Country New South Wales rugby league team


The Country New South Wales rugby league team is a representative rugby league football team. Between 1987 and 2017 there were two tiers: the Origin team that consisted of professional players who originated from clubs of the Country Rugby League and a representative team of amateur and semi-professional players. The Country Origin team played annually in the City vs Country Origin competition against the City New South Wales rugby league team, which was made up of players originating from Sydney. This match was discontinued in 2017.
The representative team has played in a number of formats over the years: quad and tri series, annual fixtures and tour matches. The most recent change is the introduction of an Under 23 age limit to the top representative team. The Country Rugby League was absorbed by the New South Wales Rugby League at the end of 2019. The NSWRL continued to run competitions for country regions in February and March 2020 until they were curtailed by lockdown restrictions. This suggests that a NSW Country representative side will be reinstated in the future.

Men's Open Age Country Team

The following players werre selected in the Country squad for the 2022 Open Age Men's match against City at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday, 15 May 2022. The team is coached by Terry Campese.

CRL Team of the Century

In 2008, the centenary year of rugby league in Australia, the Country Rugby League named its "Team of the Century":

Kit suppliers and sponsors

2017 Country NSW squad

Women's City vs Country Match

City v Country Women's matches were occasionally played prior to the re-introduction of a stand-alone match in 2017. In 2018 and 2019 the games were played within the National Championships. The 2020 National Championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia. In 2021 the National Championships were reorganised, and an open age City v Country Women's Origin was scheduled separately from the National Championships.

2022 Squad

The following players were selected in the Country Origin Women's team to play on Saturday, 14 May 2022 at 4 Pines Park. The team is coached by Ruan Sims.
Notes:
  • In the above tables J# = Jersey number, Dbt = Debut Year, S = Seasons, M = Matches, T = Tries, G = Goals
  • Tallies in the table include the 2022 match.
  • Olivia Kernick played for the Indigenous All Stars team in 2021 and for the Māori All Stars team in 2022.

    Matches

Country Firsts / Combined Country

Origin

Women's

YearDateTeam nameWLDScoreOppositionLocationGame TypeTeam
List
Report
2017May 14 Country OriginL8-20 City OriginNorth SydneyOriginNRL
2018Jun 1st NSW CountryW34-1020px Australian Defence ForceSouthportNationalsNRLQRL
2018Jun 2nd NSW CountryW16-6 Queensland CitySouthportNationalsQRL
2018Jun 3rd NSW CountryW16-12 NSW CitySouthportNationalsQRL
2019May 30th NSW CountryW54-020px Australian Defence ForceBurleighNationalsNRLQRL
2019Jun 1st NSW CountryW20-14 Queensland CountryBurleighNationalsNRL
2019Jun 2nd NSW CountryL4-34 NSW CityBurleighNationalsNRL
2021May 15 Country OriginL16-40 City OriginBankwest StadiumOriginNSWRLNRL
2022May 14th Country OriginW14-6 City Origin4 Pines ParkOriginNSWRLNSWRL

Country Origin Player of the Year

YearPlayerClub
1992Laurie Daley Canberra Raiders
1993Paul Harragon Newcastle Knights
1994John Simon Illawarra Steelers
1995Paul Harragon Newcastle Knights
1996Paul Harragon Newcastle Knights
1997Paul McGregor Illawarra Steelers
2001Danny Buderus Newcastle Knights
2002Steve Simpson Newcastle Knights
2003Glenn Morrison North Queensland Cowboys
2004Scott Hill Melbourne Storm
2005Trent Barrett St. George Illawarra Dragons
2006Brent Kite Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
2007Craig Fitzgibbon Sydney Roosters
2008Anthony Laffranchi Gold Coast Titans
2009Ben Creagh St. George Illawarra Dragons
2010Josh Dugan Canberra Raiders
2011Glenn Stewart Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
2012Greg Bird Gold Coast Titans
2013Aiden Tolman Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
2014Jamal Idris Penrith Panthers
2015Ryan Hinchcliffe Melbourne Storm
2016James Maloney Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
2017Dale Finucane Melbourne Storm