RL1908 - Rugby League Feature Articles

All articles are written by Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

James J GIltinan and Dally Messenger - two of rugby league's pioneer founders.

Olympic Leaguers : Exclusion from the Olympic Games led to the idea of a Rugby League World Cup.

Fair Reward for For Play : How the public and players took to the "new rugby" of 1908.

Getting On The Bung : The dangers of fulltime footballers were first raised a century ago.

Black and Blue : The first Test of 1908 - Australia v New Zealand.

The Meeting of The Giants : The day that Australia and New Zealand combined to play Britain.

Dally Messenger: A Boy's Own Tale Some of Messenger's feats were straight out of The Boy's Own Paper.

The Superiority of the Melbourne Game
Australian football has been heralding its national expansions hopes since the 1880s.

What Made Dally M Great?
There can hardly have ever been a more popular sportsman with Australian crowds.

A Man's Game
Before replacements, before inter-change, men refused to let their team mates down.

Eight Sent Off In One Day : Something was in the Sydney air this day.

Cricket Kicked-Off Rugby League : How a fight for the summer game spilled over.

The Original Code War : The fight between Sydney and Melbourne for football loyalties.

Newcastle Uprising of 1917 : the suspension of Laddo Davies led to open revolt.

JJ Giltinan in Melbourne : the Victorian capital was on League's agenda from 1907.

1906 Rule Changes : birth of 13-a-side and the play-the-ball.

Dally's Debut in 'Reggies' : Messenger kicked-off his Aussie league career in second grade.

The First Kiwi Visit : The initial Test series between Australia and New Zealand.

League Matches in the AIF : The 13-man code in the military during WW1.

The Great Wallaby Raid : The true history of the 1909 defections.

The 1905 All Blacks : Their tour gave rise to rugby league in Australasia.

'Rules' Almost Had Sydney's Paddock : The arrival of professional rugby league thwarted Aussie rules' rise in NSW and Queensland.

The Call For Men : did WW1 give rugby league an unfair advantage over rugby union?

The Patriotic Match : during the Great War the NSWRL organised fund raising and recruitment matches to aid the war effort.

The Balmainiacs of 1909 : Why did Balmain forfeit the Final?

"All Golds" - a nickname? :
The true meaning of the first New Zealand team's tag.

Albert Baskerville - or Baskiville? :
Proof has been found of the spelling 'Bert' preferred to be known by.

Tracking 'Zam-Buks' : A name that you may have heard, but what was it?

Rabbitohs of 1955 : The most famous charge to the NSWRL premiership title ever.

Toowoomba's Undisputed Champions : For two seasons they defeated every International, State and club team that challenged them.

Kiwis 1908 Visit to Newcastle : Their match in Newcastle was the first ever Rugby League game in that city. It was also the NZers initial Rugby League match anywhere in the southern hemisphere.

Breaking The Codes : In 1933 the administrators of Rugby League & Australian Rules resolved to create a new ‘all-Australian football game' incorporating the best features of both games.

Forget The War... It's Grand Final Day : the 1943 war-time premiership decider provided drama even before the kick-off.

Goulburn 1914 : almost 80 years before the NSWRL took competition games into new areas, one match was played in Goulburn. (Also includes an article from 1935 on the history of rugby league in Goulburn).

Leaping Footballers : The art of leaping over tacklers in spectacular rushes. It thrilled the crowds....but was a deadly habit.

The Flying Wedge : Grand Final 1976 - did Ron Hilditch volunteer to take the ball up?

New Zealand took on touring teams from New South Wales and Queensland in the 1910s and 20s, while Australia refused to play the Kiwis in Tests.

The American All Stars of Rugby League toured Australia and New Zealand in 1953. In Sydney they played in front of 65,000 fans at the SCG.