs highlighted in green indicates those currently competing in the NRL; years in bold indicate those in the NRL era. The Gold Coast Titans and the Dolphins are the only current clubs that have not reached a grand final.

Players
National Rugby League footballers are among Australasia's most famous athletes, commanding multimillion-dollar playing contracts and sponsorship deals. Each club in the NRL has a "top squad" of twenty-five players, who are signed under a salary cap. For the most part, the players who play in NRL matches are sourced from these top squads. During a season the need may arise for a club to use players outside these 25, in which case players are usually sourced from the club's corresponding NRL Under-20s team or a feeder club in the New South Wales Cup or Queensland Cup.

Demographics
In the recent years, the influence of Polynesian players on the NRL has grown, with figures from the 2011 season showing that 35% of NRL players and over 45% of NRL Under-20s players are of Polynesian background. This increase in Polynesian players has been blamed for the decline of Indigenous players, dropping from 21% in the 1990s to 11% for the 2009 season.

The first Indigenous Australian to play in the NSWRL/NRL was New South Wales Rugby League premiership player George Green, who debuted in 1909. Since that time, many high-profile indigenous athletes have played in the competition, including Arthur Beetson (the first Aboriginal person to captain an Australian national team in any sport ) and former Test match representatives Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis.

At the elite level of the game, Indigenous Australians represented 35% of the roster for the Kangaroos, 21% of players at the 2012 State of Origin series, 12% of NRL players and a further 8% of the NRL Under-20s players. By way of comparison, 2.3% of the Australian population identified themselves as Indigenous in the 2006 Australian census.

To celebrate the strong Indigenous ties to the game, the NRL holds a preseason All Stars game, featuring a team made up of Indigenous Australians playing a publicly voted team consisting of the non-Indigenous players, and an Indigenous Leadership Group has formed, consisting of the game's elite Indigenous players. The Leadership Group hosts regular multi-day camps where all Indigenous NRL players are invited to learn more about Indigenous culture.

Both the All Stars match and the Leadership Group were ideas pioneered by former player Preston Campbell, with the All Stars man of the match receiving the Preston Campbell medal.

Salary cap
A salary cap was introduced to the NSWRL in 1990 to even the playing field of teams in the Winfield Cup. As of 2013 the club grant is $7.1 million which covers the salary cap of $5.85 million and a minimum wage for $80,000 for the top twenty-five players at each club. The salary cap increased to $6.3 million in 2014, $6.55 million in 2015, $6.8 million by 2016 and $7 million in 2017.

The cap is actively policed and penalties for clubs found to have breached the NRL salary cap regulations include fines of lesser of half the amount involved or $500,000 and/or deduction of premiership points. For example, six clubs were fined for minor infractions in 2003. These infractions are usually technical in nature, and can sometimes be affected by third-party factors such as loss of sponsorship revenue affecting an allowance. During the 2007 season the NRL implemented ways of creating a fair and more beneficial cap for players and clubs.

In 2010, following the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal, the NRL introduced requirements for players and their agents to sign statutory declarations pledging their contracts comply with salary cap regulations, where previously only club chairmen and chief executives did so for biannual salary cap audits.

Major breaches of the cap

In 2002, the Bulldogs were fined the maximum of $500,000 and deducted all 37 premiership points received during the season after it was found that they had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap totalling $2.13 million over the past three years, including $750,000 in 2001 and $920,000 in 2002; these were described by NRL chief executive David Gallop as "exceptional in both its size and its deliberate and ongoing nature". The points penalty meant that the club won the 2002 wooden spoon (Souths would have finished last if not for the breaches), and as the club had been leading the competition table prior to the imposition of the penalties, this was a shattering outcome for the club and its fans. Two senior club officials were jailed for fraud as a result of these breaches.

In 2005, the New Zealand Warriors were fined $430,000 and were ordered to start the 2006 season with a four premiership point deficit and cut their payroll by $450,000 after club officials revealed that their former management had exceeded the salary cap by $1.1 million over the last two years. The points penalty meant that the Warriors missed a finals berth in 2006.

On 22 April 2010, following revelations by an internal whistleblower and investigation by the NRL, Storm officials revealed that the club had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap regulations between 2006 and 2010 by running a well-organized dual contract and bookkeeping system that concealed a total of $3.78 million in payments made to players outside of the salary cap from the NRL. This included: $303,000 in 2006, $459,000 in 2007, $957,000 in 2008, $1.021 million in 2009 and $1.04 million in 2010. As a result, the club was stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships, 2006–2008 minor premierships and the following year, the 2010 World Club Challenge trophy. They were also fined a then Australian sporting record of $1.689 million ($1.1 million in NRL prize money which was equally distributed between the remaining 15 clubs, $89,000 in prize money from the World Club Challenge which was distributed to the Leeds Rhinos, and a maximum of $500,000 for breaching the salary cap regulations). In addition they were ordered to cut their payroll by $1.0125 million, deducted all eight premiership points received during the 2010 season and barred from receiving premiership points for the remainder of the 2010 season. The points penalty meant that the club won the 2010 wooden spoon. The former directors attempted unsuccessful legal action against the penalties which collapsed, and the club also had to pay the NRLs legal costs. The matter was also referred to ASIC, the Australian Tax Office, the Victorian State Revenue Office, and the Victoria Police to investigate possible fraud however by May 2011 these investigations were closed. The players themselves were found to have not done anything wrong during this time so individual awards are recognised in addition, the players were still eligible for Test/State of Origin selection.

Prior to the start of the 2016 NRL season, the Parramatta Eels faced the prospect with starting the season on −4 points due to salary cap indiscretions in 2015, however the NRL was satisfied with governance changes at the Eels and no points were deducted. However, it was revealed in March that third-party payments had been made by several companies to several players, which is strictly prohibited in the NRL. On 3 May 2016, NRL CEO Todd Greenberg announced that the club would be docked the twelve competition points they have accrued so far this season, as well as fined $1 million and stripped of the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines title it won in February. In addition, the NRL also announced that the Eels would not be able to accrue any further competition points until they fall under the salary cap, which they were reported to be $500,000 over as of 3 May 2016. Five officials, including chairman Steve Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa, director Peter Serrao, chief executive John Boulous and football manager Daniel Anderson, were also sacked. On 9 July, after over 2 months of club officials contesting the preliminary penalties, Parramatta were handed their punishment with the addition of their for/against points tally accumulated from rounds 1–9 being deducted.

In 2018, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles were fined $750,000, two officials (Neil Bare and Joe Kelly were suspended and a $660,000 penalty was applied to the salary cap for 2018 and the next year for breaches of the salary cap). Manly was proved by the NRL chief executive that third-party payments and deals were made to attract more players to the club.

Judiciary and Integrity Unit

The NRL Judiciary is made up of former players who convene in three-man panels to rule on on-field incidents. The judiciary is currently chaired by Wollongong district court judge Paul Conlon and made up of former players Mal Cochrane, Michael Buettner, Bradley Clyde, Sean Garlick, Don McKinnon and Bob Lindner.

An integrity Unit was formed on 7 February 2013 and was headed by former Federal Court judge Tony Whitlam, since 2022 the new head of the NRL integrity Unit is former Manly Sea-Eagles front-row forward, Jason King.

Provan-Summons trophy
The Provan-Summons trophy is the NRL's main prize, awarded to the team that wins the premiership. Its sculptured design is similar to the Winfield Cup trophy, which was introduced for the 1982 NSWRFL season. It is a three-dimensional cast of a famous photo called The Gladiators, which depicts a mud-soaked Norm Provan of St. George and Arthur Summons of Western Suburbs embracing after the 1963 NSWRFL season's Grand Final. It was not officially named the Provan-Summons Trophy until 2013, the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Grand Final. The trophy is awarded following each grand final to the captain of the winning club. The trophy was mysteriously broken during grand final celebrations in 2021.

Each player from the premiership winning side are also awarded Premiership Rings.

J. J. Giltinan Shield
Created in 1951, the J. J. Giltinan Shield is awarded to the club ranked highest on the NRL ladder after the premiership season concludes. Typically this team is known as the minor premiers.

Clive Churchill medal
The Clive Churchill Medal is awarded to the most outstanding player in a grand final. It is named after former Australian fullback Clive Churchill.

Dally M awards
The Dally M Medal is the highlight of the Dally M Awards and was named after Henry Herbert 'Dally' Messenger, who was instrumental in the establishment of rugby league football in Australia. The awards were introduced in 1980 by News Limited. The Dally M has been the official player-of-the-year award, and the highest individual honour in Australian rugby league, since the unification of the game in 1998. Before 1998 the highest award was the Rothmans Medal.

The medal is awarded, usually by the Australian Prime Minister, at the annual Dally M Awards night. As well as honouring the best and fairest player of the year, the Dally M awards recognise the premier player in each position, the best coach and the most outstanding rookie of the season.

The Immortals
Originally The Immortals were four players named by the sport's major Australian magazine Rugby League Week as the nation's greatest ever.

Established in 1981, the group of four former Test captains:, Clive Churchill, Bob Fulton, Reg Gasnier, Johnny Raper and were those appointed by Rugby League Week between 1981 and 2012. Wally Lewis, Graeme Langlands added in 1999 Arthur Beetson 2003 Andrew Johns 2012

Following the demise of Rugby League Week, the Australian Rugby League Commission took ownership of The Immortals concept and expanded the group on 1 August 2018 by inclusion of Mal Meninga, Norm Provan, Frank Burge, Dave Brown and Dally Messenger.

Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century
The Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century is a team that consisted of the greatest rugby league players from 1909 to 2008. This team was picked by six judges in 2008 from a list of 100 nominated players.

New South Wales Rugby League's Team of the Century
The New South Wales Rugby League's Team of the Century is a team that consisted of the greatest rugby league players from 1908 to 2007.

Audience
The 2022 season rated 134.447 million viewers in Australia, at an average viewership of 620,000 per game, with a roughly 60/40 split between viewers when games are broadcast both free-to-air on Nine and subscription viewers on Fox League and Kayo Sports.

ANZ and Pacific
Within Australia all matches are broadcast on both the Nine Network and Fox Sports through 2027. The Fox Sports contract was signed in May 2020 and the NRL extended their Chris 13 Griffith Nine in December 2021 to match the length of the contract with Fox Sports through 2027. In New Zealand all matches, including representative fixtures such as the All Stars Match and the State of Origin series, are shown live on Sky Sport. Prime broadcasts select games live in New Zealand starting from the 2022 season, and will continue to broadcast every Warriors match on delay.

By Match-day

 * Thursday Night Footy is broadcast live on the Nine Network and simulcast on Fox League and Kayo. Kickoff is at 7:50pm.
 * Friday Night Football consists of 2 matches. The first match kicks off at 6:00pm and is broadcast live on Fox League. The second match kicks off at 8:00pm and is broadcast live on the Nine Network and simulcast on Fox League and Kayo.
 * Super Saturday consists of three matches. The first match kicks off at 3:00pm, the second match kicks off at 5:30pm and the third match kicks off at 7:35pm. All three matches are broadcast live on Fox League and are simulcast live on Kayo. During the final five rounds of the year, the 7:35pm match is also simulcast on Nine.
 * NRL Sunday Ticket consists of two matches. The first match kicks off at 2:00pm and is broadcast live on Fox League and Kayo. The second match kicks off at 4:10pm and is broadcast live on the Nine Network and simulcasted on Fox League and Kayo. During daylight savings, the 2:00pm game is moved to 6:15pm.

By Network

 * Fox League and Kayo televise all matches live and commercial free (excluding the grand final).
 * Nine Network televises the Thursday night game, the second Friday night game and the second Sunday afternoon game (first in daylight savings), as well as the last five Saturday 7:30pm games of the year. In addition to this, Nine also televise the annual NRL Good Friday Game and Anzac Day Cup played at 4:05pm in addition to their allotted games for that round. In the finals series, Nine televise all games including the NRL Grand Final.
 * The State of Origin series is televised exclusively live on the Nine Network, with extensive pre-game and post-game coverage, starting at 7:00pm.
 * The NRL Grand Final televised exclusively live on the Nine Network. Since 2013, the match has kicked off at 7:30pm

Source:

NRL-related television programmes
In Australia there are television shows dedicated to discussing the NRL. The programmes are listed in order of the day and time viewed in their primary broadcast market:

 * The Sunday Footy Show (Sunday 11.00 am on Channel Nine): a recap of Thursday, Friday and Saturday's games, and preview of Sunday's games. Hosted by Danika Mason.
 * Sunday Night with Matty Johns (following Sunday Football on Fox League 502). Hosted by Matthew Johns.
 * NRL 360 (Mondays-Wednesdays 6:30 pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Braith Anasta and Paul Kent.
 * 100% Footy (Mondays 10:30pm on Channel 9): A recap of the weekend results along with topical discussions on the major issues surrounding the game. Hosted by James Bracey.
 * The Fan (Tuesdays 7:30 pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Andrew Voss with Lara Pitt.
 * Over The Black Dot (Wednesdays 8:30pm on NITV): An Indigenous Australian perspective on the NRL featuring highlights, discussion and interviews.
 * The Late Show with Matty Johns (Thursdays 10:00 pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Matthew Johns.
 * League Legends (Sundays 6:30pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Tim Sheridan. (Broadcast during the off-season)
 * Bloke in a Bar (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 3:00pm on YouTube). Hosted by Denan Kemp

Former shows:

 * Barefoot Sports (Thursday 8:30 pm on NITV) Hosted by Brad Cooke and formerly known as The Barefoot Rugby League Show.
 * One Week at a Time (Mondays, at 9:30 pm, on One), recapping the weekend games
 * The Game Plan (Thursday 8:30 pm, on Channel Ten) Hosted by Steve Roach, Joel Caine and Andrew Moore.
 * The Matty Johns Show (Thursdays, 7.30 pm on Channel Seven) A more sketch-and-regular-segment-oriented version of The Footy Show and The Game Plan, not related to Monday Night with Matty Johns.
 * The Sunday Roast (Sunday Midday on Channel Nine) Now incorporated into the Sunday Footy Show.
 * NRL Full-time, a weekly half-hour highlights show for the UK audience.
 * On the Couch with Sterlo
 * League Life (Wednesdays 7:30pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Yvonne Sampson.
 * Queenslanders Only (Wednesdays 8:00pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by Hannah Hollis. (Airs at 7:00pm Queensland time during the month of March due to NSW Daylight Saving Time)
 * Narrow World of Sports (Fridays 10:00pm on Fox League 502). Hosted by James 'The Professor' Rochford.

NZ Coverage

 * Sky Sport: All games live on Sky Sport 4 including State of Origin and the grand final.
 * Sky Open: Warriors games on delay. Some select matches live.
 * Three: Select State of Origin games live

Pacific
In most Pacific countries, all matches are broadcast on Digicel and other networks in these four countries. Such as in Fiji, where it is on Mai TV and in PNG, where it is on TVWan.

Outside ANZ and Pacific
The NRL is also available to the rest of the world.

Internet
Outside of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, all matches are currently available in high definition on the subscription streaming service Watch NRL which operates through its website and a dedicated app. Watch NRL is operated by Fox Sports Australia.

A selection of classic NRL games is available for free worldwide on the league's website.

Australia
The NRL has several exclusive rights partners to broadcast matches live via radio nationwide. FM coverage is provided by Triple M while AM coverage is contracted to ABC Local Radio and 2GB. All radio coverage is available to be streamed live from the NRL website.

2GB has the commercial rights to four matches per week, covering the game through the Continuous Call Team program. 2GB also air representative games, as well as all matches throughout the finals series, and all three matches on Grand Final day. The coverage is networked to stations across the country, typically those owned by Southern Cross Media Group, Grant Broadcasters and other station groups on Nine Radio.

ABC Local Radio has the rights to seven NRL matches per week in the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.

Triple M has exclusive access to Thursday night, Saturday 4 pm and Sunday night matches and is broadcast on commercial stations across the country. Triple M also broadcast the State of Origin series, the finals series and the grand final.

2SM formerly held the rights to air Thursday Night and Sunday 4pm games via NRL Nation. These games were also aired across their affiliates across NSW. 2UE also formerly held rights to matches.

Current Broadcasters:
 * Triple M: Four games live per week (includes all Cowboys, Raiders, Knights and Titans home game live on home stations)
 * 2GB: Four games live per week (includes Sunday 4:00pm exclusive)
 * ABC: Seven games live per week

Print
Big League was the competition's official publication, released Thursday and produced by News Magazines. The publication ceased operations in 2020 leaving the game without an official program. Another prominent magazine, Rugby League Week ceased production in April 2017.

The only print magazine currently im circulation is the bi-monthly Rugby League Review, which has been running since 2002. LeagueUnlimited's Front Row Magazine provides an unofficial match program each week in a digital magazine format.

Theme songs

 * 1985–1988: The Boys Are Back in Town – Thin Lizzy
 * 1989: What You Get Is What You See – Tina Turner
 * 1990–1995: Simply The Best – Tina Turner
 * 1997 (SL): Two Tribes – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
 * 1997 (ARL): It's My Game – NSWRL
 * 1998: Tubthumping – Chumbawamba
 * 1999: Blow That Whistle – Thomas Keneally

 * 2000: What A Game – Tom Jones
 * 2001: Racing Car Noises over Action Highlights
 * 2003–2007: That's My Team – Hoodoo Gurus
 * 2008: Centenary of Rugby League Campaign
 * 2009: Feels Like Woah – Wes Carr
 * 2010: Social Currency – Children Collide
 * 2011–2012: This Is Our House – Bon Jovi

 * 2013: Something's Got a Hold on Me – Jessica Mauboy
 * 2014: My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark – Fall Out Boy
 * 2015: Let Me Entertain You – Robbie Williams
 * 2016: History Happens
 * 2017: Let's Make History
 * 2018: Whatever It Takes – Imagine Dragons
 * 2019: High Hopes – Panic! at the Disco
 * 2020: The Best – Tina Turner
 * 2021:
 * 2022:
 * 2023: When We Were Young – Architects and Fox League

Video games
There have been many top selling video games made for the Australian rugby league market. The games below are sorted by year released.
 * E.T.'s Rugby League, named for Andrew Ettingshausen, was released on Amiga in 1992.
 * Australian Rugby League (1995) for Sega Mega Drive
 * ARL '96 was a PC game published by EA Sports for the 1996 season.
 * Rugby League (2003) for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox
 * Rugby League 2 (2005) for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox
 * Rugby League 2: World Cup Edition (2008) for PlayStation 2
 * NRL Mascot Mania (2009) for Nintendo DS
 * Rugby League Challenge (2009) for PlayStation Portable
 * Rugby League 3 (2010) for Wii
 * Rugby League Live (2010) for PlayStation 3 Xbox 360; (2011) for Microsoft Windows
 * Rugby League Live 2 (2012) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
 * Rugby League Legends (2012) iOS
 * Rugby League Live 2: World Cup Edition (2013) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
 * Rugby League Live 3 (2015) for Steam, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
 * Rugby League Live 4 (2017) for Steam, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
 * Rugby League Live 4 World Cup Edition (2017) for Steam, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

Cheerleading
Most NRL teams have a squad of dancers for cheerleading that are usually involved in dancing, charity work, fundraisers, and modelling. Some notables who have been NRL cheerleaders include Jennifer Hawkins (Miss Universe 2004) for the Newcastle Knights, Chloe Butler (Lingerie Football League) for the Canberra Raiders and Tabrett Bethell (actress, 2007–2016) for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.

Cheer squads
Note: The Wests Tigers, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Parramatta Eels, Gold Coast Titans, Melbourne Storm, Warriors, Canberra Raiders and Dolphins do not have active cheer squads.

Records
Official NRL statistics encompass all first grade competitions, namely the New South Wales Rugby League, Australian Rugby League, Super League, and the present day NRL.

Team

 * Most premierships – 21 South Sydney Rabbitohs
 * Most minor premierships – 20 Sydney Roosters
 * Most premierships in a row – 11 St George
 * Most wooden spoons – 17 Western Suburbs Magpies
 * Highest score in a game – 91, St. George against Canterbury (1935)
 * Largest winning margin in a game – 85, St. George against Canterbury (1935)
 * Longest winning streak – 19 matches, Eastern Suburbs Roosters (1975); Melbourne Storm (2021)
 * Longest undefeated streak – 35 matches, Eastern Suburbs (1935–1938)
 * Longest losing streak- 42 matches, University (1934–1936)

Individual

 * Most games played – Cameron Smith 430 games
 * Leading pointscorer – Cameron Smith 2,810 points (48 tries, 1307 goals, 4 field goals)
 * Leading tryscorer – Ken Irvine, 212 tries
 * Most points in a Full Season – including Finals 342, Hazem El Masri (16 tries, 139 goals) (2004)
 * Most points in a Regular Season 300, Reuben Garrick (21 tries, 110 goals) (2021)
 * Most tries in a season 38, Dave Brown (1935)
 * Most points in a game 45, Dave Brown (1935).
 * Most tries in a game 8, Frank Burge (1920)

Coaches
(* = interim coach)

Match officials
On-Field Match Officials

 * Grant Atkins
 * Chris Butler
 * Adam Gee
 * Peter Gough
 * Liam Kennedy
 * Ashley Klein
 * Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski
 * Todd Smith
 * Chris Sutton
 * Gerard Sutton

Sideline Officials
 * Kasey Badger
 * Tyson Brough
 * Darian Furner
 * Phil Henderson
 * Keiren Irons
 * Liam Kennedy
 * Nick Morel
 * David Munro
 * Matt Noyen
 * Drew Oultram
 * Cameron Paddy
 * Paki Parkinson
 * Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski
 * Wyatt Raymond
 * Belinda Sharpe
 * Jon Stone
 * Michael Wise

Bunker Review Officials (Video Referees)
 * Grant Atkins (also an on-field match official)
 * Kasey Badger (also an on-field match official)
 * Adam Gee (also an on-field match official)
 * Ashley Klein (also an on-field match official)
 * Chris Butler (also an on-field match official)
 * Matt Noyen (also an on-field match official)
 * Alan Shortall
 * Gerard Sutton (also an on-field match official)

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'. Prior to this, the competition was simply known as the 'National Rugby League'.

The Telstra Premiership has had five 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 at the peak. The main colours were dark blue and orange, the corporate colours of Telstra. The company worked with the NRL to create the third logo for the 2007 season onward as part of a new sponsorship deal. This logo was quite similar to the original National Rugby League emblem. From the 2011 Finals Series, a newer logo was commissioned in concert with a corporate re-brand undertaken by Telstra. The 2007 logo remained on club jerseys until 2012 due to the lateness of the change and was phased out in time for the 2013 NRL Season. From 2013, under a dramatic image rebranding of the competition, the Telstra Premiership logo was changed in conjunction with a new sponsorship deal to incorporate the key elements of rugby league in Australia to include the shield and chevrons, the green and gold, a red "Telstra" logo perched above the top of the shield and for the first time the iconic Provan-Summons trophy awarded to the premiers at the end of the season centred in the middle of the badge.

At the end of the 2018 season the NRL launched a bold new look for its Telstra Premiership. The new look aims to modernise the Telstra Premiership brand as well as integrate it more seamlessly with the 16 clubs. The new brand, highlighting the shield and the chevron – which have both been synonymous with Rugby League since the game's inception.

Other notable sponsorships include Kia (Thursday Night Football), KFC (Friday Night Football), Bundaberg Rum (Super Saturday), Chemist Warehouse (Sunday Football). Steeden is the official match ball supplier, Westpac sponsor the match ball. The State of Origin series and the Australian Test matches (Kangaroos). Youi and Harvey Norman sponsor the on-field match officials and Swyftx sponsors the NRL Bunker. Other Official NRL Sponsors are: Coca-Cola Amatil, DoorDash, Hankook, Hisense, Home Hardware, Rebel, TWE (Wolf Blass), Accor, Drinkwise, P&O, Gallagher and EISS Super. Partners of the NRLW Competition are: Telstra, Harvey Norman, Chemist Warehouse, Flight Centre and Rebel.

title: National Rugby League


text:
Kawaii

Kawaii (かわいい or 可愛い) is a Japanese cultural phenomenon which emphasizes cuteness, childlike innocence, charm, and simplicity. Kawaii culture began to flourish in the 1970s, driven by youth culture and the rise of cute characters in manga and anime (comics and animation) and merchandise, exemplified by the creation of Hello Kitty by Sanrio in 1974. The kawaii aesthetic is characterized by soft or pastel colors, rounded shapes, and features which evoke vulnerability, such as big eyes and small mouths, and has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, influencing entertainment (including toys and idols), fashion (such as Lolita fashion), advertising, and product design.

Etymology
The word kawaii originally derives from the phrase 顔映し kao hayushi, which literally means "(one's) face (is) aglow," commonly used to refer to flushing or blushing of the face. The second morpheme is cognate with -bayu in mabayui (眩い, 目映い, or 目映ゆい) "dazzling, glaring, blinding, too bright; dazzlingly beautiful" (ma- is from 目 me "eye") and -hayu in omohayui (面映ゆい) "embarrassed/embarrassing, awkward, feeling self-conscious/making one feel self-conscious" (omo- is from 面 omo, an archaic word for "face, looks, features; surface; image, semblance, vestige"). Over time, the meaning changed into the modern meaning of "cute" or "pretty", and the pronunciation changed to かわゆい kawayui and then to the modern かわいい kawaii. It is commonly written in hiragana, かわいい, but the ateji, 可愛い, is also frequently used. The romanized kanji in the ateji literally translates to "able to love/be loved, can/may love, lovable."

Original definition
The original definition of kawaii came from Lady Murasaki's 11th-century novel The Tale of Genji, in which it referred to pitiable qualities. During the Shogunate period under the ideology of neo-Confucianism, women came to be included under the term kawaii as the perception of women being animalistic was replaced with the conception of women as docile. However, the earlier meaning survives into the modern Standard Japanese adjectival noun かわいそう kawaisō (often written with ateji as 可哀相 or 可哀想) "piteous, pitiable, arousing compassion, poor, sad, sorry" (etymologically from 顔映様 "face / projecting, reflecting, or transmitting light, flushing, blushing / seeming, appearance"). Forms of kawaii and its derivatives kawaisō and kawairashii (with the suffix -rashii "-like, -ly") are used in modern dialects to mean "embarrassing/embarrassed, shameful/ashamed" or "good, nice, fine, excellent, superb, splendid, admirable" in addition to the 11th-centurynings of "adorable" and "pitiable."

Cute handwriting

In the 1970s, the popularity of the kawaii aesthetic inspired a style of writing. Many teenage girls participated in this style; the handwriting was made by writing laterally, often while using mechanical pencils. These pencils produced very fine lines, as opposed to traditional Japanese writing that varied in thickness and was vertical. The girls would also write in big, round characters and they added little pictures to their writing, such as hearts, stars, emoticon faces, and letters of the Latin alphabet.

These pictures made the writing very difficult to read. As a result, this writing style caused a lot of controversy and was banned in many schools. During the 1980s, however, this new "cute" writing was adopted by magazines and comics and was often put onto packaging and advertising of products, especially toys for children or “cute accessories”.

From 1984 to 1986, Kazuma Yamane (山根一眞) studied the development of cute handwriting (which he called Anomalous Female Teenage Handwriting) in depth. This type of cute Japanese handwriting has also been called: marui ji (丸い字), meaning "round writing", koneko ji (子猫字), meaning "kitten writing", manga ji (漫画字), meaning "comic writing", and burikko ji (鰤子字), meaning "fake-child writing". Although it was commonly thought that the writing style was something that teenagers had picked up from comics, Kazuma found that teenagers had come up with the style themselves, spontaneously, as an ‘underground trend’. His conclusion was based on an observation that cute handwriting predates the availability of technical means for producing rounded writing in comics.

Use in Japanese Language
Usage of Kawaii in Japanese is general and can be used in a variety of situations to describe aesthetics, to give a compliment, or to add a pleasantry or salutation to conversation.

Cute merchandise
Tomoyuki Sugiyama (杉山奉文), author of Cool Japan, says cute fashion in Japan can be traced back to the Edo period with the popularity of netsuke. Illustrator Rune Naito, who produced illustrations of "large-headed" (nitōshin) baby-faced girls and cartoon animals for Japanese girls' magazines from the 1950s to the 1970s, is credited with pioneering what would become the culture and aesthetic of kawaii.

Because of this growing trend, companies such as Sanrio came out with merchandise like Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty was an immediate success and the obsession with cute continued to progress in other areas as well. More recently, Sanrio has released kawaii characters with deeper personalities that appeal to an older audience, such as Gudetama and Aggretsuko. These characters have enjoyed strong popularity as fans are drawn to their unique quirks in addition to their cute aesthetics. The 1980s also saw the rise of cute idols, such as Seiko Matsuda, who is largely credited with popularizing the trend. Women began to emulate Seiko Matsuda and her cute fashion style and mannerisms, which emphasized the helplessness and innocence of young girls. The market for cute merchandise in Japan used to be driven by Japanese girls between 15 and 18 years old.

Aesthetics
Soichi Masubuchi (増淵宗一), in his work Kawaii Syndrome, claims "cute" and "neat" have taken precedence over the former Japanese aesthetics of "beautiful" and "refined". As a cultural phenomenon, cuteness is increasingly accepted in Japan as a part of Japanese culture and national identity. Tomoyuki Sugiyama (杉山奉文), author of Cool Japan, believes that "cuteness" is rooted in Japan's harmony-loving culture, and Nobuyoshi Kurita (栗田経惟), a sociology professor at Musashi University in Tokyo, has stated that "cute" is a "magic term" that encompasses everything that is acceptable and desirable in Japan.

Physical attractiveness
In Japan, being cute is acceptable for both men and women. A trend existed of men shaving their legs to mimic the neotenic look. Japanese women often try to act cute to attract men. A study by Kanebo, a cosmetic company, found that Japanese women in their 20s and 30s favored the "cute look" with a "childish round face". Women also employ a look of innocence in order to further play out this idea of cuteness. Having large eyes is one aspect that exemplifies innocence; therefore, many Japanese women attempt to alter the size of their eyes. To create this illusion, women may wear large contact lenses, false eyelashes, dramatic eye makeup, and even have an East Asian blepharoplasty, commonly known as double eyelid surgery.

Idols
Japanese idols (アイドル) are media personalities in their teens and twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g. as singers for pop groups, bit-part actors, TV personalities (tarento), models in photo spreads published in magazines, advertisements, etc. (But not every young celebrity is considered an idol. Young celebrities who wish to cultivate a rebellious image, such as many rock musicians, reject the "idol" label.) Speed, Morning Musume, AKB48, and Momoiro Clover Z are examples of popular idol groups in Japan during the 2000s & 2010s.

Lolita
Lolita fashion is a very well-known and recognizable style in Japan. Based on Victorian fashion and the Rococo period, girls mix in their own elements along with gothic style to achieve the porcelain-doll look. The girls who dress in Lolita fashion try to look cute, innocent, and beautiful. This look is achieved with lace, ribbons, bows, ruffles, bloomers, aprons, and ruffled petticoats. Parasols, chunky Mary Jane heels, and Bo Peep collars are also very popular.

Sweet Lolita is a subset of Lolita fashion that includes even more ribbons, bows, and lace and is often fabricated out of pastels and other light colors. Head-dresses such as giant bows or bonnets are also very common, while lighter make-up is sometimes used to achieve a more natural look. Curled hair extensions, sometimes accompanied by eyelash extensions, are also popular in helping with the baby doll look. Another subset of Lolita fashion related to "sweet Lolita" is Fairy Kei.

Themes such as fruits, flowers, and sweets are often used as patterns on the fabrics used for dresses. Purses often go with the themes and are shaped like hearts, strawberries, or stuffed animals. Baby, the Stars Shine Bright is one of the more popular clothing stores for this style and often carries themes. Mannerisms are also important to many Sweet Lolitas. Sweet Lolita is sometimes not only a fashion but also a lifestyle. This is evident in the 2004 film Kamikaze Girls where the main Lolita character, Momoko, drinks only tea and eats only sweets.

Gothic Lolita, Kuro Lolita, Shiro Lolita, and Military Lolita are all subtypes, also, in the US Anime Convention scene Casual Lolita.

Decora
Decora is a style that is characterized by wearing many "decorations" on oneself. It is considered to be self-decoration. The goal of this fashion is to become as vibrant and characterized as possible. People who take part in this fashion trend wear accessories such as multicolor hair pins, bracelets, rings, necklaces, etc. By adding multiple layers of accessories to an outfit, the fashion trend tends to have a childlike appearance. Some individuals may find the exaggerated childlike elements of the kawaii aesthetic to be off-putting or inauthentic. Others, however, appreciate the positivity, innocence, and lightheartedness associated with the kawaii style. It also includes toys and multicolor clothes. Decora and Fairy Kei have some crossover.

Fairy Kei
Fairy Kei is a youthful style based on 1980s fashion that evokes a dreamy, nostalgic feeling. Outfits are made up of pastel colors, angels, toys and generally cute motifs and elements and accessories from Western toy lines of the 1980s and early 1990s, such as Polly Pocket, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, Popples, Lady Lovely Locks, Barbie, Wuzzles, and Care Bears. Pastel-colored hair is common, although natural hair is also popular, and hairstyles are usually kept simple and decorated with anything cute or pastel; bows are a common theme. Some common items used in a Fairy Kei coordinate include vintage sweaters, cardigans, varsity jackets, tutus, mini skirts, tights, over-the-knee socks, sneakers, and tea party shoes. The term "Fairy Kei" originated from the magazine called Zipper (despite a common belief that Sayuri Tabuchi [Tavuchi], the owner of Tokyo fashion store Spank!, was the accidental creator of the style).

Kimo-kawaii/Yami-kawaii
Kimo-kawaii, also known as "creepy-cute" or "gross-cute" in Japanese, has a unique look by combining Kawaii aesthetics with stylistic elements of horror and macabre. The style emerged in the 1990s when some people lost interest in cute and innocent characters and fashion. It is usually achieved by wearing creepy or gross clothes or accessories with a stronger emphasis on dark themes and colors. Yami-kawaii or "sickly-cute", emerged in the mid-2010s to emphasize themes of mental health, vulnerability, and emotional darkness through fashion. In contrast to Kimo-kawaii, the style uses black, deep purple, and gray colors on teardrops, broken hearts, pill capsules, and other melancholic motifs.

Kawaii men
Although typically a female-dominated fashion, some men partake in the kawaii trend. Men wearing masculine kawaii accessories is very uncommon, and typically the men cross-dress as kawaii women instead by wearing wigs, false eyelashes, applying makeup, and wearing kawaii female clothing. This is seen predominately in male entertainers, such as Torideta-san, a DJ who transforms himself into a kawaii woman when working at his nightclub.

Japanese pop stars and actors often have longer hair, such as Takuya Kimura of SMAP. Men are also noted as often aspiring to a neotenic look.

Products
The concept of kawaii has had an influence on a variety of products, including candy, such as Hi-Chew, Koala's March, and Hello Panda. Cuteness can be added to products by adding cute features, such as hearts, flowers, stars, and rainbows. Cute elements can be found almost everywhere in Japan, from big business to corner markets and national government, ward, and town offices. Many companies, large and small, use cute mascots to present their wares and services to the public. For example:
 * Pikachu, a character from Pokémon, adorns the side of ten ANA passenger jets, the Pokémon Jets.
 * Asahi Bank used Miffy (Nijntje), a character from a Dutch series of children's picture books, on some of its ATM and credit cards.
 * The prefectures of Japan, as well as many cities and cultural institutions, have cute mascot characters known as yuru-chara to promote tourism. Kumamon, the Kumamoto Prefecture mascot, and Hikonyan, the city of Hikone mascot, are among the most popular.
 * The Japan Post "Yū-Pack" mascot is a stylized mailbox; they also use other cute mascot characters to promote their various services (among them the Postal Savings Bank) and have used many such on postage stamps.
 * Some police forces in Japan have their own moe mascots, which sometimes adorn the front of kōban (police boxes).
 * NHK, the public broadcaster, has its own cute mascots. Domokun, the unique-looking and widely recognized NHK mascot, was introduced in 1998 and quickly took on a life of its own, appearing in Internet memes and fan art around the world.
 * Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty and other similarly cute characters, runs the Sanrio Puroland theme park in Tokyo, and painted on some EVA Air Airbus A330 jets as well. Sanrio's line of more than 50 characters takes in more than $1 billion a year and it remains the most successful company to capitalize on the cute trend.
 * Kawaii Future bass, a subgenre of Future bass. It is based on the Japanese concept of cuteness(Kawaii).

Cute can be also used to describe a specific fashion sense of an individual, and generally includes clothing that appears to be made for young children, apart from the size, or clothing that accentuates the cuteness of the individual wearing the clothing. Ruffles and pastel colors are commonly (but not always) featured, and accessories often include toys or bags featuring anime characters.

Non-kawaii imports

There have been occasions on which popular Western products failed to meet the expectations of kawaii, and thus did not do well in the Japanese market. For example, Cabbage Patch Kids dolls did not sell well in Japan, because the Japanese considered their facial features to be "ugly" and "grotesque" compared to the flatter and almost featureless faces of characters such as Hello Kitty. Also, the doll Barbie, portraying an adult woman, did not become successful in Japan compared to Takara's Licca, a doll that was modeled after an 11-year-old girl.

Industry
Kawaii has gradually gone from a small subculture in Japan to an important part of Japanese modern culture as a whole. An overwhelming number of modern items feature kawaii themes, not only in Japan but also worldwide. And characters associated with kawaii are astoundingly popular. "Global cuteness" is reflected in such billion-dollar sellers as Pokémon and Hello Kitty. "Fueled by Internet subcultures, Hello Kitty alone has hundreds of entries on eBay, and is selling in more than 30 countries, including Argentina, Bahrain, and Taiwan."

Japan has become a powerhouse in the kawaii industry and images of Doraemon, Hello Kitty, Pikachu, Sailor Moon, and Hamtaro are popular in mobile phone accessories. However, Professor Tian Shenliang says that Japan's future is dependent on how much of an impact kawaii brings to humanity.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry has also recognized the power of cute merchandise and sent three 18-year-old women overseas in 2018 in the hopes of spreading Japanese culture around the world. The women dress in uniforms and maid costumes that are commonplace in Japan.

Kawaii manga and magazines have brought tremendous profit to the Japanese press industry. Moreover, the worldwide revenue from the computer game and its merchandising peripherals are closing in on $5 billion, according to a Nintendo press release titled "It's a Pokémon Planet".

Influence upon other cultures
In recent years, Kawaii products have gained popularity beyond the borders of Japan in other East and Southeast Asian countries and are additionally becoming more popular in the US among anime and manga fans as well as others influenced by Japanese culture. Cute merchandise and products are especially popular in other parts of East Asia, such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and South Korea, as well as Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Sebastian Masuda, owner of 6%DOKIDOKI and a global advocate for kawaii influence, takes the quality from Harajuku to Western markets in his stores and artwork. The underlying belief of this Japanese designer is that "kawaii" actually saves the world. The infusion of kawaii into other world markets and cultures is achieved by introducing kawaii via modern art; audio, visual, and written media; and the fashion trends of Japanese youth, especially in high school girls.

Japanese kawaii seemingly operates as a center of global popularity due to its association with making cultural productions and consumer products "cute". This mindset pursues a global market, giving rise to numerous applications and interpretations in other cultures.

The dissemination of Japanese youth fashion and "kawaii culture" is usually associated with the Western society and trends set by designers borrowed or taken from Japan. With the emergence of China, South Korea and Singapore as global economic centers, the Kawaii merchandise and product popularity has shifted back to the East. In these East Asian and Southeast Asian markets, the kawaii concept takes on various forms and different types of presentation depending on the target audience.

In East Asia and Southeast Asia
Taiwanese culture, the government in particular, has embraced and elevated kawaii to a new level of social consciousness. The introduction of the A-Bian doll was seen as the development of a symbol to advance democracy and assist in constructing a collective imagination and national identity for Taiwanese people. The A-Bian dolls are kawaii likeness of sports figure, famous individuals, and now political figures that use kawaii images as a means of self-promotion and potential votes. The creation of the A-Bian doll has allowed Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian staffers to create a new culture where the "kawaii" image of a politician can be used to mobilize support and gain election votes.

Japanese popular "kawaii culture" has had an effect on Singaporean youth. The emergence of Japanese culture can be traced back to the mid-1980s when Japan became one of the economic powers in the world. Kawaii has developed from a few children's television shows to an Internet sensation. Japanese media is used so abundantly in Singapore that youths are more likely to imitate the fashion of their Japanese idols, learn the Japanese language, and continue purchasing Japanese oriented merchandise.

The East Asian countries of China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), South Korea, and Thailand either produce kawaii items for international consumption or have websites that cater for kawaii as part of the youth culture in their country. Kawaii has taken on a life of its own, spawning the formation of kawaii websites, kawaii home pages, kawaii browser themes and finally, kawaii social networking pages. While Japan is the origin and Mecca of all things kawaii, artists and businesses around the world are imitating the kawaii theme.

Kawaii has truly become "greater" than itself. The interconnectedness of today's world via the Internet has taken kawaii to new heights of exposure and acceptance, producing a kawaii "movement".

The Kawaii concept has become something of a global phenomenon. The aesthetic cuteness of Japan is very appealing to people globally. Things like Sanrio, Pusheen, Gudetama and more are some poular kawaii things. The wide popularity of Japanese kawaii is often credited with it being "culturally odorless". The elimination of exoticism and national branding has helped kawaii to reach numerous target audiences and span every culture, class, and gender group. The palatable characteristics of kawaii have made it a global hit, resulting in Japan's global image shifting from being known for austere rock gardens to being known for "cute-worship".

In 2014, the Collins English Dictionary in the United Kingdom entered "kawaii" into its then latest edition, defining it as a "Japanese artistic and cultural style that emphasizes the quality of cuteness, using bright colors and characters with a childlike appearance".

Controversy
In his book The Power of Cute, Simon May talks about the 180 degree turn in Japan's history, from the violence of war to kawaii starting around the 1970s, in the works of artists like Takashi Murakami, amongst others. By 1992, kawaii was seen as "the most widely used, widely loved, habitual word in modern living Japanese." Since then, there has been some controversy surrounding the term kawaii and the expectations of it in Japanese culture. Natalia Konstantinovskaia, in her article "Being Kawaii in Japan", says that based on the increasing ratio of young Japanese girls that view themselves as kawaii, there is a possibility that "from early childhood, Japanese people are socialized into the expectation that women must be kawaii." The idea of kawaii can be tricky to balance – if a woman's interpretation of kawaii seems to have gone too far, she is then labeled as burikko, "a woman who plays bogus innocence." In the article "Embodied Kawaii: Girls' voices in J-pop", the authors make the argument that female J-pop singers are expected to be recognizable by their outfits, voice, and mannerisms as kawaii – young and cute. Any woman who becomes a J-pop icon must stay kawaii, or keep her girlishness, rather than being perceived as a woman, even if she is over 18. Stuart Jeffries, writing for The Telegraph, criticized kawaii culture and the "cult of cute" for similarities to Nazi psychologist Konrad Lorenz's models of cuteness and Heinrich Himmler's fondness for kitsch animal figures made by forced labour at the Dachau concentration camp. He attributes the rise of Hello Kitty and the universality of "eternally childlike" faces in female characters in manga to a "generation that refused to grow up" in the face of the declining Japanese economy of the 1970s.

Superficial charm
Japanese women who feign kawaii behaviors (e.g., high-pitched voice, squealing giggles ) that could be viewed as forced or inauthentic are called burikko and this is considered superficial charm. The neologism developed in the 1980s, perhaps originated by comedian Kuniko Yamada (山田邦子).

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Kawaii