2027 is the 30th anniversary of the split competitions in 1997: the 10-team Super League and the 12-team ARL. While the split – and all the drama that led up to it – could have destroyed most sports, the War dragged rugby league into the professional era and formed the National Rugby League.
This is going to be a personal reflection on the Super League War (from the perspective of a footy-obsessed teenager in the mid-90s) rather than a retelling of the main points. If you want a proper refresher, read Steve Mascord’s Two Tribes: The Untold Story of Rugby League’s Divided Year and the Birth of the NRL, listen to The Rugby League Digest’s 40-part podcast series, and even watch The Betoota Advocate’s special (though it’s Super League War 101 and barely scratches the surface).
I admit I had a foot in both camps: born in Canberra, I naturally followed the Raiders as a child and have followed them ever since. Even when I moved to Brisbane as a teenager, I wasn’t tempted to stray as I immediately disliked the Broncos. This is where the South Queensland Crushers came in: I adopted them as my second team and have many fond memories of watching them at the old Lang Park. I knew they were garbage, but I didn’t care. I now have a soft spot for The (Redcliffe) Dolphins as they represent what the Crushers should have been as an alternative to the Broncos.
SUPER LEAGUE
For the Raiders, the Super League season was the last gasp of the powerful Green Machine era. Along with Brisbane, Canberra was one of the marquee Super League teams, so you had to go along for the ride as a Raiders fan. Super League nearly had the dream Brisbane vs Canberra Grand Final everyone wanted in the ‘90s, but the Broncos were so powerful that it would have been a one-sided game. I went to the Grand Final anyway and barely remember it: QEII Stadium was bad enough for footy as it was and the rainy night didn’t help. I stumbled on a VHS of the Super League Grand Final in a second-hand record store a few years later, and I obviously bought it. But good luck finding a full replay now: at best you can find a collection of the game’s tries somewhere on YouTube. Cynics will say that Super League was created for the Broncos (as they were butting heads with the NSWRL as soon as they entered the competition) and they were destined to win the Super League premiership and the World Club Challenge. Though it was nice to see the Final Five used one last time.
Speaking of the WCC, that’s a cautionary tale of a nice idea on paper to fill the mid-season gap created by a shorter regular season. The difference in class between the two leagues was obvious and the finals system had to be blatantly rigged to ensure a fair split between Australia/New Zealand and UK teams. The most memorable parts were the Raiders partying with the Australian cricket team during the Ashes and the Hunter Mariners’ finest moment in making the WCC Grand Final. At least the UK stuck with the Super League name for their competition: while the UK Super League is still a way behind the NRL, it’s still the second-best rugby league competition in the world (though the competition for second place isn’t particularly competitive…).
For a breakaway competition that marketed itself on a broad global ambition (with Peter V’landys now doing his best to continue that vision), it was ironic that all five expansion clubs (Hunter, Auckland, Perth, Adelaide, North Queensland) missed the finals, and only the Warriors and Cowboys have survived. The NSW/QLD/NZ Tri-series was a strange idea saved by that epic Final – and the iconic Noel Goldthorpe field goal – and the Super League rep footy was underwhelming (I literally can’t remember any of it).
There were some innovations that have stayed, like the video referee, the Zero Tackle rule, the first night Grand Final, and broadcasting the majority of games on Foxtel. Now we have the luxury of watching every game broadcast live on Fox Sports/Kayo (on your TV, phone, or Ipad), with up to four games shown on Nine. So that’s one big tick for Super League. Of course, Nine (a pro-ARL network) greedily wanted a piece of the action with Monday Night Football, though bumped it to a ridiculous time in favour of Water Rats. And they could get away with it as social media wasn’t around and you couldn’t look up the scores on your phone yet.
AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE
Aside from watching the Crushers games at Lang Park (including their farewell games against Western Suburbs when the Crushers were doomed), teenage-me wasn’t as dialled into the ARL. The things that stood out for me was the Eastern Suburbs Roosters starting to become a powerhouse (after being awful for most of the ’90s), the luckless North Sydney falling short yet again, the ridiculous top seven finals, the cult status of the Gold Coast Chargers (who benefited from that generous finals system), and THAT Grand Final between Newcastle and Manly.
While the Knights’ premiership was “Better than Lego”, it’s easy to write if off as half a premiership in a divided competition, and no Super League vs ARL Super Bowl to prove who was the best side in 1997. Though Newcastle and Brisbane both enjoyed continued success in the early days of the NRL, with three premierships between them from 1998 to 2001.
THE FALLOUT
I remember where I was when I heard the Super League and NRL were reuniting. It was December 1997 and I celebrated at a local Christmas Carols night, singing (to myself) “There is peace in rugby league” over one of the Carols. You can fact-check the actual date if you like, but that wonderful night at the Carols is burned into my brain.
Sadly, my love of footy didn’t last long. While there were a lot of scars for players, journalists, and administrators from the War, it also affected fans. I fell out of love with rugby league from 1998 to mid-2003. I focused on AFL and rugby union, with the convenient timing of the ACT Brumbies entering the Super Rugby and winning immediately, and the Wallabies actually being good! I completely boycotted rugby league, including Origin. That boycott changed when I was watching highlights of a 2003 Origin game on Sports Tonight (remember that show?). Something twigged inside me and I thought, “Hmm, that looked fun, maybe I’ll start watching again?” I watched the next Origin game and I fell in love with footy again. I taped (and watched over and over) the Raiders’ NSWRL Premier League win, and the Penrith vs Easts Grand Final sealed the deal. I was a footy obsessive again. I still enjoyed Aussie Rules and Union, but rugby league was back at #1. Now, thirty years later, rugby league is my favourite by a long distance: I don’t watch Aussie Rules anymore and only watch the Brumbies’ games in Super Rugby.
THE LEGACY
While I admit to Super League bias, there’s no doubt that the short-term pain from 1995 to 1997 led to the powerhouse competition we enjoy today. Though the dumptrucks full of money offered to players in the initial signing spree was ridiculous, it eventually led to full-time professionalism, with players no longer having to work “real jobs” outside of footy. If it wasn’t for Super League, the old Australian Rugby League – with its Sydney-centric focus – likely becomes a glorified local footy competition played at tiny suburban grounds, with marquee games at the old SFS. And it would have left the door open for Super Rugby teams to pinch restless players, especially from bigger non-Sydney teams like Brisbane, Canberra, and Auckland. And you can forget about rugby league getting a foothold in Melbourne: with no Storm, the majority of Victorians would still be ignorant about “the rugby” (more than they are now), and the door would be firmly shut to other AFL areas like Perth and Adelaide.
While the NRL is still Sydney-dominated, there’s now strong representation in Newcastle (Knights), Queensland (Broncos, Dolphins, Titans, Cowboys), the ACT (Raiders), Victoria (Storm), New Zealand (Warriors), and now Western Australia (though the jury is out on how strong the Perth Bears will be), and PNG (Chiefs). Regardless of what side of the fence you sat on during the War, the wider reach of the NRL has to be a win for the The Greatest Game of All!
