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100 years of the game

 

Rugby league in Australia started as a rebel football competition established in defiance of the New South Wales Rugby Union. With its mix of hardness and athleticism, it has grown to become one of the most popular of Australian sports, a skilful fast-moving game that has the passionate support of its fans.

Here, relive some of the key moments and memorabilia, with photographs which bear testament to the great teams and personalities of the past.

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1997: Super League war

Photo of Super League press conference in 1997.

Photo: Newspix/News Limited.

Rugby league became a victim of its own success in the mid-1990s when battles over who controlled pay television in Australia saw News Limited establish a breakaway competition. The war lasted over three years, cost millions of dollars and disillusioned thousands of fans. This image shows a Super League press conference with, from left, New Zealand Rugby League chairman Grahame Carden; News Limited's Lachlan Murdoch and Ken Cowley; Super League's John Ribot; and former player Mal Meninga.