The Rugby League Players Association is a representative organisation based in Australia. The RLPA, as it is more commonly referred to, is the representative body of elite rugby league players, protecting and promoting the welfare and interests of its members. Formerly the Rugby League Professionals Association, the company changed its name in 2009.

Leadership

Former

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

captain

Tony Butterfield Anthony Butterfield (born 4 February 1966) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A New South Wales State of Origin representative prop-forward, he started his club football career with t ...

was appointed RLPA CEO in 2000. Former

Western Reds The Western Reds were a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they entered into the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival Super League competition ...

and

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrit ...

player

Matthew Rodwell Matthew Rodwell is a former professional rugby league footballer. He played for the Newcastle Knights, Western Reds, St. George Dragons, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Penrith Panthers and the Warrington Wolves as a . Career Australia After m ...

served as CEO for a brief period up until 2009. In 2009, David Garnsey took the reins as Chief Executive Officer through until 2015. In December 2015, former

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Me ...

player and AFLPA general manager of Player Relations Ian Prendergast was appointed chief executive officer of the RLPA. In 2017,

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

captain

Cameron Smith Cameron Smith may refer to: * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1983), Australian rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1998), English rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (golfer) (born 1993), Australian golfer * Cammy Smi ...

was appointed General President of the RLPA, taking over from Clint Newton who continued with the organisation in the role of general manager of Player Relations. In 2020, Prendergast departed the RLPA and Newton was appointed Chief Executive Officer.

RLPA board of directors

The current RLPA board of Directors consists of players and industry professionals. The most recent additions were Josh Hodgson, Chelsea Lenarduzzi, Stuart Nelson, and Joanne Taylor during 2022. * Deidre Anderson (Chair) *

Daly Cherry-Evans Daly Cherry-Evans (born 20 February 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level. He captains Manly and won the 2011 NRL Grand ...

(General President) * Clint Newton (CEO and Managing Director) * Chelsea Lenarduzzi * Pippa Leary *

Wade Graham Wade Graham (born 25 October 1990) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for and captains the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL. He has played for at international level. Graham previously played for the Penrith Pan ...

Josh Hodgson Joshua Hodgson (born 31 October 1989) is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He has played for the England Knights, England and Great Britain at international level. He has previously ...

Hannah Southwell Hannah Southwell (born 4 March 1999) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently co-captains the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a , she is an Australian and New South Wales representative. ...

* Christian Welch * Steven Harker AM * Stuart Nelson * Joanne Taylor

The Players' Champion

The Rugby League Players' Association's annual awards ceremony, The Players' Champion, recognises the best player in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

as voted by their peers. Four-time winner of the award

Johnathan Thurston Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...

, described the Players' Champion as "the highest accolade a player can get." In 2019, the first Players' Champion accolade was awarded to an NRLW player, with Jessica Sergis taking out the inaugural honour.

Previous winners

Collective Bargaining Agreement

In November 2017, the RLPA negotiated a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the

that secured the biggest pay increase for players in the game's 109-year history. The new CBA deal captures a range of employment related clauses for a five-year period, beginning in 2018 through until 2022. In a show of unity and solidarity behind the RLPA in the ongoing negotiations, NRL players wore branded caps throughout

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

press conferences and green tape in Round 21 of the 2017 season. RLPA CEO Ian Prendergast stated it "was no secret players had become increasingly frustrated" by negotiations. "They want to stand up, use their voice and demonstrate their solidarity across the weekend to get this deal over the line so we can deliver certainty in the industry."

References

External links

Rugby League Players Association
{{NRL Women's Premiership Rugby league in Australia Sports trade unions National Rugby League NRL Women's Premiership NRL Under-20s Trade unions in Australia Trade unions established in 1979 1979 establishments in Australia