National Rugby League
| Current season, competition or edition: 2025 NRL season | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998[1] |
| First season | 1998 |
| CEO | Andrew Abdo |
| No. of teams | 17 |
| Country | Australia (16 teams) New Zealand (1 team) |
| Headquarters | Rugby League Central, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Current premiers | Penrith Panthers (6th title) |
| Most premiers | South Sydney Rabbitohs (21 titles) |
| Broadcaster(s) | Australia: Nine Network Fox League New Zealand: Sky Sport Prime |
| Streaming partner(s) | Kayo Sports (Australia) 9Now (Australia) WatchNRL (Overseas) |
| Sponsor(s) | Telstra |
| Level on pyramid | Level 1 |
| International cup(s) | World Club Challenge |
| Related competitions | New South Wales Cup Queensland Cup |
| Official website | NRL.com |
The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which is currently contested by 17 teams 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, premier rugby league competition in Australia had gone through numerous iterations, most notably during the Super League war in the 1990s,[2] which resulted in the NRL being formed in 1998 as a joint partnership between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the News Corporation-controlled Super League.[3] 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.
Each NRL season typically runs from March to October, with each team playing 24 matches. The first-placed team at the end of the regular season are awarded the J. J. Giltinan Shield for winning the minor premiership. This is followed by a finals series contested between the top eight placed teams from the regular season, which determines the two teams to compete in the NRL Grand Final held at Stadium Australia. The team that wins the match are awarded the Provan-Summons Trophy in recognition for becoming the premiers of the season,[4] and qualifies them to compete in the World Club Challenge against the champions of the English Super League.[5] The reigning premiers are the Penrith Panthers, having won a record fourth consecutive and sixth overall title, in the 2024 NRL season.
- ^ Official National Rugby League statistics encompass all Sydney first grade competitions, namely the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, Australian Rugby League, Super League, and the present day NRL.
- ^ Miller, Toby; Geoffrey A. Lawrence; Jim McKay (2001). Globalization and sport: playing the world. SAGE. p. 82. ISBN 9780761959694. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
- ^ Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League. "Rugby league" (PDF). Australian Human Rights Commission Report. hreoc.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
- ^ Schwarz, David (2 September 2009). "Spike TV To Telecast National Rugby League Playoffs and Championship Game". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
- ^ "RFL cool on bigger Challenge". Sky Sports. 2 March 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2011.