119-701: The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast , Queensland , Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the Titans have played their home games at Robina Stadium in Robina, Queensland . The Titans were the first national-level team from the Gold Coast since
238-517: A 14-point haul for the Titans. The close loss to St. George Illawarra wouldn't last long in the memories of Titans fans as a week later the Gold Coast franchise recorded their first official victory in another tight match, winning 18–16 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at home. The start of the season saw the Titans only manage four wins in the first ten rounds but a mid-season five-week-long winning streak of four wins and
357-606: A 14-point win over the Wests Tigers in Sydney. However, the promising start to the year ended there. The club then suffered 6 straight losses, 5 of which were at their home ground. Round 17 saw the Titans record their first win in over 2 months, with an ugly 4-point win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs . However, the club then suffered a defeat by the out of form Canberra Raiders on the Gold Coast. In round 19,
476-617: A breakaway faction of England's Rugby Football Union (RFU). Both organisations played the game under the same rules at first, although the Northern Union began to modify rules almost immediately, thus creating a new simpler game that was intended to be a faster-paced form of rugby football. Similar breakaway factions split from RFU-affiliated unions in Australia and New Zealand in 1907 and 1908, renaming themselves "rugby football league s" and introducing Northern Union rules. In 1922,
595-404: A bye for 22 competition points. Despite having an outdated home ground as they waited for their new stadium to be completed, the Titans had the second-highest average attendance of all NRL clubs for 2007. At the end of 2007 Luke Bailey and Anthony Laffranchi were named co-winners of the club's inaugural Paul Broughton Medal for best and fairest player of the season. In their debut season,
714-735: A bye saw the Titans sitting in the top four at the conclusion of round 15. The streak was ended in a poor 22–6 loss against the Warriors at home, then they slumped to a five-match losing streak which included a golden point loss to the Brisbane Broncos in Round 17 and a 56–10 loss at the hands of the Canberra Raiders in Round 18. The Gold Coast wouldn't register another win until round 21, but by then they had already slipped to 11th position and needed to obtain maximum points from
833-580: A decree by the RFU banning the playing of rugby at grounds where entrance fees were charged led to twenty-two clubs (including Stockport, who negotiated by telephone) meeting at the George Hotel, Huddersfield , on 29 August 1895 and forming the "Northern Rugby Football Union". Within fifteen years of that first meeting in Huddersfield, more than 200 RFU clubs had left to join the rugby league. In 1897,
952-405: A four-yearly cycle in the 2010s; as of 2023 , the holders are Australia . A short-sided version of the sport, rugby league nines , using modified rugby league rules also exists, and is comparable to rugby sevens . Wheelchair rugby league is a mixed-gender sport using heavily modified rugby league rules for disabled and able-bodied players. Unlike wheelchair rugby which adopted its name after
1071-571: A lawyer. He spent a short time in Darwin before returning to Canberra in the suburb of Narrabundah . Gallop played cricket at Canberra Grammar and his father persuaded him to become a Canberra Raiders supporter. He started a sports administration course at Canberra College of Advanced Education but bowed out after just a week for arts at the Australian National University . He then moved to Sydney in 1984 to study law at
1190-674: A meeting with John Ribot , who had come up with the Super League idea, and Gallop first became involved in Rugby league as Legal Affairs Manager for Super League in 1995. Having previously acted as the NRL's Director of Legal and Business Affairs, Gallop was closely involved in all key decisions involving the game since the NRL's inception in late 1997. He was voted the New South Wales Sports Administrator of
1309-437: A mix of the two sports' rules. Much more so than rugby union, rugby league shares significant similarities with North American gridiron codes. Although described as evolving from both rugby and association football , the basic structures of American and Canadian football are remarkably similar to rugby league through a process of parallel evolution: a try-and-goal based scoring system, a set number of plays before handover of
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#17327756775951428-633: A professional level. 45 national teams are ranked by the RLIF and a further 32 are officially recognized and unranked. The strongest rugby league nations are Australia , England , New Zealand , Samoa and Tonga . The Rugby League World Cup is the highest form of representative rugby league. Countries that have contested are Australia , Cook Islands , England , Fiji , France , Ireland , Italy , Jamaica , Lebanon , New Zealand , Papua New Guinea , Russia , Samoa , Scotland , South Africa , Tonga , US and Wales . The 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which
1547-464: A promising start to the season, scoring 5 tries in the opening 5 games, 4 of which were intercept tries. Foundation coach John Cartwright would coach his last game in round 22, after announcing he would be standing down from the role. Assistant coach Neil Henry will coach the club for the remaining 4 rounds. The Titans were able to end the difficult year on a high upsetting the Bulldogs who went on
1666-467: A result of the 2011 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks supplements scandal . His record streak was halted at 215 consecutive games. From round 11 to round 20, David Taylor produced his best patch of form since joining the club. This included 5 tries in 6 games, and also earned him a recall into the Queensland State of Origin team for games 2 and 3 of the 2014 series. Halfback Albert Kelly also had
1785-453: A result play stops much less frequently in rugby league, with the ball typically in play for 50 out of the 80 minutes compared to around 35 minutes for professional rugby union. Other differences include that there are fewer players in rugby league (13 compared to 15) and different rules for tackling . Rugby union has more detailed rules than rugby league and has changed less since the 1895 schism. Since rugby union turned professional in
1904-415: A team's creative unit or 'playmakers'. During the interactions between a team's 'key' players (five-eighth, half-back, fullback, lock forward, and hooker), the five-eighth and half-back will usually be involved in most passing moves. These two positions are commonly called the "halves". The forwards' two responsibilities can be broken into "normal play" and "scrum play". For information on a forward's role in
2023-401: A value of 2 points when kicked from beyond the 40 metre line. Field position is crucial in rugby league, achieved by running with or kicking the ball. Passing in rugby league may only be in a backward or sideways direction. Teammates, therefore, have to remain on-side by not moving ahead of the player with the ball. The ball may be kicked ahead, but if teammates are in front of the kicker when
2142-471: A vigorous recruitment drive, they announced the signing of Sydney Roosters assistant coach John Cartwright as the Titans first head-coach and successfully signed contracts with established players such as Dally M Medal winner Preston Campbell , Queensland & Australian representative Scott Prince , New South Wales & Australian representative Luke Bailey and enticing former league player Mat Rogers back from rugby union. In February 2007,
2261-557: Is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 m (74 yd) wide and 112–122 m (122–133 yd) long with H-shaped posts at both ends. It is one of the two major codes of rugby football , the other being rugby union . It originated in 1895 in Huddersfield , Yorkshire , England, as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) over
2380-492: Is an oval and only seats 16,000 (although it has been known to fit in 23,000 after minor redevelopment). Although their bid was knocked back, the consortium continued to push heavily in 2005 for a Gold Coast team, changing the entry year to 2007. The Gold Coast received a massive boost when the Queensland Government announced they would spend A$ 100 million on a new, 25,000-seat rectangular stadium in Robina for
2499-474: Is conducted under the direction of the Federation of International Touch (FIT). Though it shares similarities and history with rugby league , it is recognised as a sport in its own right due to its differences which have been developed over the sport's lifetime. Touch is a variation of rugby league with the tackling of opposing players replaced by a touch. As touches must be made with minimal force, touch
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#17327756775952618-403: Is growing at a phenomenal rate. There are 89 rugby league teams in Gold Coast primary schools and 59 teams in Gold Coast high schools representing about 2,300 young players. That's just schoolboys. If the catchment area includes the region from South Brisbane to Byron Bay in northern NSW, then it covers a rugby league heartland starving for recognition. These areas would only blossom even more if
2737-432: Is the dominant winter sport in the eastern Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland . The game is also among the predominant sports of Tonga and is played in other Pacific nations such as Samoa and Fiji . Researchers have found that rugby league has been able to help with improving development in the islands. In Australia, and indeed the rest of the region, the annual State of Origin series ranks among
2856-555: Is therefore considered a limited-contact sport. The original basic rules of touch were established in the 1960s by members of the South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club in Sydney, Australia . OzTag is a non-contact form of rugby league, and can be seen as a variation of British tag rugby. Cronulla Sharks and St George Dragons halfback Perry Haddock introduced the sport in Australia while coaching
2975-413: Is worth. One of the main differences is the rules of possession. When the ball goes into touch , possession in rugby union is contested through a line-out , while in rugby league a scrum restarts play. The lesser focus on contesting possession means that play focuses more on powerful running, hard tackling, forward progression and the contest for field position (commonly compared to an "arm wrestle"); as
3094-602: The 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final replay at Odsal Stadium , Bradford , England, setting a new record for attendance at a rugby football match of either code. Also in 1954, the Rugby League World Cup, the first for either code of rugby, was formed at the instigation of the French. In 1966, the International Board introduced a rule that a team in possession was allowed three play-the-balls and on
3213-405: The 1999 NRL season . Figure shown is the total attendance which is officially counted for both games. ** The official attendance of the 1954 Challenge Cup Final replay was 102,569. Unofficial estimates put the attendance as high as 150,000, Bradford Police confirming 120,000. David Gallop David Gallop is an Australian sports administrator, lawyer and served as the chief executive of
3332-454: The ARL and NZRL . Since rugby league was introduced to Australia in 1908, it has become the largest television sport and 3rd most attended sport in Australia. Neighbouring Papua New Guinea is one of two countries to have rugby league as its national sport (with Cook Islands ). Australia's elite club competition also features a team from Auckland , New Zealand's biggest city. Rugby league
3451-720: The Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland by scorelines of 16–25, 16–38, 10–12 and 16–20 respectively. They never recovered from their horror start to the year only winning 6 games all year which is their worst season to date finishing on 16 points and receiving the wooden spoon. The Titans signed seven new players for the 2012 season including former Australian and NSW representative Jamal Idris and current QLD representative Nate Myles former Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks prop Luke Douglas They also lost key foundation players such as Preston Campbell , Anthony Laffranchi , Nathan Friend and Mat Rogers . The club started their 2012 with an impressive 18–0 win over
3570-731: The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs . In the 2009 finals series, they lost their qualifying final 40–32 against the Brisbane Broncos , then lost the semi-final 27–2 against the Parramatta Eels . The Titans signed five new players for the 2010 season in Joe Tomane , Marshall Chalk , Riley Brown , Clinton Toopi , Greg Bird and Steve Michaels The Titans lost a number of players for the 2010 season, including Ben Jeffery , Brenton Bowen , Chris Walker , Daniel Conn , Brett Delaney and Siosaia Vave . For
3689-505: The FFA Cup competition bringing together clubs from the national level A-League as well as state based leagues. In his time as CEO, Australia's men's and women's national teams also underwent substantial change, with Holger Osieck replaced as the men's team by Ange Postecoglou who took charge for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals and Australia's successful appearance at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup . Australia's women's team coach Alen Stajcic
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3808-703: The Football Federation Australia until December 2019. He previously served as the chief executive officer of the National Rugby League between February 2002 and June 2012. He was also the Secretary of the Rugby League International Federation from its inception in 1998 up until his resignation on 5 June 2012. Gallop was born in Canberra and lived there until the age of 14 while his father worked as
3927-646: The Gold Coast-Tweed Giants / Gold Coast Seagulls / Gold Coast Chargers , which existed from 1988 to 1998. The beginnings of a Gold Coast team's bid to return to the National Rugby League began when the Australian Rugby League decided to remove the financially successful Gold Coast Chargers from the National Rugby League at the end of the 1998 Season . The ARL wanted to have a second major team based in Brisbane and believed
4046-634: The International Rugby League . Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands and is a popular sport in countries such as England , Australia , New Zealand , France , Tonga , Fiji , Samoa , Lebanon , Jamaica , and Malta . The first Rugby League World Cup was held in France in 1954, the first World Cup of either rugby code, and has been held sporadically ever since, settling into
4165-704: The New South Wales Rugby Football League was founded at Bateman's Hotel in George Street. Unlike in England, where both codes maintained their own geographic areas of dominance, in Australia rugby league went on to displace rugby union entirely as the primary football code in New South Wales and Queensland , while Australian rules football dominated the rest of Australia. On 5 May 1954, 102,569 spectators watched
4284-683: The North Queensland Cowboys away from home. However, the success was very short lived, losing the next five in a row, four of which were at home. round 7 saw Aidan Sezer make his NRL Debut Against the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval . The Titans produced a 26-14 upset, with Sezer scoring in his debut. Debutant for the Titans Jamal Idris coughing up two tries in the round 7 match up. The next two games were losses. From rounds 10–21,
4403-749: The Ottawa Aces were scheduled to join the English league pyramid, becoming the only Canadian team in the system after the Wolfpack were denied re-entry. The club subsequently relocated to Penryn, Cornwall , and are now known as Cornwall R.L.F.C. In 2021, the North American Rugby League announced an attempt to be North America's professional championship, with Canadian club Toronto Wolfpack joining several USA Rugby League clubs, New York Freedom and Cleveland Rugby League to form
4522-521: The Parramatta Eels back in 2007. In 2013, the club managed a 36-point win over the Canberra Raiders , a 38-point win over the Parramatta Eels , and a 28-point win over the Wests Tigers . Another positive to come out of the season was the new halves pairing of Albert Kelly and Aiden Sezer , who played the majority of the season alongside one another. Before the 2014 season started, the Gold Coast Titans lost marquee centre Jamal Idris to
4641-529: The Penrith Panthers . The centre left the club only 2 years into his 5-year contract, because he wanted to be closer to his family in Sydney. The Titans didn't sign any marquee players for the 2014 season, but did pick up Penrith centre Brad Tighe , Melbourne utility Maurice Blair , and Bulldogs forward Paul Carter . One of the Titan's foundation players, Luke O'Dwyer , also retired. The beginning of
4760-598: The Rugby League European Federation and Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation expanding the game to new areas such as Chile , Canada , Ghana , Philippines , Czech Republic , Germany , The Netherlands , Sweden , Norway , Spain , Sri Lanka , Hungary , Turkey , Thailand and Brazil to name a few. The two most prominent full-time professional leagues are the Australian National Rugby League and
4879-545: The University of Sydney , graduating in 1988. In 1989, he travelled to England to play cricket in the Kent League . In 1990, he married wife Katherine and together they have two children, Thomas and Anna. During the summer of 1994–95, Gallop was working as an associate with the Sydney law firm Holman Webb Lawyers , and playing cricket on weekends with a University of NSW Cricket Club side. A UNSW teammate had set up
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4998-556: The line-out was abolished and in 1898 professionalism introduced. In 1906, the Northern Union changed its rules, reducing teams from 15 to 13 a side and replacing the ruck formed after tackles with the play-the-ball . By this point, rule changes meant the game organised by the RFL was distinct as a sport from its union cousin. A similar schism to that which occurred in England took place in Sydney , Australia. There, on 8 August 1907
5117-502: The 'chief rat'. This was the second major salary cap scandal under Gallop's leadership. In 2002, the then table-topping Canterbury Bulldogs were stripped of all competition points and finished wooden spooners after being found cheating the salary cap. However, just two years later they won the premiership with largely the same playing roster. Gallop also had to deal with the mid-season defection of Bulldogs star Sonny Bill Williams to French rugby union . In February 2012, coinciding with
5236-466: The 1990s, when News Corporation paid for worldwide broadcasting rights. The media giant's "Super League" movement created changes for the traditional administrators of the game. In Europe, it resulted in a move from Rugby League being a winter sport to a summer one, as the new Super League competition tried to expand its market. In Australasia, the Super League war resulted in long and costly legal battles and changing loyalties, causing significant damage to
5355-518: The 1992 St George Jersey Flegg side. Together with Chris Parkes, the two took the sport to fields across Australia. Today, it is played by over 200,000 players in organised leagues across the country. League Tag replaces tackling with the removal of one of two tags carried on an opponent's hips, attached directly to specific League Tag shorts with Velcro patches, but otherwise retains almost all other rules of traditional rugby league (such as kicking). A number of additional rules are also added relating to
5474-697: The 2009 season in Sam Tagataese , Matthew White , Jackson Nicolau and Raiders speedster William Zillman . Similar to the Titans previous seasons, they find themselves on top of the competition ladder after six rounds sitting on ten premiership points alongside their rivals the Brisbane Broncos . Early victories against the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Melbourne Storm away from home without skipper Scott Prince , silenced many of their critics who believed they could not win away from
5593-522: The 2014 season look promising for the Titans. The club managed to win 5 of their first 6 games, putting them at outright 1st on the NRL ladder. This period included a 4-game winning streak, including a nail biting Queensland derby against the Brisbane Broncos , and a controversial 2-point win over the Melbourne Storm in Melbourne. In rounds 7 and 8, the club recorded a 2-point loss to the Panthers, and
5712-515: The 2017 Kingstone Press League 1 in their inaugural season and earned promotion to the 2018 Rugby League Championship. In 2019 The Wolfpack won promotion to the Super League, lasting only a few months before having to withdraw due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic . New ownership is currently trying to revive the club with matches against amateur clubs in the US and Canada. Beginning in 2022,
5831-674: The British Super League (with teams from New Zealand and France respectively). Other professional and semi professional leagues include Australia's Queensland Cup (which includes a team from Papua New Guinea ) and NSW Cup , the British RFL Championship and RFL League 1 , the French Super XIII and Elite 2 . The Papua New Guinea National Rugby League operates as a semi-professional competition and enjoys nationwide media coverage, being
5950-584: The Gold Coast club had turned over $ 16 million. The 2008 NRL season was the Titans' second in the National Rugby League. A major boost for the Titans was the signing of past Queensland representative Ashley Harrison from the Sydney Roosters . The Titans played their first official match at their new Stadium, Robina Stadium , against the North Queensland Cowboys with the final score being 36–18. Rookie Jordan Atkins became only
6069-478: The Gold Coast should they be accepted into the 2007 competition. The stadium would not be completed until early 2008 yet the promise of a new first-class facility was enough for the NRL to accept the Gold Coasts bid and on 27 May 2005, NRL CEO David Gallop announced that the Gold Coast franchise would be the 16th team in the 2007 NRL season . In the time since the Gold Coast was admitted, the Titans completed
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#17327756775956188-524: The Gold Coast side managed a mid season revival. In the period, the club only lost three times, with seven wins and two byes. The revival was not enough to push them into the finals, as they lost four of their last five matches. In March 2012 it was found that the Gold Coast had fallen into $ 35 million debt. The team fought wind-up proceedings in the Federal Court and managed to survive the crippling situation. Newly appointed CEO David May revealed that
6307-771: The Gold Coast used the Dolphins name. Midway through that year the National Rugby League announced that after viewing submissions from the Gold Coast Dolphins, the Central Coast Bears and the Wellington Orcas , there would not be a 16th team included in the 2006 NRL competition . Reasons given to the Gold Coast was the National Rugby Leagues concern over the quality and capacity of their home ground, Carrara Stadium , which
6426-545: The Melbourne Storm team. He further announced they would play out the remainder of the 2010 season for no points. Gallop was widely criticised by many for these heavy penalties with much of the criticism directed at the apparent conflict of interest. Gallop's employer - News Limited - was also the owner of the Melbourne Storm. Gallop was also close friends with John Hartigan - the then Chairman of News Limited Australia. Hartigan identified Storm's ex-CEO Brian Waldron as
6545-461: The National Rugby League, this was reduced to ten prior to the 2008 season and further reduced to eight prior to the 2016 season. If a team has to interchange a player due to the blood bin rule or due to injury, and this was the result of misconduct from the opposing team, the compromised team does not have to use one of its allocated interchanges to take the player in question off the field. The backs are generally smaller, faster and more agile than
6664-630: The Northern Union also changed its name to the Rugby Football League and thus over time the sport itself became known as "rugby league" football. In 1895, a schism in Rugby football resulted in the formation of the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU). The success of working class northern teams led to some compensating players who otherwise would be on their job and earning income on Saturdays. This led to
6783-411: The RFU reacting to enforce the amateur principle of the sport, preventing "broken time payments" to players who had taken time off work to play rugby. Northern teams typically had more working class players (coal miners, mill workers etc.) who could not afford to play without this compensation, in contrast to affluent southern teams who had other sources of income to sustain the amateur principle. In 1895,
6902-457: The Titans played their historic first game in a trial against the previous season's Minor-Premiers and Grand Finalists Melbourne Storm , previously the newest club in the League (apart from the merged teams). They were beaten in the club's first hit-out but over the following weeks, Cartwright fielded his full strength team in two other pre-season trials, winning 22–10 over the Parramatta Eels for
7021-774: The Titans suffered their heaviest loss to date, losing to the Broncos 54–0 at Robina Stadium. On 18 October 2017, Gold Coast appointed Garth Brennan as their new coach. At the end of 2017, Jarryd Hayne left the club to rejoin Parramatta for the 2018 season ending one of the most turbulent times in the club's history. Rugby league Rugby league football , commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby XIII in non- Anglophone Europe and South America, and referred to colloquially as football , footy , rugby , or league in its heartlands,
7140-456: The Titans travelled to Newcastle for the cornerstone match in the 'Rise for Alex Round'. The Titans managed to produce a 22-6 upset win. Since then, however, the club has lost another 6 straight games, including a dismal 42–0 loss to the Warriors . This would be the first time the club has been held to nil since their inception in 2007. In round 24, prop Luke Douglas would miss his first ever game since his debut in 2006, after being suspended as
7259-495: The Titans' strongest points in 2008 was the form of halfback Scott Prince, who earned selection for State of Origin. However early in Game 3, his arm was broken, putting him on the sideline for the season. Subsequently, the Titans lost four straight games. They finished their season at 13th on the NRL ladder. This year their turnover increased to $ 22 million and the club posted a $ 1.5m profit. The Titans secured four new signings for
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#17327756775957378-568: The Titans, and re-signed with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. After the money from Cherry-Evans' contract was freed up, due to him no longer joining the club for the 2016 season and beyond, the Titans signed a handful of players during the off-season. Signings included halves Tyrone Roberts and Ashley Taylor from the Newcastle Knights and Brisbane Broncos respectively, former Titans hooker Nathan Friend from
7497-477: The Warriors, props David Shillington and Zeb Taia from the Canberra Raiders and Catalans Dragons, and premiership winning second-rower Chris McQueen from the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The first half of the Titans' season was shaky, having won six games, and also losing six games, sitting in the Top 8 by the end of Round 13. During this time, the Gold Coast added Warriors centre Konrad Hurrell to their roster, as well as former Parramatta hooker Nathan Peats , who
7616-450: The Year in 2002. In 2006, he was voted the Australian Sports Administrator of the year at the Confederation of Australian Sport Awards. In 2008, he was appointed to the Board of the Australian Sports Commission . In 2010, he was named acting Chairman of the Australian Sports Commission . In April 2010, in one of the greatest sporting scandals in NRL history, he announced the stripping of two premierships and three minor premierships from
7735-447: The ball comes into contact with the ground. An attacking team gets a maximum of six tackles to progress up the field before possession is changed over. Once the tackle is completed, the ball-carrier must be allowed to get to his feet to ' play-the-ball '. Ball control is also important in rugby league, as a fumble of the ball on the ground forces a handover, unless the ball is fumbled backwards. The ball can also be turned over by going over
7854-421: The ball is kicked, they are deemed off-side. Tackling is a key component of rugby league play. Only the player holding the ball may be tackled. A tackle is complete, for example, when the player is held by one or more opposing players in such a manner that he can make no further progress and cannot part with the ball, or when the player is held by one or more opposing players and the ball or the hand or arm holding
7973-418: The best way to achieve this was by removing the Gold Coast team from the competition. The attempt to launch a second Brisbane team failed and in 1999, Michael Searle , former Gold Coast Chargers player and Managing Director of International Sports Australia, formed a Gold Coast Bid Team. The team included former Chargers boss Paul Broughton and was labelled as "The Gold Coast Consortium" by the media. The board
8092-400: The club on a four-year deal starting from 2016, with the deal reported to be worth over $ 1 million a season. Titans Chief Executive Officer , Graham Annesley , stated "I think this signing sends a positive sign to the rugby league world that this club does have a future and it can attract quality players and it can turn itself around." However, on 3 June 2015, Cherry-Evans reneged his deal with
8211-435: The club to return to the NRL Finals for the first time since 2010, after the 9th placed Wests Tigers lost 52-10 to the Canberra Raiders. The men from the glitter strip played the Brisbane Broncos in a controversial elimination final on 10 September and were knocked out 44–28, ending their 2016 season. 2017 was a year to forget for Gold Coast as they finished 15th on the table at the end of the season. Star recruit Kevin Proctor
8330-423: The club was debt free in 2013. The Titans only signed a handful of players for the 2013 season, most notably Australian and Queensland representative Dave Taylor , as well as controversial halfback Albert Kelly , who had been sacked from his previous 2 clubs. The club, however, also lost their captain Scott Prince to the Brisbane Broncos . The club managed to win 4 of their first 6 matches to put themselves in
8449-408: The club's first victory. The following week in the team first played in front of their home fans on the Gold Coast, they ran out 28–6 winners over the Penrith Panthers . Although merely trial matches, the signs were positive for the Titans' debut season to come. The Titans played their first official match in round 1 of the 2007 NRL season against the St. George Illawarra Dragons . Their first game
8568-469: The code in an extremely competitive sporting market. In 1997 two competitions were run alongside each other in Australia, after which a peace deal in the form of the National Rugby League was formed. The NRL has since become recognised as the sport's flagship competition and since that time has set record TV ratings and crowd figures. The objective in rugby league is to score more points through tries , goals and field goals (also known as drop goals) than
8687-404: The final four rounds to confirm a spot in the finals in their maiden season. The side only managed one win from the final four matches, however, missing out on the finals. In the final round, a 50–6 thrashing at the hands of [Melbourne Storm] ended the Titans' debut season on somewhat of a sour note, with the young Gold Coast franchise finishing the season in 12th position with 10 wins, 14 losses and
8806-681: The five years prior to the Second World War , the sport's popularity increased as Frenchmen became disenchanted with the state of French rugby union in the 1930s. However, after the Allied Forces were defeated by Germany in June 1940, the Vichy regime in the south seized assets belonging to rugby league authorities and clubs and banned the sport for its association with the left-wing Popular Front government that had governed France before
8925-547: The football, each play restarting from a set piece position and ended by a tackle. Although the Canadian Football League in particular maintained the word 'rugby' in its name for many years, alluding to that shared past, the introduction of the forward pass and unlimited substitution in North American games created a fundamentally different species of game from either original rugby code. Although
9044-452: The formation of the new NRL independent commission and the exit of News Limited from its control of the game, Gallop's contract as CEO was formally extended a further four years. His contract extension was a condition placed by News Limited with the ARL. 2012 was Gallop's 10th year in charge of Rugby League in Australia; however, on Tuesday, 5 June 2012 Gallop's reign as NRL CEO came to an end when
9163-407: The forwards. They are often the most creative and evasive players on the field, relying on running, kicking and handling skills, as well as tactics and set plays, to break the defensive line, instead of brute force. Generally forwards play a more collision oriented game, making ground by pure strength, and tackling near the play-the-ball. Usually, the stand-off/five-eighth and scrum-half/half-back are
9282-406: The fourth tackle a scrum was to be formed. This was increased to six tackles in 1972 and in 1983 the scrum was replaced by a handover. 1967 saw the first professional Sunday matches of rugby league played. The first sponsors, Joshua Tetley and John Player , entered the game for the 1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season . Television had an enormous impact on the sport of rugby league in
9401-513: The ground, with the ball usually set in a kicking tee , and the opposing team not allowed to directly challenge the kicker. The Super League in Europe and the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australasia are the world's premier club competitions. Globally, rugby league is played internationally , predominantly by European , Australasian , and Pacific Island countries, and is governed by
9520-411: The historic link between the codes continues to be acknowledged, neither Canadian or American football is commonly considered a rugby code today except in the broadest sense, and are more commonly referred to collectively as gridiron codes, or simply as 'football' within their respective countries. Players on the pitch are divided into forwards and backs , although the game's rules apply to all players
9639-575: The holiday strip or without their veteran halfback. Many of the Titans NYC side made their debut and turned into regular first-graders, such as Esi Tonga , David Mead and Kevin Gordon . Kayne Lawton , Bodene Thompson and Selasi Berdie also made their NRL debut. The club's most successful season so far saw them finish in third position, which was in 2009. They were two points behind the competition front-runners St. George Illawarra Dragons and
9758-440: The invention of the sport previously called murderball and is not directly linked to rugby union, wheelchair rugby league has grown out of the parent sport, and retains key aspects of that sport such as an egg shaped ball, the forward-pass rule and conversions. While not a Paralympic sport, the sport has its own Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup . A further variation for ambulatory disabled players, physical disability rugby league ,
9877-412: The issue of payments to players. The rules of the game governed by the new Northern Rugby Football Union progressively changed from those of the RFU with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to spectators, on whose income the new organisation and its members depended. In rugby league, points are scored by carrying an oval ball and touching it to the ground beyond
9996-408: The last 6 rounds. However, the club only managed to win 3 of these 6 games, which wasn't enough to push them inside the top 8. The Titans finished on 26 points, 2 points behind the 8th placed North Queensland Cowboys During the season, the Gold Coast Titans managed to break their biggest ever winning margin (heading into the season) 3 times. Their biggest ever win before 2013 was by 26 points against
10115-511: The league's inaugural season. Several brand new clubs from Western USA were scheduled to join in 2022 but never played. The new competition is sanctioned by Canada Rugby League , but not yet by the United States governing body. Unfortunately, while some exhibition matches were played in 2021 and 2022, NARL was defunct by 2023 The early 21st century has seen other countries take up the game and compete in international rugby league with
10234-453: The mid-1990s, it has increasingly borrowed techniques, tactics and even laws from rugby league, while high-profile players and coaches from the league game have increasingly gone on to success in the union code in those countries where both codes are popular (e.g. Andy Farrell , Jason Robinson and Henry Paul ). The inherent similarities between rugby league and rugby union have at times led to experimental hybrid games being played that use
10353-537: The most popular sporting events. The Rugby League European Federation are responsible for developing rugby league in Europe . In England, rugby league has traditionally been associated with the historic northern counties of Yorkshire , Lancashire , and Cumberland , where the game originated, especially in towns and cities along the M62 corridor . Its popularity has also increased elsewhere. As of 2024 , only two of
10472-413: The national sport of the country. Five main variant sports of rugby league exist worldwide; Touch , OzTag , League tag , Nines , and Sevens . Touch, OzTag, and League Tag are all non-contact versions of the sport, where as Nines and Sevens are both reduced form (shorter match times and smaller teams) of the sport. Touch (also known as touch football or touch rugby) is a variant of rugby league that
10591-403: The new Independent Commission announced his immediate departure. This was mostly due to the fact that the ARL wanted to go 'in a different direction'. On 21 August 2012, David Gallop was announced as the new chief executive of the Football Federation Australia , replacing previous CEO and former Australian rules footballer Ben Buckley . During his time as CEO, Gallop oversaw the introduction of
10710-561: The new Super League, although the club was dissolved in 1997. In 2006, the Super League admitted the Catalans Dragons, a team from Perpignan in the southern Languedoc-Roussillon region. They have subsequently reached the 2007 Challenge Cup Final and made the playoffs of the 2008 Super League XIII season. The success of the Dragons in Super League has initiated a renaissance in French rugby league, with new-found enthusiasm for
10829-460: The north of England there have been complaints about its lack of profile in the British media. On the eve of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup final where England would face Australia, English amateur rugby league coach Ben Dawson stated, "we're in the final of a World Cup. First time in more than 30 years and there's no coverage anywhere". France first played rugby league as late as 1934, where in
10948-404: The opposing team's goal line; this is called a try , and is the primary method of scoring, worth four points. The opposing team attempts to stop the attacking side scoring points by tackling the player carrying the ball and denying forward progress. On occasion, where a clear try scoring opportunity has been thwarted by foul play, a penalty try may be awarded without the ball being grounded over
11067-475: The opposition within the 80 minutes of play. If after two-halves of play, each consisting of forty minutes, the two teams are drawing , a draw may be declared, or the game may enter extra time under the golden point rule, depending on the relevant competition's format. The try is the most common form of scoring, and a team will usually attempt to score one by running and kicking the ball further upfield or passing from player-to-player in order to manoeuvre around
11186-400: The opposition's defence. A try involves touching the ball to the ground on or beyond the defending team's goal-line and is worth four points. A goal is worth two points and may be gained from a conversion or a penalty . A field goal, or drop goal, is only worth one point and is gained by dropping and then kicking the ball on the half volley between the uprights in open play. A field goal has
11305-568: The play in the grand final at home 19–18. After an investigation by the NRL into the Titans and five other clubs (Brisbane Broncos, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Newcastle Knights and Sydney Roosters), the Titans were fined AU$ 300,000. On 24 February, the club was placed into voluntary administration and its licence was transferred to the NRL in February 2015. One day before the 2015 NRL season kicked off, Daly Cherry-Evans announced he would join
11424-542: The position they play, similarly to association football . Substitutes (generally referred to as "the bench") are allowed in the sport, and are typically used when a player gets tired or injured , although they can also be used tactically. Each team is currently allowed four substitutes, and in Australia and New Zealand, these players occupy shirt numbers 14 to 22. There are no limitations on which players must occupy these interchangeable slots. Generally, twelve interchanges are allowed in any game from each team, although in
11543-557: The public from the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre . Initially the team was to be named the Gold Coast Dolphins, with the team colours to be white, jade and orange. While the Dolphins moniker was popular among many, the heavyweight Brisbane Queensland Cup side the Redcliffe Dolphins saw it as a threat for any prospect of entering the NRL they had, and as a result threatened severe legal action if
11662-535: The resurgent Sydney Roosters , 32–6, ending their season one week short of the Grand Final. After 2010 the Titans finished up 4th overall in the 2010 NRL season , with Mat Rogers retiring at the conclusion of the season. During the off-season the Titans lost inspirational five-eighth Mat Rogers to retirement. To date the Titans have recorded their worst ever start to a season, losing four of their first five matches against St. George Illawarra , Melbourne ,
11781-501: The same way. Each position has a designated number to identify himself from other players. These numbers help to identify which position a person is playing. The system of numbering players is different depending on which country the match is played in. In Australia and New Zealand, each player is usually given a number corresponding to their playing position on the field. However, since 1996 European teams have been able to grant players specific squad numbers, which they keep without regard to
11900-496: The scrum see rugby league scrummage . Forward positions are traditionally named after the player's position in the scrum yet are equal with respect to "normal play" with the exception of the hooker. Forward positions are traditionally assigned as follows: Rugby league is played in over 70 nations throughout the world. Papua New Guinea is the only country to have rugby league as its national sport . Four countries – Australia, England, France, and New Zealand – have teams that play at
12019-400: The second person in the history of Australian rugby league to score four tries on debut, alongside Canterbury's Tony Nash in 1942. The sellout 26,974-strong crowd assisted the Titans in firmly establishing that they were a force to be reckoned with in 2008. The club went on to hit top place on the NRL ladder for the first time after round 6. They managed to maintain top spot on the ladder all
12138-419: The second year in succession the Titans qualified for the finals, finishing 4th and thereby earning a home qualifying final against the fifth-placed Warriors . The Titans' 28–16 win, coupled with losses for two other top four teams, meant that the Titans earned the week off and a right to host a preliminary final at the larger Lang Park , which turned out to be its 100th ever premiership match. The Titans lost to
12257-524: The sideline. Rugby league and rugby union are distinct sports with many similarities and a shared origin. Both have the same fundamental rules, are played for 80 minutes and feature an oval-shaped ball and H-shaped goalposts. Both have rules that the ball cannot be passed forward, and dropping it forwards leads to a scrum. Both use tries as the central scoring method and conversion kicks , penalty goals and drop goals as additional scoring methods. However, there are differences in how many points each method
12376-526: The specific issues associated with a tag based game. Rugby League played with nine players per team with nine minutes per half, in addition to slight rule modifications to aid the game. Rugby League played with seven players per team with seven minutes per half, in addition to slight rule modifications to aid the game. The top five attendances for rugby league test matches (International) are: The top five attendances for domestic based rugby league matches are: * NRL double header played to open Round 1 of
12495-663: The sport in the south of the country where most of the Super XIII teams are based. In other parts of Europe, the game is played at semi-professional and amateur level. As of 2023, there is no professional rugby league in North America. From 2017 to 2020, the Toronto Wolfpack were North America 's only active professional Rugby League team, competing in the English Rugby League system. They won
12614-473: The top 8. They then lost consecutive matches against the Newcastle Knights and the Warriors . Since then, the club and won another 4 from their next 6, to put them at 5th on the ladder. An injury to form centre Jamal Idris for the rest of the season derailed their promising campaign. The club their next 4 matches, seeing them slide outside the top 8. Prop Ryan James hit a purple patch of form in
12733-482: The try line. In addition to tries, points can be scored by kicking goals. Drop goals (or field goals) can be attempted from the hand at any time for a single point. Following a successful try, the scoring team gains a free kick to try at goal with a conversion worth a further two points. Penalty kicks at goal, known simply as penalties, may also be awarded for general foul play, and are also worth two points. Unlike drop goals, penalty kicks and conversions are taken from
12852-571: The twelve Super League teams are based outside of these traditional counties: Catalans Dragons and London Broncos . One other team from outside the United Kingdom, Toulouse Olympique , competes in the British rugby league system , although not at the highest tier Super League level, but rather in the second tier Championship . Super League average attendances are in the 8,000 to 9,500 range. The average Super League match attendance in 2014
12971-580: The war. The sport was unbanned after the Liberation of Paris in August 1944 and the collapse of the Vichy regime, although it was still actively marginalised by the French authorities until the 1990s. Despite this, the national side appeared in the finals of the 1954 and 1968 World Cups, and the country hosted the 1954 event. In 1996, a French team, Paris Saint-Germain was one of eleven teams which formed
13090-472: The way until round 11, when a loss to Wests Tigers saw them forfeit top spot to the Sydney Roosters, who led in points differential. At the conclusion of Round 14, the Titans were equal first on points, fourth on points differential, employing a perfect home record for inspiration. Despite facing a tough home stretch, the Titans placed admirably in their pursuit of an inaugural finals campaign. One of
13209-411: The young players had a senior team in the NRL competition to which they could aspire. South-east Queensland needs another NRL team desperately and for a whole host of reasons. In August 2004, the NRL rejected Michael Searle's bid for re-adding a Gold Coast team. However, later, during an episode of Nine Network 's The NRL Footy Show , the "Gold Coast Consortium" announced their team name and jersey to
13328-472: Was 8,365. In 2018 average Super League match attendance was 8,547. Ranked the eighth most popular sport in the UK overall, rugby league is the 27th most popular participation sport in England according to figures released by Sport England ; the total number of rugby league participants in England aged 16 and over was 44,900 in 2017. This is a 39% drop from 10 years ago. While the sport is largely concentrated in
13447-483: Was constantly active in lobbying the NRL to both expand the competition and consider the Gold Coast's bid for inclusion. It was successful in organising pre-season NRL trial matches to be hosted on the Gold Coast and with average attendances of over 16,000, and peak attendances topping 20,000, the popularity of rugby league on the Coast was clear. I firmly believe rugby league should be looking to expand. The Gold Coast area
13566-552: Was created and had its first world cup in 2022 to coincide with the rescheduled 2021 Rugby League World Cup competitions. Rugby league football takes its name from the bodies that split to create a new form of rugby, distinct from that run by the Rugby Football Unions, in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand between 1895 and 1908. The first of these, the Northern Rugby Football Union , was established in 1895 as
13685-471: Was dismissed in the months leading up to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup , leading to some criticism in the media. Gallop would prove an unpopular administrator at times within Australian soccer, with fan boycotts of A-League games reducing crowds by 32% in late 2015, protesting his decision to not defend the Australian football community after an article by News Corp journalist Rebecca Wilson leaked
13804-441: Was forced out of his former club due to the club's ongoing salary cap scandal . On 3 August, the club ultimately made up for the reneging of Daly Cherry Evans by signing two-time Dally M medal winner and cross code superstar Jarryd Hayne , who was available to play for the club immediately and was signed until 2017. By Round 26's end, the Gold Coast won 11 games, drew 1 and lost 12, earning 27 premiership points in total. This allowed
13923-479: Was hosted by England during October and November 2022, staged the Men's , Women's and Wheelchair competitions together for the first time. The competition formerly featured 16 teams, but has been cut down to 10 for the upcoming 2026 Rugby League World Cup . The Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation 's purpose is to spread the sport of rugby league throughout their region along with other governing bodies such as
14042-602: Was moved from their home ground, Carrara Stadium , to Lang Park in Brisbane due to the huge demand of fans eager to see the new Gold Coast outfit in action, and on 18 March 2007, in front of over 42,000 people they made their debut. Gold Coast performed admirably but after falling 14 points behind in the second half 20–6 they couldn't manage a full comeback losing a tight match 20–18. Former Queensland State of Origin winger Chris Walker , who had been released by Melbourne Storm due to off-field troubles in 2006, started his rugby league comeback scoring two tries and two conversions for
14161-568: Was stripped of his co-captaincy responsibilities in May after allegations relating to drug use while in camp with the Kiwis and Hayne's ankle injury and shifting between fullback and centre became a distraction more than a solution. There was also the ongoing feud between coach Neil Henry and Hayne which resulted in Henry's tenure coming to an end after their Round 24 loss to Parramatta. To make matters worse,
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