Rivalries in the National Rugby League

The rivalry between Canterbury and Parramatta is one of the fiercest in The NRL. The two clubs have been geographically close throughout their whole histories. In the 1980s, Canterbury and Parramatta both won four premierships each and played against each other in two grand finals (1984,1986). In the 1990s at the height of the super league war, Parramatta signed four of Canterbury's star players Jarrod Mccracken, Dean Pay, Jim Dymock and Jason Smith which helped Parramatta reach the finals for the first time in eleven years. In the 1998 preliminary final, Parramatta were winning against Canterbury 18-2 with less than 10 minutes to play when Canterbury staged one of the biggest finals comebacks defeating Parramatta 32-20 in extra time. In 2009, Parramatta defeated Canterbury in the preliminary final to cap off a remarkable run to the grand final. The crowd which attended the match was a non grand final record of 74,000 fans. Speaking of the rivalry in 2015, former Canterbury player James Graham said "As soon as I came to this club, I was told that they were the closest club to us and that there was no love lost between players and fans". Andrew Ryan who played for both clubs said "Both clubs do speak about the rivalry, in the change room and leading into the clashes, they always want to get the wood on their rival, I went for Canterbury when I was a kid, but then got my first opportunity in first grade to play for Parramatta. They place a huge amount of emphasis on the game. I think I was one of the only players to go the other way, a lot of players who had played for the Bulldogs played for Parramatta, not too many went the other way".[1][2][3][4]

Prior to the ill-fated Northern Eagles joint venture from 2000 to 2002, the rivalry between Manly and foundation club Norths was arguably one of rugby league's fiercest. Manly were admitted into the premiership in 1947 with North Sydney at the time being one of the main advocators for a team to be in Manly. In Manly's first season, most of the side was made up of former Norths players including captain Max Whitehead who played for Norths in their 1943 grand final defeat to Newtown. The intense feelings between the two sides continued over the next couple of decades fuelled as players switched between the two clubs. The biggest defection occurred in 1971 when Norths life member and one of the games greatest wingers Ken Irvine joined Manly. Former Manly and North Sydney player Phil Blake said of the rivalry "It was certainly a game you looked forward playing in. The ground was always packed and it was always a great afternoon". In 2016, Norths and Manly played their final competitive senior game against each other in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW competition where Norths won the match 32-18. Manly had announced earlier in the 2016 season that they would be merging their lower grade sides with the Blacktown Workers teams to become the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles. The only competitive games played between the two rivals as of 2017 are between the Norths and Manly Harold Matthews Cup, SG Ball and Jersey Flegg competitions.[5]

The pre-match formalities taking place prior to the Dragons vs Roosters Anzac Day clash in 2018.

These two clubs traditionally play each other in the ANZAC Day clash.[6]

The first time the two club's met in a finals match stretches back to 1927 when St. George defeated Eastern Suburbs 26-11 at Earl Park, Arncliffe. In the 1930 season, both teams played against each other in the semi-final with St. George running out winners 11-10. In 1933, St. George defeated Easts for the third time in a row during a finals game. In 1940, Eastern Suburbs finally managed to beat St. George in a finals game winning 10-3 where they progressed to the grand final and defeated Canterbury-Bankstown.

The following year, St. George won their first premiership defeating Easts 31-14 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It wasn't until the 1953 season when the two club's met again with St. George defeating Easts in the semi final. In 1960, Eastern Suburbs reached their first grand final since 1945 where they faced St. George but were beaten 31-6.[7][8]

In 1975, Eastern Suburbs defeated St. George 38-0 in the grand final which until the 2008 NRL season was the biggest winning margin in a grand final. In the 1996 ARL season, the two club's met in the semi-final with St. George winning 36-16 at the Sydney Football Stadium.

After St. George formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers in 1999 to form St. George Illawarra the two club's have met each other twice in finals matches, the first coming in 1999 which St. George won and in the 2010 NRL Grand Final where St. George won their first premiership as a joint venture defeating the Sydney Roosters 32-8 at ANZ Stadium.[9]

South Sydney and St. George have met in several Grand Finals many times throughout their history, and share the same geographical area that is Sydney's inner-southern suburbs. The first time the two club's met was in the 1927 NSWRL Grand Final which Souths won 20-11 at the Sydney Agricultural Ground. In 1949, St. George would win their second premiership defeating Souths 19-12 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Souths would then gain revenge by defeating St. George in the 1953 final. In 1965, St. George won their 10th premiership in a row defeating Souths 12-8 in front of a packed Sydney Cricket Ground. The last time the two club's have met in a grand final was in 1971 when Souths won their 20th premiership defeating Saints 16-10. This would be Souths last premiership until winning the 2014 NRL Grand Final.

The Charity Shield was contested between these two clubs throughout the 1980s and 1990s; in 2002 it was revived after Souths were readmitted into the competition. In 2001, South Sydney chairman and club legend George Piggins said there would be no chance of the Charity Shield being revived if Souths were to be included back into the NRL saying "The Dragons: They sold us out". This was in reference to St. George signing an affidavit which included that it would be detrimental if Souths were returned to the competition.[10] The match is always played as a pre-season fixture. In 2018, both sides met for the first time in a finals match since 1984. After 80 tense minutes of absorbing action, Souths won a close semi final 13-12.[11]

The Sydney Roosters have a long-standing rivalry with fellow Sydney team, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Whilst both teams had crossed premiership paths in Grand Finals on four occasions.

In 1938, Canterbury-Bankstown won their first premiership against Eastern Suburbs as what they were known as back then winning 19-6 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Two years later in 1940, the sides met again with Easts winning the 1940 grand final 24-14. In 1980, Canterbury-Bankstown broke a 38-year premiership drought defeating Eastern Suburbs 18-4 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.[12][13]   In 2002, the Sydney Roosters won the 2002 NRL Premiership on the back of a 9-game winning streak. This was the same year the premiership favourite Bulldogs were stripped of 37 points due to systematic breaches of the salary cap in the 2001 and the 2002 seasons.[14] In 2003, the Roosters proved themselves worthy of their Defending Premiers title when they defeated Canterbury in the Preliminary Final 28-18 in front of a sold out Aussie Stadium.   In 2004, the Roosters defeated Canterbury 35-0 and fighting broke out in the stands during and after the game had been completed.[15] While the Roosters finished the regular season with the Minor Premiership, Canterbury defeated them in the Grand Final 16-13 after trailing 13-6 at half-time.   As of the 2019 NRL season, the last time the two clubs met in a finals game was the 2015 elimination final which the Sydney Roosters won 38-12 at the Sydney Football Stadium.[16]

The rivalry between St. George and Parramatta stretches back to 1977 when St. George and Parramatta played out the first ever drawn Grand Final result. Parramatta, seeking their first ever premiership after having finished on top of the ladder at the end of the regular season, were beaten 22–0 in the replay by the Dragons, which won its first premiership since 1966.[17]

There have recently been some controversial matches between the Dragons and the Eels. Firstly, in Round 18, 2005, the Eels won 40–14 in a match which saw Trent Barrett and PJ Marsh trade blows after Marsh's crude charge-down attempt at Barrett, sparking an all-in brawl whilst the Eels' Wade McKinnon sprinted to score a match-turning 80-metre try.[18]

A less-memorable match saw no points scored between the two teams in Round 13, 2006 in the first 70 minutes of play before the Eels slotted a field goal with nine minutes remaining, before the Dragons struck back with two one-pointers to take a 2–1 lead. The Dragons then scored a try through Matt Cooper with mere seconds remaining on the clock to claim an 8-1 victory.[19]

In the 2009 finals series, St George finished as minor premiers and faced a Parramatta side who finished 8th on the ladder. A week earlier at the same venue St George had defeated Parramatta 37-0 but in the finals game, Parramatta won 25-12 with Parramatta player Jarryd Hayne scoring a brilliant solo try. As of the 2019 season, this is the last time the two sides have played against each other in the finals.[20]

Manly and Parramatta have built a fierce rivalry since the 1970s.[21] They met in the 1976 Grand Final in which Manly denied the Parramatta club a maiden premiership.[22] However, the Eels won both the 1982 and 1983 Grand Finals against Manly.[23] Since the 1983 grand final, Parramatta and Manly have only played against each other in one other finals game which was in 2005 when Parramatta finished as minor premiers and Manly finished in eighth place. Parramatta won the match 46-22.

In the 2019 NRL season, Parramatta beat Manly in round 25 to take Manly's 5th spot on the ladder and would go on to beat Brisbane 58-0 in the elimination final. The victory is currently the biggest win in finals history.[24][25]

This rivalry has been dubbed the "Battle of the Beaches", and they met in a brutal Grand Final in 1973 which was described as the dirtiest and toughest Grand Final of them all.[26] Manly also defeated Cronulla 16-0 in the 1978 Grand Final replay after the original contest had ended in an 11-11 draw.[27] In 1996, Manly and Cronulla played each other in the 1996 preliminary final where Manly defeated Cronulla 24-0. In the 2013 finals series, the two clubs met at the Sydney Football Stadium with Manly running out 24-18 winners. In week one of the 2019 finals series, Manly defeated Cronulla to win the game 28-16 at Brookvale Oval and eliminate Cronulla from the finals race.[28][29]

The rivalry between the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league teams is regarded as the fiercest in the NRL and the oldest continuing rivalry with both clubs founded in 1908 and both sides still competing as stand alone entities in the NRL.[6] The rivalry increased after 1950 due to conflict between junior territories, and escalated once more in the 1990s with the increased financial success of the Roosters eclipsing the decreasing funds of the Rabbitohs. In 2005, South Sydney broke a ten-year, thirteen-game losing streak to the Roosters in a close 17–16 match.[30] In the final round of 2013 the Roosters defeated Souths to claim the Minor Premiership, a feat they repeated the following year. In 2014, Souths defeated the Sydney Roosters in the preliminary final to reach their first grand final in 43 years. The rivalry has also seen a number of player swaps over the years most notably with Ron Coote, Elwyn Walters, Craig Wing, Bryan Fletcher, Chris Walker, Shannon Hegarty, Ashley Harrison, Luke Keary, Angus Crichton[31] and Latrell Mitchell. In 2018, the Sydney Roosters defeated Souths 12-4 in the preliminary final at Allianz Stadium which was the last game to be played at the venue. The crowd of 44,380 was also a ground record.[32] In 2019, the two clubs met in the qualifying final which was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. South Sydney had beaten the Sydney Roosters only a week prior in the final game of the regular season but in the qualifying final, the Roosters won the match 30-6 in a dominant display.[33]

Between 1999 and 2006 inclusive, these two clubs were the only clubs from Queensland playing in the National Rugby League. In the early days, Brisbane would always beat North Queensland either in Brisbane or Townsville where North Queensland are based.

They met in the 2015 NRL Grand Final on 4 October at ANZ Stadium. This game is often regarded as one of the best grand finals ever with Jonathan Thurston kicking a field goal in golden point to win North Queensland's first ever premiership. Following the 2015 final, the two clubs played four matches in succession where the game was decided by six points or less.[34]

One of the competition's most fierce rivalries is between the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, which share the same geographic region. Cronulla were viewed as St George's "little brother" from 1967 to 1998 . The St George Dragons and now the St George Illawarra Dragons have enjoyed more success than Cronulla, who remained premiership-less since their inception in 1967 until 2016 when they won 14-12 against the Melbourne Storm, while St George managed to win their first title as a joint venture after eleven years in the competition, with the original St George winning fifteen titles.

In fact, since the joint venture entered the competition in 1999, both clubs have finished higher than another six times apiece. Cronulla finished the 1999 season as minor premiers, but St George beat them 24-8 in the preliminary final to progress to the 1999 NRL Grand Final at Cronulla's expense. The Dragons trailed 8–0 at halftime.

In the 2002 finals series, both teams met in the semi-final which Cronulla won 40-24 at the Sydney Football Stadium. The rivalry increased further in 2005 when they met in a qualifying final at a sold out WIN Stadium with the Dragons winning 28–22. As of the 2019 season, this is the last time the two club's have played each other in a finals game.[35]

In 2002, the Eels thrashed the Panthers 64–6, this coming after a season in which Parramatta finished first on the ladder and Penrith last. But they would not meet again until Round 26, 2003, when the Panthers, in front of a then-record crowd defeated the Eels 40–22 denying the Eels a place in the finals (Parramatta had to win by 28+ points). Penrith went on to win the premiership that year. Round 17, 2009 saw a Panthers win by 38–34 in which the lead changed several times, before the Eels recorded a huge 48-6 win in the penultimate round of the 2009 season.[36] Since Penrith entered the competition in 1967, the two clubs have only met in finals twice. The last being in the 2000 season where Parramatta defeated Penrith 28-10 in the elimination final.

St George Illawarra has a fierce rivalry with neighbour the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Canterbury-Bankstown were founded in 1935, 14 years after St George. St. George inflicted a premiership record 91-6 defeat of Canterbury in 1935 but Canterbury enjoyed premiership success first in 1938, and St George in 1941. In the 1942 NSWRFL season, the two clubs met in the 1942 grand final with Canterbury-Bankstown defeating St. George 11-9 in a low scoring affair at the Sydney Cricket Ground. After that however, St. George recorded 11 straight premierships in the years following (1955–1966). It was also Canterbury who put an end to their Premiership run in 1967, when they beat them by a point in the preliminary final to face South Sydney in the Grand Final. Since then, both clubs inflicted Premiership defeats on the other, St George defeating Canterbury in their last Grand Final success in 1979, Canterbury returning the favour in 1985.[37]

The two teams subsequently met in the 1993 preliminary final which St. George won 27-12. They would meet again in the 1995 and 1998 finals series with Canterbury running out winners on both occasions. The elimination final in 1998 was also St. George's final game as a stand-alone entity as the club elected to form a joint venture with Illawarra for the 1999 NRL season.

Canterbury superstar Sonny Bill Williams walked out on the club just prior to a match against the St. George.[38] The match also marked the first-grade debut of future Dally M Medallist Ben Barba.[39][40]

Since St. George formed a joint venture with Illawarra, the two clubs have met each other in the 2001 finals series which St. George Illawarra defeated Canterbury 23-22 and in the 2015 finals series which Canterbury won 11-10 at ANZ Stadium. In the 2017 NRL season, St. George Illawarra needed to beat Canterbury in the final game of the regular season to qualify for the finals. Canterbury who were already out of contention for the finals defeated St. George 26-20 which allowed North Queensland to get the last finals spot and finish 8th. North Queensland would then go on to reach the 2017 NRL Grand Final as a result.[41]

This is regarded as one of the biggest rivalries in the modern era, and the two clubs met in the 2007 and 2008 Grand Finals.[23]

After Manly had gone on to win the 2011 premiership, both teams fought out the 2012 preliminary final in Melbourne. Melbourne thrashed Manly 40-12, ending their chances of winning back to back titles. Melbourne would go on to win their second legitimate premiership after being stripped of their 2007 and 2009 premierships after the NRL discovered systematic salary cap rorting by the club.[42]

As of the 2019 NRL season, the last finals match between the two clubs was the aforementioned 2012 preliminary final which Melbourne won 40-12 at AAMI Park.[43]

A fairly recent rivalry that intensified in the 2016 NRL Grand Final which was won by Cronulla. In late 2007, Cronulla-Sutherland were on course to break a six match losing streak until a Cooper Cronk field goal saw them lose 16-17.

Round 2 of 2008 saw the sides meet at Olympic Park in Melbourne, and Cronulla was able to reverse the result by the same scoreline via a Brett Kimmorley field goal. The match was marred by an ugly brawl which saw Cronulla's Ben Ross and Melbourne's Brett White sent from the field. It was the only loss the Storm suffered at home during the 2008 regular season. The two sides met again in the preliminary final where the Storm, despite missing captain Cameron Smith to suspension, smashed the Sharks 28-0 to advance to the grand final against Manly-Warringah.

Melbourne Storm begun the 2012 season with 9 straight victories, before a Paul Gallen-less Sharks pipped them 12-10 thanks to a Jeremy Smith try and clutch conversion from Todd Carney. It looked like Cronulla would land two wins over the Storm that year, leading 18-10 with 90 seconds to go in the second game between the sides.

Melbourne somehow scored twice to win 20-18. The rivalry was reignited in late 2015 when Melbourne beat Cronulla 30-2 in spiteful circumstances. Sharks coach Shane Flanagan accused Melbourne of slowing down the game with their wrestling tackle technique. The loss meant that Melbourne leap-frogged Cronulla into 4th place heading into the finals. Again the Sharks handed Melbourne their first loss of the 2016 season, winning the round 4 clash 14-6. It was the first match in Cronulla's record-breaking 15 matches winning streak.

The two sides would meet in the final round of the regular season with the winner taking out the minor premiership. Melbourne won 26-6 and took out the JJ Giltinan Shield. However, the Cronulla-Sutherland would win the biggest game ever between the two sides 4 weeks later, winning the 2016 grand final by 14-12 in a thriller. The two teams traded close wins in 2017, with Cronulla winning 11-2 at AAMI Park before Melbourne returned serve with an 18-13 victory at Southern Cross Group Stadium. 2018 saw Cronulla win both encounters with Melbourne during the regular season, yet despite this, lost to them in the preliminary final 22 to 6.

The match featured a controversial moment when Melbourne player Billy Slater made an illegal tackle on Cronulla winger Sosaia Feki while he was in the act of scoring, therefore constituting a professional foul. Slater managed to avoid the Sin Bin despite being penalized for the action, as well as avoiding suspension, with the NRL judiciary controversially ruling that the tackle did not constitute a shoulder charge. Their round 4 clash in 2018 saw a record 33 penalties blown, and Cameron Smith was sin-binned for the first time in his career.[44]

Souths and Canterbury-Bankstown have played each other every Good Friday since 2012. They met in the 1967 NSWRFL Grand Final with South Sydney winning 12-10. However, their rivalry intensified when they met in the 2014 NRL Grand Final where Souths won 30-6 to claim their first premiership since 1971. During their Good Friday clash in 2015, this game was labelled for its controversy, as South Sydney won 18-17 thanks to a late penalty goal. Canterbury fans were angry about the match officials decision and attacked the match officials when they walked off the field, throwing bottles at them, even causing one of them to slip over. Some fans were given lifetime bans for throwing bottles at the match officials.[45][46]

Melbourne and Brisbane first met each other in the finals series during Melbourne's first season in the competition. Brisbane would win the match 30-6 at the Sydney Football Stadium.

These two sides then played each other in the finals from 2004 until 2009, with one of them being the 2006 NRL Grand Final. Five of those six finals were won by Melbourne, however, the most important meeting in the finals between the two sides was in 2006 when Brisbane were able to get their 6th, and so far most recent premiership with a scoreline of 15-8.

Melbourne got their revenge on the Broncos on three later occasions in the finals, firstly in the 2007 Qualifying Finals where they won 40-0, in 2009 they won 40-10 in the Preliminary Finals, in which they qualified for their 4th consecutive grand final appearance, but most notably their last-minute 16-14 win in Brisbane, which was hailed as the match of the 2008 NRL Season.

They met again in the Preliminary Finals in 2017, with Melbourne easily dismantling Brisbane 30-0. Since the 2006 Grand Final, Melbourne have had the wood over Brisbane, winning 24 out of 28 meetings.[47]