The game was adopted in both states in order to break away from the amateur rugby union competitions that existed at the time.

After 19 years of interstate-era dominance by New South Wales, the advent of State of Origin football in 1980 led to increased nationalisation of rugby league in Australia.

After a failed proposal to play the first ever "National Championship" game in 1984 between the highly fancied BRL premier Wynnum-Manly Seagulls and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs of the NSWRL, it was decided that the Queensland Rugby League should form a team in 1986 to enter the NSWRL premiership.

As a result, the standard of the Brisbane Rugby League decreased, and no BRL player was picked to represent Queensland or Australia afterwards; at this point most historians agree that the NSWRL became the premier competition nationwide.

There are three clubs currently playing in the National Rugby League that are yet to win a premiership; the Dolphins, New Zealand Warriors and the Gold Coast Titans.

1932, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 2014 1952, 1965, 1969, 2021 1975, 2002, 2013, 2018, 2019 1980, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2010 1964, 1965, 1966, 1977, 1979 1993, 1996 1969 2013 1945, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 1950, 1951, 1953, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1989 1965, 1966, 1967, 1979, 1985 1972, 2012, 2013, 2018 1971, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1998, 1999 Note: The BRL maintained first class status until 1994 when the NSWRL became the ARL and a national competition was formed.