Rugby League Week
Encyclopedia
Rugby League Week is the second highest selling Australia
n rugby league
magazine
, behind major competitor Big League
. It is published weekly (on Wednesdays) during the Australian rugby league season, which runs from March to late September (roughly corresponding to the southern hemisphere autumn
and winter
) and has been published continuously since 1970. In 2001 the magazine's name was changed to League Week, to avoid confusion with "that other game for lovers of forward passes, knock-ons, and penalty goals"
. It reverted to Rugby League Week in 2003. It is currently owned by Australian Consolidated Press
.
competition (previously the NSWRL
) but with time also devoted to lower-level competitions. There are usually also several profiles of rugby league players in each edition. A number of league personalities, including Mark Geyer
, Stacey Jones
and Matthew Johns
, have regular columns; unconfirmed rumours and miscellaneous gossip are reported in a column written by 'The Mole'.
Each edition contains previews of the games to be played in the next NRL round, running from Friday to Monday. Details of every match from the previous round are also included: the games are assessed and each player who took the field, as well as the referee, is given a rating. Details of when and by whom points were scored are also included. (Before the formation of the Brisbane Broncos
, these ratings and details were also given for the Brisbane Rugby League competition.) Results, but not ratings, are published for most notable rugby league competitions in Australia, as well as major competitions in New Zealand
and Great Britain
.
Since 1978, players have been rated out of ten for every game. To deal with absences from club rugby due to interstate and Test duty, the five lowest scores of every player are deleted from their final score. After these five lowest scores are removed, the player with the highest score wins the award.
From 1970 to 1977, the method of judging was the same except that players were awarded points out of five instead of ten.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, behind major competitor Big League
Big League
Big League is the official magazine of the National Rugby League and that of the NRL's forerunners, the New South Wales Rugby League and Australian Rugby League competitions. Its predecessor, The Rugby League News, was first published in 1920; in 1974 it was rebadged as Big League.It also serves as...
. It is published weekly (on Wednesdays) during the Australian rugby league season, which runs from March to late September (roughly corresponding to the southern hemisphere autumn
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
and winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
) and has been published continuously since 1970. In 2001 the magazine's name was changed to League Week, to avoid confusion with "that other game for lovers of forward passes, knock-ons, and penalty goals"
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. It reverted to Rugby League Week in 2003. It is currently owned by Australian Consolidated Press
Australian Consolidated Press
ACP Magazines , a subsidiary of the Nine Entertainment Co., is an Australian media company. It publishes the Australian Women's Weekly and the Australian edition of Woman's Day....
.
Content
The magazine contains news coverage of Australian rugby league, focused primarily on the first-grade NRLNational Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
competition (previously the NSWRL
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...
) but with time also devoted to lower-level competitions. There are usually also several profiles of rugby league players in each edition. A number of league personalities, including Mark Geyer
Mark Geyer
Mark Geyer , is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative second-rower, he is currently a rugby league media identity...
, Stacey Jones
Stacey Jones
Stacey William Jones, ONZM is a professional rugby league footballer, who has been named amongst the greatest New Zealand has ever produced. He currently plays for the Point Chevalier Pirates in the Auckland Rugby League's Phelan Shield...
and Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former professional player...
, have regular columns; unconfirmed rumours and miscellaneous gossip are reported in a column written by 'The Mole'.
Each edition contains previews of the games to be played in the next NRL round, running from Friday to Monday. Details of every match from the previous round are also included: the games are assessed and each player who took the field, as well as the referee, is given a rating. Details of when and by whom points were scored are also included. (Before the formation of the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
, these ratings and details were also given for the Brisbane Rugby League competition.) Results, but not ratings, are published for most notable rugby league competitions in Australia, as well as major competitions in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
Player of the Year award
Related to the rating of players ever since Rugby League Week was first published during the 1970 season has been its Player of the Year award.Since 1978, players have been rated out of ten for every game. To deal with absences from club rugby due to interstate and Test duty, the five lowest scores of every player are deleted from their final score. After these five lowest scores are removed, the player with the highest score wins the award.
From 1970 to 1977, the method of judging was the same except that players were awarded points out of five instead of ten.
| Year | taranki best player |
| 1970 | Tommy Bishop Tommy Bishop Tommy Bishop is an English former rugby league footballer and coach of the 1960s and 70s. He played for St. Helens in the English Rugby Football League Championship and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia... (Cronulla) |
| 1971 | Bob Grant Bob Grant (rugby league) Bob Grant is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1960s and 70s. A New South Wales interstate and Australian international representative halfback, he played most of his club football for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, with whom he won three premierships.-Club career:He featured in the... (South Sydney) |
| 1972 | John Ballesty John Ballesty John Patrick Ballesty in Strathfield, New South Wales is an Australian former national representative rugby union player who also played first-grade rugby league with the Eastern Suburbs club.-Rugby union:... (Eastern Suburbs) |
| 1973 | Johnny Mayes (Manly) |
| 1974 | Arthur Beetson Arthur Beetson Arthur Henry "Artie" Beetson, OAM , was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He represented Australia and Queensland from 1964 to 1981. His position was at prop. Beetson became the first Indigenous Australian to captain his country in any sport. and is frequently cited as the best... (Eastern Suburbs) |
| 1975 | Bob Fulton Bob Fulton Robert "Bob" Fulton AM is an Australian rugby league football identity. Fulton played, coached, selected for and has commentated on the game with great success at the highest levels and has been named amongst Australia's greatest rugby league players of the 20th century.As a player Fulton won... (Manly) |
| 1976 | Ray Higgs Ray Higgs Ray Higgs is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1970s. An Australian international and Queensland representative forward, he played club football for the Parramatta Eels and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership.Originally from Roma,... (Parramatta) |
| 1977 | Mick Cronin Mick Cronin (rugby league) Michael William "Mick" Cronin OAM is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a goal-kicking centre for the Australian national team and a stalwart for the Parramatta Eels club. He played in 22 Tests and 11 World Cup matches between 1973 and 1982... (Parramatta) |
| 1978 | Geoff Gerard Geoff Gerard Geoff Gerard is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football with Sydney clubs Parramatta, Manly-Warringah and Penrith, and also spent time with Engish clubs... (Parramatta) |
| 1979 | Ray Price (Parramatta) |
| 1980 | Kevin Hastings Kevin Hastings Kevin 'Horrie' Hastings is an Australian retired multi-award winning rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s. He played in Australia's New South Wales Rugby League Football Competition... (Eastern Suburbs) |
| 1981 | Kevin Hastings (Eastern Suburbs) |
| 1982 | Kevin Hastings (Eastern Suburbs) |
| 1983 | Phil Sigsworth Phil Sigsworth Phil Sigsworth is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He played primarily in the fullback position.-Playing career:... (Manly) |
| 1984 | Peter Sterling Peter Sterling Peter Maxwell John "Sterlo" Sterling OAM is an Australian rugby league commentator and former player. He was one of the all-time great halfbacks and a major contributor to Parramatta Eels' dominance of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership in the 1980s. Sterling played nineteen Tests for... (Parramatta) |
| 1985 | Ray Price (Parramatta) |
| 1986 | Peter Sterling (Parramatta) |
| 1987 | Peter Sterling (Parramatta) |
| 1988 | Ben Elias (Balmain) |
| 1989 | Gavin Miller Gavin Miller Gavin John Miller is an Australian former rugby league footballer who at his peak was regarded as the most dangerous attacking force in the NSWRL owing to his great ball skills... (Cronulla) |
| 1990 | Mal Meninga Mal Meninga Malcolm Norman Meninga AM is an Australian former rugby league test captain and current coach of Queensland's State of Origin team. As a player he was a legendary goal-kicking centre, counted amongst the finest footballers of the 20th century... (Canberra) |
| 1991 | Ewan McGrady Ewan McGrady Ewan McGrady is an Australian retired rugby league footballer. He played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Western Suburbs Magpies... (Canterbury) |
| 1992 | Paul Langmack Paul Langmack Paul Langmack is an Australian former rugby league coach and representative and premiership-winning player.-Playing Career:While attending Fairfield Patrician Brothers, Langmack played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1982.... (Western Suburbs) |
| 1993 | Steve Walters Steve Walters Steve Walters is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s, who at the peak of his career, was considered the best hooker in the game. An Australian Kangaroos and Queensland Maroons representative, he played in the Canberra Raiders' 1st, 2nd and 3rd grand final... (Canberra) |
| 1994 | Cliff Lyons Cliff Lyons Cliff Lyons is an indigenous Australian former international-level rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s... (Manly) |
| 1995 | Laurie Daley Laurie Daley Laurie Daley OA is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former player of Indigenous Australian descent. He represented Australia on 26 occasions and has since been named as one of the nation's finest players of the 20th century... (Canberra) |
| 1996 | Allan Langer Allan Langer Allan "Alfie" Langer AM is an Australian former multi-award-winning rugby league footballer of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s who works as an assistant coach for the Australian national team and Brisbane Broncos... (Brisbane) |
| 1997 | Brad Fittler Brad Fittler Bradley Scott "Freddie" Fittler AM is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. The current coach of NSW City team in the City vs. Country clash, he coached in the NRL for the Sydney Roosters between 2007 and 2009. As a player, Fittler captained both New South Wales... (Sydney City) |
| 1998 | Andrew Johns Andrew Johns Andrew Gary "Joey" Johns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s who is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. He was heralded as the world's best halfback for a number of years... (Newcastle) |
| 1999 | Andrew Johns (Newcastle) |
| 2000 | Andrew Johns (Newcastle) |
| 2001 | Andrew Johns (Newcastle) |
| 2002 | Andrew Johns (Newcastle) |
| 2003 | Steve Price (Canterbury) |
| 2004 | Nathan Hindmarsh Nathan Hindmarsh Nathan William Hindmarsh is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League and the Australian Prime Minister's XIII... (Parramatta) |
| 2005 | Nathan Hindmarsh (Parramatta) |
| 2006 | Luke Bailey (St. George Illawarra) |
| 2007 | Johnathan Thurston Johnathan Thurston Johnathan Dean Thurston is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer in the NRL with the North Queensland Cowboys whom he co-captains... (North Queensland) |
| 2008 | Billy Slater Billy Slater Billy Slater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League . An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne... (Melbourne) |