This Month
- Exclusive
- Business of sport
NRL stars to make thousands under new global agreement
Players such as James Tedesco and Nathan Cleary could add to their earnings under a deal between the RLPA and athletes’ representation firm OneTeam.
- Zoe Samios
NRL team confirmed for PNG in $600m deal that comes with a catch
The deal, bankrolled by taxpayers, will collapse if the Pacific country signs a security agreement with China. Anthony Albanese argues it’s an investment in Australia’s security.
- Updated
- Andrew Tillett and Zoe Samios
- Exclusive
- PNG
Bigger than sport: PNG’s PM on getting an NRL team
James Marape, Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, says the bid to join the NRL goes way beyond sport and commerce for the country, and will also benefit Australia.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
September
Perth Bears: WA premier’s personal push for NRL in Aussie rules state
Roger Cook grew up as a West Australian in love with rugby league, so is intent on a top-flight team landing west of the Nullarbor.
- Tom Rabe and Zoe Samios
July
NSW stuns Queensland in brutal Origin fightback
The Blues clawed back to win the State of Origin series in a chaotic, epic decider that saw Cameron Murray sin binned off the bench.
- Scott Bailey and Murray Wenzel
June
NSW demolish Qld in game two win
NSW have salvaged their State of Origin campaign, sending the series to a decider after demolishing Queensland in a 38-18 bloodbath.
- Updated
- George Clarke
March
How the AFL’s introverted CEO will win over NSW and Queensland
Lawyer and self-described “introvert” Andrew Dillon plans to drive the game further into the rugby league heartland of NSW and Queensland.
- Patrick Durkin
Biden backs ‘secret weapon’ NRL expansion into Pacific
The White House supports the Albanese government’s efforts to strengthen rugby league in the Pacific as a key soft diplomacy tool to counter China’s influence.
- Updated
- Matthew Cranston
Glitch and glitz as NRL kicks off Las Vegas gamble
The NRL’s ambitious launch of the 2024 season in Las Vegas suffered a TV hitch, but otherwise met expectations, as some 40,000 turned out for the double header.
- Matthew Cranston
Manly put on second-half show to beat Souths in Vegas
In the city of bright lights and late-night shows, Manly’s 36 points gave them the equal-highest score by a team in a season-opener in nine years.
- Scott Bailey
February
Audacious V’landys outlines plan to turn NRL towards Britain, hotels
The NRL chairman has set his sights on expanding to England and turning the league into a major hotel operator – and handed his board a big pay rise
- Zoe Samios
- Exclusive
- Business of sport
State leagues preparing legal action against NRL over funding
The NSW and Queensland rugby league bodies are fighting the NRL over money. The dispute is expected to escalate.
- Zoe Samios
January
Rudd, Hockey on hand to turn NRL’s Las Vegas play into reality
The NRL has promised to resolve issues with visas for players that have previously been arrested and a major injection of funds for offshore training.
- Zoe Samios
December 2023
Barry O’Farrell named interim Wests Tigers chair as board dismissed
The entire board of struggling NRL club the Wests Tigers has been dismissed and the CEO has resigned following an extensive review into its governance.
- Zoe Samios
The NRL takes its biggest gamble yet
Documents obtained by AFR Weekend provide the clearest insight yet about what exactly the league is planning in its big push into the lucrative US market.
- Zoe Samios
November 2023
Star barrister gets caught by the cops
NRL commissioner Alan Sullivan – the ex-husband of NSW governor Margaret Beazley – pleaded guilty to mid-range drink-driving.
- Mark Di Stefano
- Exclusive
- Business of sport
NRL clubs shut down attempts to introduce female, diversity quotas
The Australian Rugby League Commission proposed mandating that one-third of directors and 25 per cent of executives be women, sources say.
- Zoe Samios
September 2023
Footy’s weirdest gimmicks – from Power bands to Deep Heat facials
Rugby league players and their coaches can be as vulnerable to fads as the rest of the population. But like most pre-game rituals, they’re psychological.
- Glen Humphries
August 2023
Labor’s $7m could pave way for Pacific NRL team
Taxpayer support for a Pacific Championship is adding momentum for a Pacific Islands NRL team as a way to help check Chinese influence.
- Andrew Tillett
July 2023
- Exclusive
- Australian Council of Trade Unions
Trouble at the top as two execs ditch NRL players board
Former insurance executive Stuart Nelson and former Ampol executive Joanne Taylor have left the Rugby League Players Association in the past eight days.
- Zoe Samios