The National Rugby League Heritage Round was established in 2008 to celebrate the 101st Anniversary of the inaugural New South Wales Rugby League 1908 premiership. This marked 100 years of Rugby league in Australia. Each Club would play a rivalry match against a Club that joined the competition at a similar time, or a club which had inherited a legacy of a past club.

Heritage Jerseys

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Clubs wear a different Jersey to their normal home and away strips to mark the significance of the Heritage Round clashes. It is an opportunity for clubs and fans to reflect on their heritage and past glories. As such Jerseys similar to a club's original strip, or strip worn at a particular match or final are a way to reignite rivalries and past glories.

Some examples of jerseys worn in Heritage Round reflect the jersey worn by a side when it first entered the NRL include that worn by the Brisbane Broncos, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St George Illawarra Dragons or Sydney Roosters. The design or colours of a jersey might also denote respect for a side from the same area which no longer exists, such as the design of the Gold Coast Titans and Newcastle Knights heritage jerseys in 2008.

Clubs have also worn Jerseys that reflect an important milestone or event. An example of this is the Balmain Heritage Jersey worn by the Wests Tigers in the 2009 Heritage Round, marking 40 years since a famous Grand Final clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Another example is the Melbourne Storm wearing their 2000 away strip in 2009 as it marked the first Jersey in predominantly purple colours.

Heritage Round 2008 - Centenary of Rugby League

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The first NRL Heritage Round was played out in Round 6, 2008. It was set down to celebrate the anniversary of the first round of the 1908 premiership.[1] Teams wore jerseys reflecting their club or region's first season in the competition.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Gold Coast Titans 26-24 Brisbane Broncos 18 April 2008, 7:30pm Skilled Park Tony Archer 27,176
Parramatta Eels 16-20 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 18 April 2008, 7:30pm Parramatta Stadium Shayne Hayne 14,025
  Bulldogs 30-18 St George Illawarra Dragons 19 April 2008, 5:30pm ANZ Stadium Bernard Sutton 14,767
  North Queensland Cowboys 48-20   New Zealand Warriors 19 April 2008, 7:30pm Dairy Farmers Stadium Jason Robinson 20,554
Cronulla Sharks 20-21 Penrith Panthers 19 April 2008, 7:30pm Toyota Stadium Sean Hampstead 13,852
Sydney Roosters 20-34   Newcastle Knights 20 April 2008, 2:00pm Bluetongue Stadium Steve Lyons 14,176
Wests Tigers 30-10 South Sydney Rabbitohs 20 April 2008, 3:00pm Sydney Cricket Ground Ben Cummins 19,122
Canberra Raiders 16-23 Melbourne Storm 21 April 2008, 7:00pm Canberra Stadium Jared Maxwell 15,550

Heritage Round 2009 - Second Heritage Round

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The second NRL Heritage Round was played out in Round 10. The round opened with a thrilling match between the Dragons and Bulldogs, in which Hazem El Masri played his 300th career game, that was controversially settled by the Video Referee disallowing a try to Jamal Idris in the last minute to deny the Bulldogs victory in front of a packed Jubilee Oval. On the same night, a large crowd turned out in Brisbane to watch the local derby between the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Titans.

Another memorable match was played out at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday afternoon, as South Sydney and the Wests Tigers relived the 1969 Grand Final, with Souths narrowly defeating the Tigers in the dying moments of the game with a field goal.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue Referee Crowd
Brisbane Broncos 32-18 Gold Coast Titans 15 May 2009, 7:35pm Suncorp Stadium Gavin Badger
Shane Hayne
43,079
St George Illawarra Dragons 20-18   Bulldogs 15 May 2009, 7:35pm WIN Jubilee Oval Tony Archer
Ashley Klein
18,415
Sydney Roosters 6-38   Newcastle Knights 16 May 2009, 5:30pm Sydney Football Stadium Chris James
Steve Lyons
8,611
Penrith Panthers 26-22 Cronulla Sharks 16 May 2009, 7:30pm CUA Stadium Jared Maxwell
Gerard Sutton
11,750
 New Zealand Warriors 12-34 North Queensland Cowboys 17 May 2009, 12:00pm Mt Smart Stadium Ben Cummins
Alan Shortall
16,345
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 34-10 Parramatta Eels 17 May 2009, 2:00pm Brookvale Oval Gavin Badger
Tony De Las Heras
15,916
Wests Tigers 22-23 South Sydney Rabbitohs 17 May 2009, 3:00pm Sydney Cricket Ground Ashley Klein
Jason Robinson
29,970
Melbourne Storm 46-6 Canberra Raiders 18 May 2009, 7:00pm Olympic Park Stadium Tony Archer
Brett Suttor
10,112

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NRL Heritage Round Schedule". Archived from the original on 19 September 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
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