Super League (Australia) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article details the year of rugby league run by Super League. For information regarding its controversial background see Super League war
Super League war
The Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...

Super League was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997

Super League (Australia) season 1997

The 1997 Super League season was the 90th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the first and only to be run by the News Limited-controlled Super League organisation...

. Along with Super League

Super League

Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...

of Europe, it was created by News Corporation

News Corporation

News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...

during the Super League war

Super League war

The Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...

which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the pay television rights to rugby league in Australia. After two years of legal battles the competition was played for a single season in 1997 alongside the rival Australian Rugby League

Australian Rugby League

The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...

(ARL) competition before the two merged in 1998 to form the National Rugby League

National Rugby League

The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...

(NRL).

Teams

The domestic competition was competed by ten clubs: eight that had previously competed in the Australian Rugby League

Australian Rugby League

, and two new teams. The teams were the Adelaide Rams

Adelaide Rams

The Adelaide Rams were an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team was formed in 1995 for the planned rebel Super League competition, which eventually ran parallel to the rival Australian Rugby League competition in 1997...

, the Auckland Warriors (now the New Zealand Warriors), the Brisbane Broncos

Brisbane Broncos

The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...

, the Canberra Raiders

Canberra Raiders

The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...

, the Canterbury Bulldogs

Canterbury Bulldogs

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...

(now the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs), the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, the Hunter Mariners

Hunter Mariners

The Hunter Mariners were an Australian rugby league club based in the Hunter Valley region's largest city, Newcastle. Hunter was formed in mid 1995 and was later disbanded at the end of 1997. The club was formed because of the Super League war, which was the rivalry between the traditional...

, the North Queensland Cowboys

North Queensland Cowboys

The North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...

, the Western Reds

Western Reds

-2009 squad:2009 Bundy Red Cup Squad*Aaron Barnes*Matt Doeg*Gareth Morton*Joel Lillyman*Ben McCrone*Joel Freeman*Daniel Jennings*Isaac Thomas*James Blake*James McGowan*Joel Rawlins*Jon Phipps*Michael Kestel*Carlin Millar*Nathan Searle*Roddy Tahu...

, and the Penrith Panthers

Penrith Panthers

The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...

Telstra Cup

The Telstra Cup was a ten team competition held over eighteen rounds. The season was dominated by the minor premiers, the Brisbane Broncos

Brisbane Broncos

, who won 14 of their 18 matches, losing only to the Penrith Panthers, the Hunter Mariners and eventual runners-up, the Cronulla Sharks. The Grand Final was played at Brisbane's ANZ Stadium

Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre

The Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre , more commonly known by its former names ANZ Stadium or QE II, is a major sporting facility on the south side of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...

in front of 58,912 people, the ground record for that venue. The Broncos defeated the Sharks 26-8 to win their third premiership. The Auckland Warriors had teams in both the Reserve grade and two age-group Grand Finals but lost all three.

The winners in all grades were:

First Grade: Brisbane Broncos
Reserve Grade: Canterbury Bulldogs
Under-19s: Penrith Panthers
Under-17s: Brisbane Broncos

Tri-series

The Super League Tri-series was contested by New South Wales, New Zealand and Queensland. Each team played the others once, with the best two teams playing a final. New South Wales defeated Queensland 23-22 in the final at ANZ Stadium

Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre

The Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre , more commonly known by its former names ANZ Stadium or QE II, is a major sporting facility on the south side of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...

International matches

In 1997 the Super League Australia selected team played two games against New Zealand

New Zealand national rugby league team

The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...

, winning the inaugural ANZAC Test

ANZAC Test

The Anzac Test is an annual rugby league football test match . The test match is played annually between Australia and New Zealand on or around Anzac Day for the Bill Kelly Memorial Trophy.-Origins:Australia and New Zealand had competed in Rugby League Tests since 1908...

and losing the return match. At the end of the season Australia also played a three-Test series

Super League Test series

The Super League Test series was a three-Test match series between the Great Britain national rugby league team and Super League's Australian national team held during November 1997 in England...

against Great Britain

Great Britain national rugby league team

The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....

in the British Gas

British Gas plc

British Gas plc was formerly the monopoly gas supplier and is a private sector in the United Kingdom.- History :In the early 1900s the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms...

Test series. Australia won the series by two games to one. Although these matches are considered to be Tests by the New Zealand Rugby League

New Zealand Rugby League

The New Zealand Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. The NZRL was founded on the 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year....

and the English Rugby Football League

Rugby Football League

The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...

, they are not recognised by the Australian Rugby League

Australian Rugby League

.

As News had signed up most rugby league organisations outside of Australia, the ARL was starved of international competition. They had intended playing a team of New Zealand players signed with ARL clubs but the New Zealand Rugby League took out an injunction in the Federal Court preventing the ARL from using the terms "Test", "Representative Team", "New Zealand" or "All Golds". http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/federal_ct/unrep8552.html The ARL instead played Tests against rebel teams from Papua New Guinea and Fiji, as well as defeating a Rest of the World team in July 1997.

The Oceania Cup was run by Super League in place of the Pacific Cup. It was contested by Cook Islands

Cook Islands national rugby league team

-2008 World Cup Qualifying:See 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifyingThe Cook Islands played Fiji, Tonga and Samoa in the Pacific pool of Qualifying for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Fiji and Tonga qualified, and Samoa earned a second chance in the repecharge round...

, Fiji

Fiji national rugby league team

-Competitions:Fiji have participated in:*Pacific Cup *World Cup *World Sevens *Superleague World Nines *Superleague Oceania Tournament *Pacific Rim Competition -Results:...

, Tonga

Tonga national rugby league team

The Tonga national rugby league team is a national sporting side, representing Tonga in rugby league football. Rugby league is a popular sport in Tonga, and the national team has become one of the best performed nations in the world...

, New Zealand Māori

New Zealand Maori rugby league team

-See also:* New Zealand national rugby league team* New Zealand Māori rugby union team* New Zealand Māori cricket team-External links:* Google Books...

, New Zealand XIII and Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea national rugby league team

The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea internationally in the sport of rugby league football.In Papua New Guinea, Rugby league is highly popular and is regarded as the country’s national sport. The national side are known as the Kumuls...

. New Zealand XIII defeated New Zealand Maori 20-15 in the final.

World Club Challenge

The World Club Challenge, which had been contested occasionally since 1975, was expanded in 1997 to include all ten Australian Super League clubs competing against all twelve European clubs. The European teams were outclassed, winning only 8 of 83 matches, and suffering many heavy defeats. The competition was unpopular in Australia, and it lost $6,000,000 due to small crowds and heavy travel expenses. The Brisbane Broncos

Brisbane Broncos

won the final defeating the Hunter Mariners

Hunter Mariners

36-12 at Ericsson Stadium

Mt Smart Stadium

Mt Smart Stadium, formerly Ericsson Stadium, is a stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the home ground of National Rugby League team, the New Zealand Warriors...

, Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

Super League Challenge Cup

The Super League Challenge Cup competition was played between the Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

, Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

and Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. The Australian Capital Territory won the competition, defeating the Northern Territory 40-14 at ANZ Stadium

Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre

The Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre , more commonly known by its former names ANZ Stadium or QE II, is a major sporting facility on the south side of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

on 19 May 1997.

World Nines

In 1996 and 1997 the Super League World Nines competition was held. In 1997 the tournament was known as the Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...

Super League World Nines due to sponsorship. Nines rugby league

Rugby league nines

Rugby league nines is a version of rugby league football played with nine players on each side. The game is substantially the same as full rugby league, with some differences in rules and shorter games. Nines is usually played in festivals, as its shorter game play allows for a tournament to be...

is a faster form of the game with only nine players on the field at a time playing in shorter halves. The World Nines competition were held as an alternative to the ARL's World Sevens

Rugby League World Sevens

The Rugby League World Sevens, usually referred to as the World Sevens and sometimes as the World Cup Sevens, were a pre-season rugby league sevens tournament made up over the years primarily of New South Wales Rugby League , Australian Rugby League and mostly recently National Rugby League ...

.

The 1996 World Nines were held in Suva

Suva

Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...

, Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

from 22 February to 24 February. The winner of this competition was New Zealand

New Zealand national rugby league team

. The 1996 World Nines marked the first time that a video referee was used for a game of rugby league. The 1997 World Nines were held in Townsville, Queensland

Townsville, Queensland

Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census...

from 31 January to 2 February. New Zealand won this competition for the second year in a row.

European Super League

As the Rugby Football League

Rugby Football League

had signed with News Corporation, a twelve team club competition was held from 1996 in Europe.

Legacy

Although Super League damaged the public perceptions and financial standing of rugby league in Australia, a number of concepts that it introduced lived on into the new millennium.

ANZAC Test

An addition to the regular Tests played between Australia and New Zealand, the ANZAC Test was introduced by Super League. There was some controversy at the time for the use of the word ANZAC, as many considered it inappropriate to compare sportspeople to soldiers. Although it was dropped from the annual schedule in the early years of the new millennium, it was revived in 2004, and is now contested each year.

Night Grand Finals

The Super League Telstra Cup Grand Final

Grand Final

Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...

was played on a Saturday night in Brisbane, whereas all NSWRL and ARL Grand Finals were traditionally played on a Saturday afternoon (until 1980), or Sunday afternoon (from 1981). From 2001 the NRL has played its Grand Finals on the Sunday night in October (although in the afternoon/early evening since 2008 because of television scheduling), to coincide with a Public Holiday in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

the following day.

Although a ratings success for the Nine Network

Nine Network

The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

, this scheduling continues to upset traditionalists, who believe that having the Grand Final on a Sunday afternoon allows people to better celebrate the day, particularly with a Grand Final barbecue. Some in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

also believe that holding the Grand Final at night dissuades parents with young children attending. It is also very unpopular outside of New South Wales, as there is no Public Holiday in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

the following day, and the Grand Final begins late in the evening in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

Video Referees

At the Super League World Nines in 1996 the video referee was used for the first time. The Video referee allows an official to check the veracity of tries scored using footage from the television broadcasters. The NRL used Video Referees from its first season in 1998.

Rule Changes

A number of rule changes were introduced in both the Super League and the ARL during the war that have been adopted by the NRL. Super League innovations include:

Zero tackle
Tackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....

rule (in a modified form).
Scrums
Scrum (rugby)
Scrum , in the sports of rugby union and rugby league, is a way of restarting the game, either after an accidental infringement or when the ball has gone out of play...

packed 20 metres in from touch.

An ARL rule change for the 1997 season that was adopted by the NRL and is still in force is the popular 40/20 rule. Under this rule, attacking teams kicking the ball into touch 'on the bounce' from inside the 40 metres closest to their goal line, with the ball crossing the sideline inside the opposing team's 20 metre area, receives a scrum feed. Previously the defending team received the scrum feed.

External links

NZRL Tests 1997 at nzrl.co.nz

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Teams

Telstra Cup

Tri-series

International matches

World Club Challenge

Super League Challenge Cup

World Nines

European Super League

Legacy

ANZAC Test

Night Grand Finals

Video Referees

Rule Changes

See also

Background

External links