This is a list of rivalries in the National Rugby League.
Traditional NSW Rivalries Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs Parramatta Eels
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 that 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".
North Sydney Bears vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 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 to the premiership in 1947, with North Sydney at the time being one of the main advocates for a team 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 game's 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 before Manly and Blacktown ended the partnership in 2024, seeing Manly's New South Wales Cup side readmitted into the competition in 2025. With the Bears set to rejoin the NRL in 2027 in Perth, the rivalry looks set to be reignited. Due to the circumstances surrounding the Northern Eagles in 2002 and the outcome resulting in North Sydney being without a side for 28 years following Manly taking the licence, the already fierce rivalry could be the biggest in the NRL moving forward.
Sydney Roosters vs St. George Illawarra Dragons
These two clubs traditionally play each other in the ANZAC Day clash.
The first time the two clubs 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 that the two clubs 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.
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 clubs 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.
South Sydney Rabbitohs vs St. George Illawarra Dragons
South Sydney and St. George have met in several Grand Finals many times throughout their history, and share the same geographical area, which is Sydney's inner-southern suburbs.The first time the two clubs 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 tenth premiership in a row, defeating Souths 12–8 in front of a packed Sydney Cricket Ground, with crowd estimates as high as 200,000 (the official attendance was 78,056).The last time the two clubs met in a grand final was in 1971 when Souths won their 20th premiership defeating Saints 16–10.This would be South's 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.
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 in front of over 48,000 at ANZ Stadium.
Sydney Roosters vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
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 five occasions.
In 1938, Canterbury-Bankstown won their first premiership against Eastern Suburbs, as 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 1974, Eastern Suburbs broke a 30-plus-year drought, defeating Canterbury-Bankstown 19–4. In 1980, Canterbury-Bankstown broke a 38-year premiership drought, defeating Eastern Suburbs 18–4 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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.Secret Bulldog Business The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 August 2002. Retrieved on 13 August 2006. 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. 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 2022 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.
St. George Illawarra Dragons vs Parramatta Eels 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.
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.
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.
In the 2009 finals series, St George finished as minor premiers and faced a Parramatta side who finished eighth 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 2022 NRL season, this is the last time the two sides have played against each other in the finals.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles vs Parramatta Eels Manly and Parramatta have built a fierce rivalry since the 1970s. They met in the 1976 Grand Final, in which Manly denied the Parramatta club a maiden premiership. However, the Eels won both the 1982 and 1983 Grand Finals against Manly. 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.
On 18 May 2003, Parramatta and Manly played in the first-ever golden point match in NRL history. Manly would win the match 36–34 at Brookvale Oval courtesy of a Ben Walker penalty goal. In round 2 of the 2018 NRL season, Parramatta suffered its worst-ever loss to Manly.The game was played in temperatures of nearly 40 degrees, where Manly ran out 54–0 winners. In the 2019 NRL season, Parramatta beat Manly in round 25 to take Manly's fifth 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. In round 11 of the 2022 NRL season, Manly lead Parramatta by ten points in the second half before Parramatta scored two tries to make it 20-20. Parramatta player Mitchell Moses then converted a goal from the sideline to win the match 22–20. In round 21 of the 2022 NRL season, the two sides met at Brookvale Oval, where Manly needed to defeat Parramatta if they were to stand any chance of reaching the finals.Parramatta would win the game 36–20 with the maligned Jakob Arthur providing two try assists for Parramatta, which ended Manly's finals hopes.