| 100 Years of League | This timeline is a growing library of memorable moments, facts and figures from the last 100 years. We will be adding more content to the site over the coming months as we build a comprehensive overview of the moments and characters of the game, complete with text, image and video reference. |
| Fan Day | In what is a first for the NRL all 400 players from the 16 clubs will be brought together at Telstra Stadium for a centenary fan day. Fans will be invited to meet their heroes from 2008 plus legends of the past on a day that will feature family fun and the taking of the biggest team photograph in the game’s history. |
| Season Launch | The 2008 season launch will take on special significance as the game sets out on the centenary Telstra Premiership, a 30-week competition that will be the heart of the season-long celebrations. Sixteen NRL clubs will start the journey with shared hopes and aspirations that it will be their team who travel the challenging road to glory in 2008. |
| Travelling Exhibition | No sport in Australia’s history has matched the season-by-season excitement and drama of rugby league. In celebration of this the National Museum of Australia has commissioned a major exhibition to showcase the games colourful story. This travelling exhibition will give fans across Australia the chance to see the games treasures and celebrate its rich heritage. |
| Opening Round | Round 1 of the Telstra Premiership will bring the excitement of the centenary to fever pitch, as fans and players get to do what they love. In 2008 the opening round will feature some special matches that salute the past and celebrate the present. Included amongst these match-ups is the game’s newest derby between the Broncos and Cowboys. It will be the perfect finale to the Queensland Rugby League’s celebration of the foundation of the Queensland Rugby Association, at a VIP function, at their home of league, Suncorp Stadium. |
| Heritage Week | Round 6 also marks the celebration of the first premiership matches played on the 20th of April 1908. A week-long celebration is planned culminating in the Heritage Round of the Telstra Premiership, designed to bring together the NRL clubs that entered the competition in the same period. Heritage Week also features the game’s biggest charity event, the Centenary Captain’s Table Ball. The highlight of the night will be the presentation of the Team of the Century, chosen from the official list of rugby league’s 100 greatest players. |
| The Players | Make sure you check out the shortlist of the greatest players of all-time. The official announcement of the Top 100 players will be made right here on February 23rd, after which we will be running a competition to pick your team of the century. There's an awesome prize on offer, so make sure you keep an eye on the site for further announcements. |
| The ANZAC Match | The traditional April 25 clash at the Sydney Football Stadium between two of the games great rivals, St George Illawarra and the Sydney Roosters, will pay tribute to premiership players who served in the forces over the years. |
The Top 10 Lists | The best moments from State of Origin? The top ten hairdos? We rate the best from a select group of league memories. This will be your chance to get involved and tell us what you think. |
| Representative Season | In May the centenary focus moves from the Premiership to representative rugby league. The annual City vs. Country match celebrates both the traditions of rugby league in regional New South Wales and the long rivalry between the city and the bush. The young men who are chosen to play for their country in 2008 have so much to play for, a Centenary Test and at year’s end a World Cup. On Friday May 9th, 100 years to the day since the first international match was played, in Australia, the Kangaroos will do battle with fierce rivals the Kiwis, in the Centenary Test. The match will be played at one of the world’s great venues, the SCG. |
| State of Origin | One hundred years of interstate rivalry will be recalled and celebrated when the Wizard Blues clash with the XXXX Maroons in the Harvey Norman State of Origin Series. The series takes on special significance in 2008 as the game looks back on 100 years of clashes between New South Wales and Queensland. The two states will wear heritage jerseys for Game 1 and the night will also feature the unveiling of the New South Wales Team of the Century. The rivalry between the states goes beyond rugby league, but there can be no denying that nothing else comes close to matching the passion and the fierceness that is the story of every State of Origin battle. Queensland’s widespread celebrations will include the gathering of more than 1000 people at the State of Origin Ball, prior to Game 2, where the Queensland Team of the Century will be announced. |
The Hot 100 Tries | We will be celebrating the ultimate moment of every match, the try, in a showcase of our hot 100 tries from the last 100 years. All action. All awesome. You won’t want to miss this countdown. |
| Finals | The Centenary Premiership reaches its ending with the Telstra Premiership Grand Final at Telstra Stadium. Never has the ultimate premiership prize been more desired than in the game’s centenary season. Get ready for an epic battle that will showcase why the game is so well placed for the next 100 years. |
| World Cup | As the curtain closes on the Premiership rugby league’s greatest players from around the world will be preparing for the final chapter in the centenary celebrations, the Rugby League World Cup. A 10-team, 18-game tournament will be played in 11 venues across Australia. On the final day of the World Cup, Saturday November 22nd at Suncorp Stadium, one team will be crowned the international champions of rugby league and so the centenary year will be complete. |
