Brisbane Rugby League
| Brisbane Rugby League | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby league |
| Inaugural season | 1922 |
| Ceased | 1997 |
| Replaced by | Queensland Cup |
| Country |
 Australia
|
| Last premiers | Redcliffe Dolphins (1997) |
| Most titles | Fortitude Valley Diehards (16 titles) |
| Related competition | Queensland Cup |
The Brisbane Rugby League (BRL) premiership was the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia's top rugby league football club competition from 1922 to 1997.
Prior to 1922, the competition was conducted under the auspices of the Queensland Rugby League. Until the 1980s it was the premier sporting competition in Brisbane, attracting large crowds and broad media coverage. The BRL however, had been in slow decline for some 15 years as large numbers of its players left to compete in the more lucrative New South Wales Rugby League premiership, and began to lose popular interest with the creation of the Brisbane Broncos in 1988. The BRL premiership was replaced by the Queensland Cup before the 1998 season.
The Queensland Rugby Football League (QRFL) was formed in 1908 by seven former rugby union players who were dissatisfied with the administration of the Queensland Rugby Union (QRU). The new organisation was attacked by both the local press and the QRU for introducing professionalism, which they claimed would destroy the sport. The "founding fathers" of the QARFL included John Fihelly, an Australian Labor Party Member of Parliament who became Minister for Railways and Deputy Premier.
The first official club competition kicked off in Brisbane on 8 May 1909. Norths played against Souths before a handful of spectators at the Gabba. Matches were played under the auspices of the Queensland Amateur Rugby Football League (later renamed Queensland Rugby League). The foundation clubs were:
In 1922 the Brisbane Rugby Football League (BRFL, later BRL) was formed out of dissatisfaction with the way the QRL ran the game. Those involved took particular exception to the salary being earned by Harry Sunderland as secretary of the QRL. The BRL took control of the local competition. Competing in the BRL competition that year were Brothers, Carltons, Coorparoo, University, Valley and Past Grammars. Although the QRL attempted to regain control of the BRL competition in 1923 and 1924, the BRL remained steadfast and the dispute simmered into the next decade. so dire did the situation become, that by the late 1920s, the QRL commenced its own competition involving Ipswich clubs and two supporting Brisbane clubs.
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