Have the traditional rugby league clubs of Sydney transcended their suburban homes?
Older than many of Australia’s heritage buildings and relics, Rugby League – its traditions, clubs and competitions – is a living treasure of the nation and the communities it helped build. This is particularly so with the Sydney clubs established in the first half of the last century. The recent media attention devoted on the return of South Sydney to the NRL premiership demonstrates how widely the reach of the Sydney clubs has now gone. In many ways, they are no longer bound by their geographic constraints – while their names reflect their origins they don’t restrict their ability to engender dedicated support right across the country. This is starting to suggest that changing clubs names – like Sydney City (Easts), Sydney Bulldogs (Canterbury) and Northern Eagles (Manly) – has got more to lose than gain. If a person who has lived all their life in the NSW country, say Gundagai for example, can feel an undying support for “their” South Sydney Rabbitohs team, doesn’t this tell us that
