The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in the Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rectangular field venue for rugby league, rugby union and football.
The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission, the Kangaroos are ranked first in the IRL Men's World Rankings. The team is the most successful in Rugby League World Cup history, having won the competition 12 times, and contested 15 of the 16 finals, only failing to reach the final in the 1954 inaugural tournament. Only five nations have beaten Australia in test matches, and Australia has an overall win percentage of 69%.
Darren James Lockyer is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire professional career with the Brisbane Broncos.
Benjamin Quentin Marshall is a New Zealand professional rugby league coach and former player who is the head coach of the Wests Tigers in the NRL.
Samuel Arthur Thaiday is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League, serving as their captain from 2012 until 2013. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative second-row, he could also play prop and lock as well as hooker and spent all of his career at the Broncos, with whom he won the 2006 premiership. In 2008, Australia's centenary of rugby league and Thaiday's sixth year at the top level, he was one of only three current players to be named in the Indigenous Australian rugby league team of the century. On 6 July 2018, Thaiday announced his intention to retire from the NRL at the end of the 2018 season. He currently plays for the Samford Stags in the Brisbane open men’s division 2 competition.
The Anzac Test is an annual rugby league football test match played between Australia and New Zealand for the Bill Kelly Memorial Trophy.
Johnathan Dean Thurston is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All Stars representative, playing at halfback or five-eighth, and was a noted goal-kicker. Thurston has been an assistant coach of the Queensland rugby league team since 2021. Thurston is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
Luke Priddis is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative hooker, he played club football in the National Rugby League for the Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos and Penrith Panthers and, finally, the St. George Illawarra Dragons with who he won the 2010 NRL Premiership.
Rugby League Week was the highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, ahead of major competitor Big League. It was published weekly during the Australian rugby league season, which runs from March to late September. The magazine was headquartered in Sydney.
Petero Civoniceva, is a Fijian-Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative prop forward, in 2009 he broke the record for most international matches for Australia of any forward in history. Civoniceva played his club football for the Brisbane Broncos, with whom he won the 1998, 2000 and 2006 NRL Premierships, as well as for the Penrith Panthers, whom he captained. Late in his career whilst playing for the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Queensland Cup, Civoniceva captained the Fiji national team in their 2013 Rugby League World Cup campaign. The Petero Civoniceva Medal is awarded to the Australian Fijian rugby league footballer of the year, while the Civoniceva Medal is awarded to the Queensland Cup player voted as the best and fairest.
Andrew Ryan is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football in the National Rugby League for the Parramatta Eels and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, winning the 2004 NRL premiership with the club and becoming their captain.
Cameron Wayne Smith is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a hooker, spending his entire career with the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has also been an assistant coach of the Queensland rugby league team under former Melbourne teammate Billy Slater since 2022.
Adam Ngawati Blair is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop, second-row forward and lock in the National Rugby League (NRL), and the New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori international teams.
Norman Douglas Somerville Provan was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Also nicknamed "Sticks", he was a second-row forward with the St George Dragons during the first ten of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning years (1956-1966). Named among the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century, he was a representative in the Australia national team from 1954 to 1960, winning 14 Tests and two World Cups. In 2018, he was inducted as the 13th Immortal of Australian rugby league.
Simon Alexander Mannering is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL. A New Zealand international second row forward, who could also play as a centre. He was appointed the New Zealand national team's captain in 2013 and was replaced by Jesse Bromwich in 2016 and was part of the 2008 World Cup-winning Kiwis team. Mannering was a one-club player who played his whole NRL career with the Warriors. With 301 appearances for the Warriors, Mannering is the club's most capped player.
The 2015 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. It was the 16th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997. Both sides were announced on 26 April. The game was originally scheduled to take place on 1 May, but it was postponed due to bad weather. The Test instead took place on May 3, along with a Women's rugby league match between the Australian Jillaroos and New Zealand Kiwi Ferns which served as the curtain-raiser for the main game, won 22-14 by the Jillaroos.
The 2007 ANZAC test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 20 April 2007. It was the 8th Anzac test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997 and the third to be played in Brisbane.
The 2005 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 22 April 2005. It was the 6th Anzac test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997 and the first to be played in Brisbane.
The 2009 ANZAC test, was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 8 May 2009. It was the 10th Anzac test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997. This was the fourth Anzac Test played in Brisbane.
The 2015 Pacific Rugby League International was split into two games. The first was the Melanesian Cup between Papua New Guinea and Fiji. The second was the Polynesian Cup between Samoa and Tonga.
