List of teams in the NSWRL/ARL/SL/NRL

Last updated June 15, 2025

This is a complete list of clubs that have competed in Australia's first-grade rugby league football competition, which began with the establishment of the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) in 1908.^[1]^[2]

Background

The NSWRFL (which became the New South Wales Rugby League, or NSWRL, in the 1980s) administered the competition until the end of the 1994 season. In 1995, governance shifted to the newly formed Australian Rugby League (ARL).

In 1997, a rival competition, the Super League, backed by News Limited, operated for a single season, running concurrently with the ARL's premiership. The following year, the two competitions merged to form the National Rugby League (NRL), established as a joint venture between the ARL and News Limited. In 2013, the ARL was restructured into the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC), which assumed full ownership of the NRL following News Limited's withdrawal.

Since 1908, a total of 33 clubs have competed in Australia's first-grade premiership, with 17 clubs active in the current competition. The league's early decades were limited to Sydney-based teams. Of the original nine foundation clubs, two remain in the NRL today. Over the next 80 years, expansion was confined to the Sydney region, which added eight more clubs while five ceased participation. The league began to expand geographically in 1982, with the inclusion of teams from Wollongong and Canberra. In 1988, clubs from outside New South Wales, including Queensland, entered the competition.

During the 1997 season, 22 teams competed across the rival ARL and Super League competitions. Following reunification, a restructuring plan was implemented, and by the 2000 season, the competition was reduced to 14 teams.

Foundation clubs

Two current NRL clubs have existed continuously since the NSWRFL's inaugural 1908 season: the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters, originally known as Eastern Suburbs. South Sydney is the oldest club, founded in early 1908, while the Roosters hold the distinction of being the only club to have participated in every season since 1908 without interruption; Souths were briefly excluded from the competition in the early 2000s.

Two additional foundation clubs, the Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies, merged to form the Wests Tigers ahead of the 2000 NRL season. Both Balmain and Western Suburbs continue to operate in lower-tier competitions and junior development.

Other foundation clubs include:

Newtown and North Sydney, both excluded from the top-tier due to financial difficulties, but continuing in the NSW Cup and junior pathways as of 2015.
Glebe, currently competing in the third-tier Ron Massey Cup.
Cumberland, which disbanded after the 1908 season.
Newcastle Rebels, who competed in 1908–1909 before withdrawing to establish the local Newcastle Rugby League. There is no direct lineage between the Rebels and the modern Newcastle Knights, who are therefore not considered a foundation club.

Clubs

Team	Based	Admission date	Seasons participated	P	R	M	W	W%	Wins	Draws	Losses
Glebe Dirty Reds	Sydney	9 January 1908	1908–1929 (22 seasons)	0	4	1	0	56%	163	6	128
Newtown Bluebags / Jets	Sydney	14 January 1908	1908–1983 (76 seasons)	3	7	6	8	47%	583	59	663
South Sydney Rabbitohs	Sydney	17 January 1908	1908–1999, 2002–2025 (116 seasons)	21	13	17	8	53%	1013	46	917
Balmain Tigers^	Sydney	23 January 1908	1908–1999 (92 seasons)	11	9	7	4	53%	871	68	766
Eastern Suburbs / Sydney City / Sydney Roosters	Sydney	24 January 1908	1908–2025 (118 seasons)	15	15	16	4	54%	1064	68	912
Western Suburbs Magpies^	Sydney	4 February 1908	1908–1999 (92 seasons)	4	8	5	17	45%	734	49	908
North Sydney Bears^^	Sydney	7 February 1908	1908–1999 (92 seasons)	2	1	2	9	43%	678	71	916
Newcastle Rebels	Newcastle	10 April 1908	1908–1909 (2 seasons)	0	0	0	0	45%	9	0	11
Cumberland	Sydney	21 April 1908	1908 (1 season)	0	0	0	1	13%	1	0	7
Annandale Dales	Sydney	10 April 1910	1910–1920 (11 seasons)	0	0	0	3	18%	25	6	122
University	Sydney	February 1920	1920–1937 (18 seasons)	0	1	0	10	20%	47	5	190
St. George Dragons^	Sydney	13 October 1920	1921–1998 (78 seasons)	15	12	15	3	61%	910	56	579
Canterbury-Bankstown Berries / Bulldogs	Sydney	25 September 1934	1935–2025 (91 seasons)	8	10	6	4	54%	866	53	751
Parramatta Eels	Sydney	4 November 1946	1947–2025 (79 seasons)	4	5	5	11	48%
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles ^^	Sydney	4 November 1946	1947–1999, 2003–2025 (76 seasons)	8	10	9	0	59%
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Sydney	4 July 1966	1967–2025 (59 seasons)	1	3	1	2	50%
Penrith Panthers	Sydney	4 July 1966	1967–2025 (59 seasons)	4	1	2	4	42%
Illawarra Steelers^	Wollongong	13 December 1980	1982–1998 (17 seasons)	0	0	0	3	40%
Canberra Raiders	Canberra	30 March 1981	1982–2025 (44 seasons)	3	3	1	1	54%
Brisbane Broncos	Brisbane	5 April 1987	1988–2025 (38 seasons)	6	1	4	1	65%
Newcastle Knights	Newcastle	5 April 1987	1988–2025 (38 seasons)	2	0	0	3	53%
Gold Coast-Tweed Giants / Gold Coast Seagulls / Gold Coast Chargers	Gold Coast / Tweed Heads	April 1987	1988–1998 (11 seasons)	0	0	0	3	23%
Auckland Warriors / New Zealand Warriors	Auckland	18 May 1992	1995–2025 (31 seasons)	0	2	1	0	47%
North Queensland Cowboys	Townsville	30 November 1992	1995–2025 (31 seasons)	1	1	0	3	37%
Western Reds / Perth Reds	Perth	30 November 1992	1995–1997 (3 seasons)	0	0	0	0	40%
South Queensland Crushers	Brisbane	30 November 1992	1995–1997 (3 seasons)	0	0	0	2	21%
Hunter Mariners	Newcastle	28 April 1995	1997 (1 season)	0	0	0	0	39%
Adelaide Rams	Adelaide	13 December 1995	1997–1998 (2 seasons)	0	0	0	0	32%
Melbourne Storm	Melbourne	23 June 1997	1998–2025 (28 seasons)	4	4	5	1	61%
St. George Illawarra Dragons ^	Sydney, Wollongong	23 September 1998	1999–2025 (27 seasons)	1	1	2	0	52%
Wests Tigers ^	Sydney	27 July 1999	2000–2025 (26 seasons)	1	0	0	0	43%
Northern Eagles^	Sydney, Gosford	6 February 2000	2000–2002 (3 seasons)	0	0	0	0	40%
Gold Coast Titans	Gold Coast	27 May 2005	2007–2025 (19 seasons)	0	0	0	2	44%
Dolphins	Brisbane	13 October 2021	2023– (1 season)	0	0	0	0	0%

Bold indicates the team is still competing as of the 2023 season
^ Now compete as a joint venture
^^ Have competed as a joint venture

Statistics

As of 2025, the NRL features 17 clubs, distributed as follows:

10 from New South Wales
4 from Queensland
1 from the Australian Capital Territory
1 from Victoria
1 from New Zealand

Of the 33 clubs that have participated in the top-tier competition:

17 have been based exclusively in Sydney
2 have operated as joint ventures with a presence in Sydney
23 have been based in New South Wales
5 in Queensland
1 each in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand

References

↑ Fagan, Sean (2008). League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia (PDF). National Museum of Australia. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-876944-64-3.
↑ Jupp, James (2001). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins. Cambridge University Press. pp. 342 & 343. ISBN 9780521807890.

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[begin-1] Fagan, Sean (2008). League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia (PDF). National Museum of Australia. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-876944-64-3.

[2] Jupp, James (2001). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins. Cambridge University Press. pp. 342 & 343. ISBN 9780521807890.

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