Record ratings, crowds, sizzling skills: Rugby league’s best time is now

With record TV ratings, sold out crowds, fantastic finishes and dazzling displays of skill, it’s never been a better time to be a rugby league fan.

Rugby league has always been good. Scratch that, it’s always been great.

But with record TV ratings on Foxtel, sold out crowds, fantastic finishes and dazzling displays of skill everywhere you look, the best time in rugby league is now.

Remember Vegas? The people over there might have a dusty recollection but fans back home will never forget the unprecedented coverage of the historic event that shattered viewership records.

Then there’s Xavier Coates’ try against the Warriors. Is he a bird, is he a plane, is he Superman? Well he might be, but that night he was a Storm winger doing his best Olympian impression as he scored the try of the year as the siren sounded.

There’s plenty to smile about in rugby league thanks to record ratings, crowds, super skills and more. Picture: Getty Images

These are the plays we didn’t get to see in the past because of the old corner post rule, with referees no longer having to guess because we have 4K cameras and a state-of-the-art Bunker to ensure the best plays are rewarded.

Thank goodness for those cameras because it means we get to see endless angles of Nathan Cleary’s clutch field goals, Kalyn Ponga’s footwork and Zac Lomax flying through the air to catch bombs as if he’s used some sort of cheat code.

It’s why fans are willing to spend their hard-earned money to watch their teams play, with the blue and white brigade bustling in Belmore after waiting eight years to see the Bulldogs back in the finals.

Nathan Cleary is the king of clutch — and the fans. Picture: Getty Images

That’s the beauty of the modern game. We honour the past with games at Leichhardt that are visually beautiful even if it takes a while to get a beer and a meat pie.

But then we head to Allianz Stadium the following week and get to enjoy the best facilities in the country at a ground that is famous for sin bin Sunday but is now a cardinal sin if you don’t head there after work for a game.

Gone are the days of waiting for the weekend to roll around for a bit of footy – the NRL is now 24/7 with unrivalled coverage and healthy debate of the game’s biggest issues which go from your screens to the water cooler and continue at the dinner table.

It’s the sport that never stops growing and never ceases to amaze, and it’s why there’s no arguing that the best time in league is now.