Rugby league in Sydney is the city's most popular sport,[1] with over 200 clubs in the city across levels of competition ranging from the fully professional National Rugby League to grassroots open age and junior leagues.
Map of Sydney's major rugby league clubs by supporters location. All compete in the country's premier competition, the National Rugby League, with the exception of North Sydney Bears who play in the second tier state competition, the New South Wales Cup.
By the 1890s Rugby football had taken hold in Sydney, thwarting attempts by Victorian rules and soccer to gain the ascendancy. The game continued to grow becoming the most popular code of football in NSW, until the issue of professionalism led to a schism in 1908 and the formation of the New South Wales Rugby Football League. The NSWRU lost many players including the great Dally Messenger to the new sport of rugby league, which became the most popular sport in Sydney by attendance and public interest by World War I.
The NSWRFL premiership was continued on the successful basis of the first competition in 1908. In 1929 Jersey Flegg was appointed to the position of president of the NSWRFL and in 1941 he became chairman of the Australian Rugby League Board of Control. At the time of his death in 1960, aged 82, he was still serving in these roles.
When NSWRFL president Flegg died in 1960, Bill Buckley replaced him and also became boss of the Australian Rugby League, a position he remained in from 1960 until his death in 1973. In 1973 Kevin Humphreys was appointed President of New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and Chairman of Australian Rugby League (ARL).
In 1983 Humphreys was succeeded in these positions by Ken Arthurson. Under Arthurson the clubs in the NSWRL expanded outside the borders of the state and even the country until in 1994, after administering its 87th consecutive premiership season, the NSWRL was replaced by the Australian Rugby League as club football's peak administrative body.
Notwithstanding the hand over of control of the game at the elite level across Australia to the commission, the NSWRL did retain responsibility for both the administration of the New South Wales rugby league team in State of Origin series, as well as day-to-day management of the state-based New South Wales Cup second-tier premiership, as well as junior representative competitions.
In modern times, the NSWRL has 82,397[2] (450,000 including variants) participants, the vast majority of which are located in Sydney as the state's main population centre.
The Ron Massey Cup (formerly known as the Bundaberg Red Cup and Jim Beam Cup) is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales currently comprising 9 teams drawn from the Sydney metropolitan area.
The Central Northern Open Age competitions are for clubs in the Sydney rugby league districts of Balmain and Manly-Warringah/North Sydney. The following clubs are participating in Central Northern District competitions in 2023. This competition's Gold division is merged with Central West for 2023 as Metro Open Age Gold (see above).
Central West Open Age is the premier rugby league competition clubs in the Parramatta and Canterbury-Bankstown districts of Sydney. The competition features 12 clubs in 2023, in a single division, with its gold clubs playing in the Metro Gold competition.
Southern Open Age is the premier rugby league competition clubs in the Cronulla-Sutherland and St. George districts of Sydney. The competition features 12 clubs in 2023, across two divisions, Gold (First Grade) and Silver (Second Grade).
↑ Played in one Sydney Shield match in 2020, prior to the suspension of the competition due to the Covid-19 pandemic in Australia. Did not enter a team when the competition recommenced in July 2020.
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