As a self-professed rugby union fan, I have been asked to write an article on rugby league In Australia.
I will refer to rugby league as league, and rugby union as union. This is for the American readers who probably dont know that there are two forms of rugby.
Rugby league is the second most popular form of football in Australia—second only to Australian rules football. Australian rules is played in every state in Australia but league is only really played in two states, Queensland and New South Wales. Its following, though, is huge, and makes the first or second sports news story every night on Australian TV.
To the rest of the world though, league is unheard of. Only in Northern England, France, and New Zealand is League competitive to a standard that rivals Australia.
Rugby league is widely reguarded as the toughest man-on-man contact sport in the world, surpassing rugby union, boxing, wrestling, and American football.
Before the dawn of true professionalism in league, Queensland and New South Wales would meet every year to play for the best state in Australia.The problem was, in New South Wales the money was superior, so every Queensland player with talent ended up playing in New South Wales, and then they would represent New South Wales against their old State.
The result was that Queensland lost almost every game over an 80-year period. Then in 1980, "State of Origin" began, which made players represent the state they were from originally. A pride in your state, instead of money earned, made this a great spectacle.
Queensland won that first ever State of Origin, and since then, "Origin" has produced some of the toughest, closest, and most exciting games of football ever seen. Queensland has now won two more games than New South Wales in the total history of Origin, where the teams usually meet three times a year. Series wins also favour Queensland, but only by one.
Players are picked from the NRL (National Rugby League), Australia's premier competition. The NRL Consists of 16 teams, most of which come from New South Wales due to the success of their original competition.
The New Zealand Warriors, Brisbane Broncos, Melbourne Storm, North Queensland Cowboys, Gold Coast Titans, and the Canberra Raiders are the teams from the other states. Note the similar NFL names involved.
Success of the Melbourne Storm has been great for league in Victoria, a state where Australian rules football has reigned supreme. This year the Melbourne Storm (as defending champions) and the Manly Sea Eagles are the two strongest teams and look likely to meet again in the Grand Final later this year.
Most of the talent from both forms of Rugby in Australia end up playing League. Greg Inglis, Israel Falu, and Billy Slater from the Melbourne Storm, are probably the most talented outside backs in the game. They have set a new benchmark as far as talent is concerned in the sport.
Others like Darren Lockyer (Brisbane Broncos) and Johnathon Thurston (Cowboys) are widely regarded as the best halves (thinking man's positions like quarterback for Americans) in the game.
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