NRL Heritage Round

There has been much fanfare in the lead up of this round of NRL this week with the official body labeling it as the Men of League Heritage Round , a weekend in which players, commentators and fans alike will celebrate the rich history of Rugby League.

It’s great to see the game continue to pay tribute its history as this is a vital part of what makes rugby league such a popular sport, however, one thing that is a little odd about this “heritage round” is a few the clashes scheduled don’t make sense from a heritage perspective.

On the one hand there are a few games that truly pay homage to the contests of yesteryear. On Friday night Queensland rivals the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys continue their 18 year-long battle for supremacy in the Sunshine state while older fans will be licking their lips at the prospect of Sunday’s clash between the Tigers and Dragons at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which aims to commemorate 50 years since the 1963 Grand Final between St George and Western Suburbs  (the final that gave us the iconic “Gladiators” photo) .

Similarly the battle of the beaches will be revived on Sunday when Cronulla and Manly do battle at Brookvale in a game that will no doubt stir memories of the blood bath that was the 1973 Grand Final. The Roosters and Bulldogs clash on Friday is also a decent match up in the context of the game’s  history when one considers they faced off in the 1974, 1980 and 2004 Grand Finals.

However, on the other hand there are  four other match ups that don’t seem to have any historical significance at all. The three Saturday night games are perfect examples of this. At 5:30pm Newcastle play Penrith at Hunter Stadium, while the two 7:30pm fixtures see Canberra host the Warriors in the nation’s capital and Souths take on the Storm in Sydney.  There are no significant links evident between any of these clubs, they all came into the competition at vastly different times and have never contested a grand final against each other. With that in mind why are they scheduled for the HERITAGE round?

Similarly the last Sunday match contains a game between valium used Parramatta and Gold Coast which also has no significant in terms of rugby league’s heritage.

In future the NRL should consider scheduling a permanent set of games for heritage round (i.e. the same two teams play each other every year) so that each game in the round is reflective of the game’s history. Here’s a simple model:

Brisbane Broncos vs. Gold Coast Titans

This fixture is not only appropriate because of the two teams’ close proximity making the game a local derby but Brisbane came into the competition in 1988 as did the original Gold Coast franchise.

Canberra Raiders vs. Wests Tigers

The 1989 Grand Final. This is extra time epic is considered to be the best grand final in the history of Rugby League, it was a dramatic affair and will forever resonate in the memories of the players and fans from both teams.

Newcastle Knights vs. Manly Sea Eagles

The 1997 ARL Grand Final was another spectacular clash that helped in part revive the code during the darkest period in its history, the Super League War.

Melbourne Storm vs.  St George Illawarra Dragons

The Storm came into the competition in 1998 while the Dragons entered as a merged as a merged entity a year later. Similarly, both supporter groups have held an animosity towards each other since the controversial 1999 Grand Final.

Sydney (Eastern Suburbs) Roosters vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs

These two are the two remaining foundation clubs in the competition. They have the longest standing rivalry in the game and the two sets of fans simply hate each other. This has heritage written all over it.

New Zealand Warriors vs. North Queensland Cowboys

There’s no serious rivalry between these two teams but they both came into the first grade competition in the same year, that’s significant enough.

Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs vs. Parramatta Eels

These two sides were the glamour clubs of the 1980s. They contested numerous finals and two tense grand finals against each other during this decade including the try-less 1986 decider.

Cronulla Sutherland Sharks vs. Penrith Panthers

The logic behind this clash is the exact same as the logic behind the Warriors vs. Cowboys game.