Northern Territory Rugby League


The Northern Territory Rugby League is responsible for administering the game of rugby league in the Northern Territory. It controls the Darwin Rugby League, Darwin Junior Rugby League and Central Australian Rugby Football League.
Northern Territory is an affiliated state of the overall Australian governing body the Australian Rugby League.

History

The first rugby league competition in Darwin took place in 1941. This competition was among servicemen stationed in Darwin during World War 2. The competition was suspended following the Japanese air raids on 19 February 1942 and did not recommence until 1943.
The game was not played on an organised basis after servicemen left the city at the end of the war until the formation of the Northern Territory Rugby Football League Association in 1950. The newly formed association's first game was held on 14 January 1951. Rugby league in the Northern Territory is being played at Richardson Park.

Competitions

Current

Central Australian Rugby Football League

The Central Australian Rugby Football League is a rugby league football competition located in Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It has been in existence since 1963. It is a not-for profit organisation tasked with governing the growth of rugby league football around Alice Springs. It consists of four clubs competing in multiple age groups and all games are played at Anzac Oval, Alice Springs.
The four clubs are:
Both United Magpies and Wests Dragons have been members of the CARFL since its foundation in 1963.

Katherine Rugby League

The Katherine Junior Rugby League is a rugby league junior competition based in the town of Katherine, Northern Territory. It is a three club competition with age groups running from under 5's to under 15's. Under 17's and A-Grade aged players take part in the NTRL and travel to Darwin, NT to compete.
The three clubs are:
All games are played at the Katherine Sport & Recreation Club Oval.

Other

The Gove Rugby League is a competition located in Gove, Northern Territory.

Former

Darwin Rugby League

The Darwin Rugby League is a former rugby league competition based in Darwin, Northern Territory. The competition is administered by the Northern Territory Rugby League which is the body that takes care of the league's affairs. It administered the competition, officially, from 1950 in Darwin until 2010.
On 6 May 2010, the Australian Rugby League disbanded the Darwin Rugby League due to ongoing issues, including the scheduling of matches and the playing clubs arguing these changes. The competition in Darwin is now controlled by the NTRL.
This is a list of the Northern Territory Rugby League 1st Grade competition champions and the runners-up for each seasons the competition existed.
SeasonPremiersScoreRunners-up
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994 Litchfield Bears Nightcliff Dragons
1995 Litchfield Bears Nightcliff Dragons
1996 Litchfield Bears South Darwin Rabbitohs
1997 Litchfield Bears University Sharks
1998 Litchfield Bears Nightcliff Dragons
1999
2000
2001 Nightcliff Dragons38-10 Northern Territory Institute of Sport
2002
2003
2004
2005 Nightcliff Dragons13-12 Darwin Brothers
2006 Nightcliff Dragons34-24 Darwin Brothers
2007 University Sharks22-16 Litchfield Bears
2008 Litchfield Bears South Darwin Rabbitohs
2009 Darwin Brothers44-10 University Sharks
2010 Darwin Brothers Nightcliff Dragons
2011
2012 Darwin Brothers44-10 University Sharks
2013 Palmerston Raiders32-22 Darwin Brothers
2014 South Darwin Rabbitohs30-20 Palmerston Raiders
2015 Nightcliff Dragons30-22 Palmerston Raiders
2016 Mackillop Sharks34-16 Palmerston Raiders
2017 Northern Sharks34-22 Darwin Brothers
2018 Litchfield Bears28-4 Nightcliff Dragons

Notable NTRL juniors who competed in the NRL

Alice Springs
Darwin Brothers
Federal United
Waratahs
Nightcliff Dragons
Nhulunbuy
Katherine Bushrangers
Palmerston Raiders