National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (known as the NRL Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship) is a professional rugby league competition in Australasia which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand.
| Upcoming season or competition: 2024 NRL season | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Inaugural season | 1998 |
| CEO | Andrew Abdo |
| Commissioner | Peter V'landys |
| No. of teams | 17 |
| Country | Australia (16 teams) New Zealand (1 team) |
| Headquarters | Rugby League Central, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Most recent champion(s) | Penrith Panthers (5th title) |
| Most titles | South Sydney Rabbitohs (21 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Australia: Nine Network Fox League New Zealand: Sky Sport / Prime |
| Streaming partner(s) | Kayo Sports / 9Now |
| Sponsor(s) | Telstra |
| International cup(s) | World Club Challenge |
| Related competitions | New South Wales Cup Queensland Cup |
| Official website | NRL.com |
Tracing its origins back to the New South Wales Rugby League, which formed in 1908, rugby league competition in Australia had gone through numerous iterations, including the 1990s Super League war, by the time the NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the News Corporation-controlled Super League. The partnership was dissolved in 2012, with control of the NRL going to the re-constituted ARL, which was re-structured with an independent board of directors and renamed the Australian Rugby League Commission.
The season typically runs from March to October, with each team playing 24 matches, with the highest placed team at the end of the regular season awarded the minor premiership. This is followed by a finals series contested between the eight highest placed teams from the regular season. The season culminates in the premiership-deciding NRL Grand Final. The winners play the World Club Challenge against the champions of the Super League. The reigning premiers are the Penrith Panthers, having won their fifth premiership at the end of the 2023 season.