Rivalries in the National Rugby League

[1][2][3][4] Prior to the ill-fated Northern Eagles joint venture from 2000 to 2002, the rivalry between Manly and foundation club Norths was arguably one of rugby league's fiercest.

The biggest defection occurred in 1971 when Norths life member and one of the game's greatest wingers Ken Irvine joined Manly.

[6] The first time the two club's met in a finals match stretches back to 1927 when St. George defeated Eastern Suburbs 26–11 at Earl Park, Arncliffe.

In 1965, St. George won their tenth premiership in a row defeating Souths 12–8 in front of a packed Sydney Cricket Ground, with crowd estimates as high as 200,000 (the official attendance was 78,056).

[13] In 2003, the Roosters proved themselves worthy of their Defending Premiers title when they defeated Canterbury in the Preliminary Final 28–18 in front of a sold out Aussie Stadium.

[27] In round 21 of the 2022 NRL season, the two sides met at Brookvale Oval where Manly needed to defeat Parramatta if they were to stand any chance of reaching the finals.

Such players who have been at both clubs since 2000 include Jamie Lyon, Daniel Heckenberg, Shayne Dunley, Kylie Leuluai, Michael Witt, Aaron Cannings, Jack Afamasaga, Feleti Mateo, Richard Faʻaoso, Blake Green, Joe Galuvao, Tony Williams, Jeff Robson, Jonathan Wright, Justin Horo, Chris Hicks, Cheyse Blair, Darcy Lussick, Kelepi Tanginoa, Brayden Wiliame, Daniel Harrison, William Hopoate, David Gower, Anthony Watmough, Clinton Gutherson, Kieran Foran, Siosaia Vave, Shaun Lane, Andrew Davey, Joey Lussick, Michael Oldfield and Jake Arthur.

The rivalry has also seen a number of player swaps over the years most notably with Ron Coote, Elwyn Walters, Craig Wing, Bryan Fletcher, Chris Walker, Shannon Hegarty, Ashley Harrison, Luke Keary, Angus Crichton, Daniel Suluka-Fifita[35] and Latrell Mitchell.

Parramatta lead the match 16-8 with less than seven minutes to play but Penrith managed to level the game at 16-16 after Nathan Cleary kicked a 40 metre field goal with seconds remaining.

In the 1942 NSWRFL season, the two clubs met in the 1942 grand final with Canterbury-Bankstown defeating St. George 11–9 in a low-scoring affair at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

During their Good Friday clash in 2015, this game was labelled for its controversy, as South Sydney won 18-17 thanks to a late penalty goal.

[62] In round 6 of the 2023 NRL season, South Sydney recorded the most amount of points scored by a winning team in the Good Friday game as they defeated Canterbury 50-16.

[63] Despite the game being considered a rivalry by some supporters, Canterbury were one of the only teams after Souths were expelled from the league who were in favour of the club being readmitted to the NRL.

[67] In round 4 of the 2023 NRL season, South Sydney defeated Manly 13-12 in golden point extra-time courtesy of a field goal by Lachlan Ilias.

[68] Manly have, since 1970, purchased many of Souths' star players including John O'Neill, Ray Branighan, Ian Roberts, and more recently Dylan Walker.

North Queensland would not record their first victory until the 2004 NRL season where they defeated Brisbane 10-0 in the semi-final at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

This game is often regarded as one of the best grand finals ever with Jonathan Thurston kicking a field goal in golden point to win North Queensland's first ever premiership.

[73] In the final round of the 2020 NRL season, Brisbane who were running last had the opportunity to avoid their first ever wooden spoon if they could defeat North Queensland who were sitting in 14th position.

That year in Round 17, Darren Lockyer kicked a monumental field goal that hit both uprights and gave the Broncos a 19-18 victory in front of over 40,000 spectators at Suncorp Stadium.

The two clubs also met in the 2010 Finals with the Brisbane side winning 40-32 in the week one match-up on the Titans' turf at Skilled Park in front of a sellout crowd.

[75] In 2018, the lowly Gold Coast side beat Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium 26-14 on Easter Sunday, which was regarded as a major upset at the time.

Round 2 of the 2008 NRL season saw the sides meet at Olympic Park in Melbourne, and Cronulla was able to reverse the result by the same scoreline via a Brett Kimmorley field goal.

Melbourne began the 2012 NRL season with nine straight victories, before a Paul Gallen-less Sharks pipped them 12-10 thanks to a Jeremy Smith try and clutch conversion from Todd Carney.

The match featured a controversial moment when Melbourne player Billy Slater made an illegal tackle on Cronulla winger Sosaia Feki while he was in the act of scoring, therefore constituting a professional foul.

[81] In the 2021 NRL season, former Melbourne player Will Chambers signed a contract to join Cronulla-Sutherland which closed the chapter of the two sides competitive rivalry.

In this game, the Sydney Roosters were leading 13-12 after 73 minutes after kicking a field goal before Joe Stimson scored a late try to seal the win just before full time.

It was another tight game which this time Melbourne won 9–8 with Cameron Smith kicking a late field goal to claim victory.

In the game, Cooper Cronk playing injured, assumed a virtual on-field player-coach role, using his years of Grand Final experience to help the Roosters defeat the Melbourne side.

[88][91] With the 2020 NRL season disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Melbourne's Round 8 "home" game against the Roosters was transferred to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

The match wasn't without controversy due to Melbourne scoring a try in the first half which came directly after Harry Grant had knocked the ball on from a cross-field kick.