March 12: Joey hits 1000; Anthem was simply The Best
On this day in rugby league, the NSWRL launches a classic footy anthem, a Knights legend hits a new mark and the 2020 season kicks off under the shadow of COVID-19.
1990
Premiership-winning Canberra Raiders captain Mal Meninga officially launched the 1990 Winfield Cup at the Sydney Football Stadium, with the NSWRL advertising campaign making first use of Tina Turner's classic "The Best".
The song would become synonymous with the game until the outbreak of the Super League war in the mid-1990s.
2000
Future rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns became the first Newcastle Knights player to score 1000 points in premiership rugby league.
2001
Two Wests Tigers players are reported to have tested positive to cocaine and ecstasy and face two-year suspensions from the NRL. Craig Field and Kevin McGuinness reveal themselves to be the players involved.
2006
Greg Inglis and that fend
2007
Wallaby star Lote Tuqiri rejects a massive offer from South Sydney to re-sign with the Australian Rugby Union. Tuqiri eventually joins the Bunnies in 2014 and helps them win the club's first premiership in 43 years.
2011
The Warriors establish a new home game attendance record when 38,412 turn up to Auckland’s Eden Park for the round one clash with Parramatta. The night ends badly for the Warriors when winger Manu Vatuvei tears a medial ligament in his right knee and the team is beaten 24-18.
2017
Kikau lines up Tedesco
2020
Parramatta edge out Canterbury 8-2 in a dour season opener at Bankwest Stadium. The season kicks off under the shadow of the COVID-19 epidemic as sporting competitions across the globe begin to shut down.
The NRL announces a series of measures designed to avoid the virus, including limiting contact with fans, not taking selfies and avoiding hugs and handshakes. The NRL form a crisis committee to deal with the threat to the competition.
This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton
