On this day, Ricky Stuart succeeds Mal Meninga as Raiders captain, Jamie Soward shines in first All Stars game and James Graham stands tall for World All Stars.
1989
St George player Geoff Selby loses his life in a car accident at Cronulla. Selby was just 23 and had already played 102 first-grade games for Illawarra and St George and was rated a future rep player. His team-mates Shaun O’Bryan and Peter Gentle were also injured in the crash.
1995
Ricky Stuart is appointed successor to Mal Meninga as Canberra’s captain.
1997
ARL captain Brad Fittler endorses a Super Bowl match between the winners of the ARL and Super League competitions.
2004
Bradford crush Penrith 22-4 in the World Club Challenge clash at Huddersfield’s McAlpine Stadium. The Bulls scored four tries to one, with former Raider Lesley Vainikolo and Kiwi international Logan Swann among the tryscorers.
2005
The Rugby League Professionals' Association appoint a woman to its six-person board. Tilda Khoshaba, a lecturer in industrial relations and human resource management, becomes the first woman appointed to a major sporting player association in Australia.
2009
St George Illawarra coach Wayne Bennett, in Perth for a trial match against the Roosters, calls on the NRL to base a team in the Western Australian capital by 2012. “I hope when the league addresses the issue of expansion, which I think they will when the new TV contracts are to be done in 2012, they look favourably upon us having a team out of this part of the world,” he said.
2010
History is made on the Gold Coast when the Indigenous All Stars and the NRL All Stars play before a capacity crowd of 26,687 at Robina’s Skilled Park. The match is decided in the final six minutes with a try to the Indigenous team’s Jamie Soward.
Dell plays the didgeridoo at 2010 All Stars
2011
St George Illawarra impressively account for South Sydney 32-10 to win the Charity Shield for the first time in four years. Unheralded back-rower Jake Bosden stars for the Dragons.
2015
The Indigenous All Stars retain the Arthur Beetson Trophy after a comprehensive 20-6 defeat of the NRL All Stars in front of a buoyant crowd of 23,177 at Cbus Super Stadium. Indigenous forward George Rose is named winner of the Preston Campbell Medal.
2016
The World All Stars score a narrow 12-8 win over the Indigenous All Stars in an entertaining clash at Suncorp Stadium, watched by a crowd of 37,339. A further 817,000 view the match on television. Englishman James Graham is named Preston Campbell Medal winner as man of the match.
This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.