This is a list of rivalries in the National Rugby League.
Traditional NSW Rivalries
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs Parramatta Eels
The rivalry between Canterbury and Parramatta is one of the fiercest in The NRL. The two clubs have been geographically close throughout their whole histories. In the 1980s, Canterbury and Parramatta both won four premierships each and played against each other in two grand finals (1984,1986). In the 1990s at the height of the super league war, Parramatta signed four of Canterbury's star players Jarrod Mccracken, Dean Pay, Jim Dymock and Jason Smith which helped Parramatta reach the finals for the first time in eleven years. In the 1998 preliminary final, Parramatta were winning against Canterbury 18–2 with less than 10 minutes to play when Canterbury staged one of the biggest finals comebacks defeating Parramatta 32–20 in extra time. In 2009, Parramatta defeated Canterbury in the preliminary final to cap off a remarkable run to the grand final. The crowd which attended the match was a non grand final record of 74,000 fans. Speaking of the rivalry in 2015, former Canterbury player James Graham said "As soon as I came to this club, I was told that they were the closest club to us and that there was no love lost between players and fans". Andrew Ryan who played for both clubs said "Both clubs do speak about the rivalry, in the change room and leading into the clashes, they always want to get the wood on their rival, I went for Canterbury when I was a kid, but then got my first opportunity in first grade to play for Parramatta. They place a huge amount of emphasis on the game. I think I was one of the only players to go the other way, a lot of players who had played for the Bulldogs played for Parramatta, not too many went the other way".
North Sydney Bears vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
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. Manly were admitted into the premiership in 1947 with North Sydney at the time being one of the main advocators for a team to be in Manly. In Manly's first season, most of the side was made up of former Norths players including captain Max Whitehead who played for Norths in their 1943 grand final defeat to Newtown. The intense feelings between the two sides continued over the next couple of decades fuelled as players switched between the two clubs. The biggest defection occurred in 1971 when Norths life member and one of the game's greatest wingers Ken Irvine joined Manly. Former Manly and North Sydney player Phil Blake said of the rivalry "It was certainly a game you looked forward playing in. The ground was always packed and it was always a great afternoon". In 2016, Norths and Manly played their final competitive senior game against each other in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW competition where Norths won the match 32–18. Manly had announced earlier in the 2016 season that they would be merging their lower grade sides with the Blacktown Workers teams to become the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles. The only competitive games played between the two rivals as of 2017 are between the Norths and Manly Harold Matthews Cup, SG Ball and Jersey Flegg competitions.
Sydney Roosters vs St. George Illawarra Dragons
These two clubs traditionally play each other in the ANZAC Day clash.
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 the 1930 season, both teams played against each other in the semi-final with St. George running out winners 11–10. In 1933, St. George defeated Easts for the third time in a row during a finals game. In 1940, Eastern Suburbs finally managed to beat St. George in a finals game winning 10-3 where they progressed to the grand final and defeated Canterbury-Bankstown.
The following year, St. George won their first premiership defeating Easts 31–14 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It wasn't until the 1953 season when the two club's met again with St. George defeating Easts in the semi-final. In 1960, Eastern Suburbs reached their first grand final since 1945 where they faced St. George but were beaten 31–6.
In 1975, Eastern Suburbs defeated St. George 38–0 in the grand final which until the 2008 NRL season was the biggest winning margin in a grand final. In the 1996 ARL season, the two club's met in the semi-final with St. George winning 36–16 at the Sydney Football Stadium.