User:Bongomanrae/NRL
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Rugby League (NRL) is the highest level of professional rugby league football in Australia, and is widely considered the preeminent professional rugby league football competition in the world.
Current season or competition: 2012 NRL season | |
Sport | Rugby league |
---|---|
Formerly known as | Australian Rugby League |
Instituted | 1997 |
Inaugural season | 1998 |
Chief executive | Shane Mattiske (2012– )[1] |
Number of teams | 16 |
Countries | Australia (15 teams) New Zealand (1 team) |
Premiers | Melbourne Storm (2012) |
Most titles | South Sydney Rabbitohs[2] (20 titles) |
Website | NRL.com |
Broadcast partner |
The NRL traces its origins to 1908 when nine clubs created the New South Wales Rugby Football League in Sydney, Australia. Today it consists of sixteen clubs, fifteen from Australia and one from New Zealand. It is regarded as the world's elite rugby league championship and, per season, is the single most viewed and attended rugby football competition in the world.
NRL matches are played over twenty-six regular season and four finals series rounds throughout Australia and New Zealand from autumn, through winter until spring. The season culminates in the premiership-deciding game, the Grand Final, traditionally one of Australia's most popular sporting events and one of the largest attended club championship events in the world.[3] The National Rugby League is governed by the Australian Rugby Football League (ARL).