The first rugby league club match was played between Te Werve Bustards (Den Haag) and touring Essex Eels.

The NRLB have a short summer season (4 rounds + Finals) with the Netherlands 3V Sports Grand Prix 9's competition for clubs Capelle Spartans, Delft Rugby League, Nootdorp Musketiers and Te Werve Bustards, while they host teams for 13-aside matches including the annual clash with Oxford University Old Boys (in the Kermis Challenge) and varying teams from the UK.

At youth level this year, the Dutch staged a BARLA U17 tour against a Netherlands Tasman U17 select in July at Nootdorp and Delft.

The Dutch ten-year plan is to have a fully self-supportive domestic competition running for at least 6 months of the year and to have multiple self-standing Rugby League clubs all over the country.

The Netherlands failed to progress past the preliminary stages of qualifying for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, after being defeated by Georgia and Russia in 2006.

In 2009, a new board " Nederlandse Rugby League Bond (NRLB) " was appointed to run the Dutch game and re-establish relations with the RLEF.

[1] Primary Alternative Netherlands are able to call eligible players like Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jaylan De Groot or the Nikorima brothers.