Rugby LeagueSuperstars, skills, and effect on society

Rugby League Overview Rugby League is a full contact sport featuring an oval

shaped ball and two teams of 13 men for the aim of scoring points Points can be scored by planting the ball over the opposition try line, kick

goals or field goals. The National Rugby League (NRL) is the Australasian top tier competition

featuring 16 teams from NSW, QLD, VIC & NZ. Since February 2012 the National Rugby League (NRL) has

been run by the Australian Rugby League Commission. It is considered one of NSW/QLD’s most popular sports

Superstars Like most sports the NRL has an abundance of superstars. Below are five that are

widely considered as the current best Billy Slater – Fullback playing for Melbourne Storm. 2008 World’s best

rugby league player (Golden Boot)

Greg Inglis – Fully back playing for South Sydney. 2009 World’s best rugby league player (Golden Boot)

Cameron Smith – Hooker playing for Melbourne Storm. 2007 World’s best rugby league player (Golden Boot)

Jonathan Thurston – Halfback playing for the North Queenslandcowboys 2011 World’s best rugby league player (Golden Boot)

Cooper Cronk – Halfback playing for the Melbourne Storm.2012 Clive Churchill Medialist (Best player in Grand Final)

Skills Rugby League is a sport that require many skills to play Most players need to be physically strong and/or fast. Below are some of essential

skills required for the sport of rugby league: Tackling – essential skill which is required every game. The act of stopping the

opposition team’s player who has the ball Running – running is obviously required in most sports but in rugby league the skill of

running can include sidesteps, shimmies and fends whilst running can get you past your opposition and on your way to the try line

Kicking – an essential part of the game, kicking often helps re-position a side in trouble or puts pressure on the opposition when close to their try line to force a mistake

Passing – passing the ball is unique in rugby league, unlike in AFL or NFL passes can only be thrown backwards and therefore require a different skill set. Some additional passing skills could include the cut out pass, the flick pass or the no-look pass

Effect on society Rugby League has a great effect on society as it brings joy to fans and

supporters. Australia is a country that loves it’s sport and every weekend thousands of rugby league followers either attend their team games or follow it through TV.

Women in League is an initiative started by NRL to promote women in the game. Most professional rugby league players had the support on their mums to drive them to games and this initiative shows how importance the NRL believe women are to the game even though it is a male sport.

Help for indigenous community. NRL supports many programs to help the indigenous community, one example is the annual Indigenous All Stars v NRL All Stars game which raises awareness of the issues still facing our indigenous community as well as raising funds for thme.