Rugby League: Difference between revisions

* The '''Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles''' or Manly, for short are the current Premiership Champions. Formed in 1947, the Sea Eagles are one of the more successful clubs, with 8 premierships (1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1987, 1996, 2008, 2011), 9 minor premierships (1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1983, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1997) and remarkably, no wooden spoons in their 62 season history, the longest period of any current club.. In 1999, the Sea Eagles merged with the North Sydney Bears to form the Northern Eagles, who are considered to be a separate team. This alliance would soon be dissolved and the Sea Eagles returned to the NRL in 2003 as a stand-alone club. The team's colors are maroon and white and are historical rivals of the Paramatta Eels, the Cronulla Sharks and the Newcastle Knights. In more recent times, the team has also shared rivalries with the Melbourne Storm and the Wests Tigers.

* The '''Melbourne Storm''' are the first professional rugby league team based in Victoria. The team won its first Premiership in 1999, two years after their inception and went on to win more trophies in the '00s, more specifically two premierships (2007 and 2009) and three minor premierships (2006, 2007 and 2008)...that is, they would have, until the trophies were annulled after the club was found out to have breached the salary cap, resulting in them being barred from receiving any other points and them picking up [[Booby Prize|a different kind of trophy]]. Nevertheless, the team remains very competitive, having legitimately won a minor premiership in the 2011 season and having a good run in the finals before being eliminated by New Zealand. The team's colors are purple, navy, gold and white, a color scheme that the Storm actually manage to make look good on their kits, despite being an odd choice of colors. Rivals of Brisbane, Manly-Warringah and St.George-Illawara.

* The '''New Zealand Warriors''', as the name suggests, are currently the only team in the League based in New Zealand. Formed in 1995 as the Auckland Warriors, they are one of four teams yet to win a premiership, but they came close to doing so with a minor premiership in 2002 and a loss in the Grand Finals to Manly in 2011. Like the current champions, they have no wooden spoons to their name. The Warriors have been noted as slow-starters: Often times they will struggle against teams they should easily beat in the beginning of the season and then pick up steam with exciting wins. They are the current team of Shaun Johnson, a popular figure among the league due to his skill and playmaking.

* The '''North Queensland Cowboys''' are another team based in the state of Queensland, more specifically, Townsville (no, not [[The Powerpuff Girls|that]] Townsville). Since their debut in 1995, the club has appeared in 1 grand final (2005)in which they lost, and has done nothing else of note. The Cowboys play in Navy, Grey and Yellow and are rivals of the Brisbane Broncos, for good reason: one of the major obstacles to the club's stability in its inaugural season was attracting followers from Brisbane, who were (and still are) much more popular than their neighbors.

* '''Glebe''' (1908-1928): Also known as The Dirty Reds. Removed from the NSWRL in 1929 for "unsporting behavior", which eventually led to them disbanding.

* '''Illawara Steelers''' (1982-1998): Merged with St. George to become the St. George-Illawara Dragons. Still fields teams at lower levels.

* '''North Sydney Bears''' (1908-1999): Merged with Manly-Warringah to form the now-defunct Northern Eagles. Still fields teams at lower levels, and they have proposed to the NRL to return to the league in 2013 as the Central Coast Bears.

* '''Newtown Jets''' (1908-1983): Left the NSWRL due to financial reasons. Still fields teams at lower levels.