New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby League in New South Wales. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League (ARL).
The NSWRL was responsible for the introduction of Rugby League in Australia. The first game was played on August 17th,1907 at the Agricultural Ground, where New Zealand defeated New South Wales 12-8.
The Sydney premiership, the NSWRL's first competition, was started on April 20th, 1908. In that first season nine teams competed. These were Balmain, Cumberland , Eastern Suburbs, Glebe , Newcastle, Newtown , North Sydney, Western Suburbs and South Sydney. The NSWRL continued to run the premier Rugby League competition in Australia until the Super League war of the mid 90s, at first under its own control and later under the auspices of the ARL. At the conclusion of the war, the NSWRL/ARL competition was merged into the NRL. The NSWRL was left to run lower grade and junior competions.
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