THIS is our annual series that looks back at the year just gone and selects the most significant and memorable moments, whether they are triumphs or tragedies, great matches or momentous incidents, domestic or international events.
Let us know whether you agree with our selections.
Our countdown of the top 50 moments of the year began here.
10 The rise of Tara Jones
Tara Jones became the first woman to referee a senior men’s match in the northern hemisphere when she took charge of the League One match between Oldham and Cornwall on 14 April.
And she clearly impressed because in early October the RFL announced that Jones had been appointed to the RFL full-time match officials squad, becoming the first woman to be appointed to that role since its inception in 2006.
It meant that Jones, 28, would retire from her playing role as a hooker with St Helens and England, for whom she was a World Cup semi-finalist. And she was the first woman to score a try in a senior fixture at Wembley when St Helens beat Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup Final of 2023.
“She’s had a brilliant season as a match official, becoming the first female official to referee Men’s League One and touch judge Men’s Super League,” said Phil Bentham, the RFL’s Head of Match Officials.
“She will combine her full-time MO role with work as an ambassador for woman officials, primarily focusing on the recruitment and development of a new cohort. We have seen a massive growth in the women’s game and it’s vital that we see similar growth in our pool of women officials.”
9 Max Jowitt’s new points record
The 2024 season was a remarkable record-breaking one for Wakefield Trinity fullback Max Jowitt.
In Wakefield’s final game of the season, the Championship Grand Final against Toulouse Olympique, Jowitt broke the record for most points in a season, 496 points, which had been held since 1957 by former Leeds star Lewis Jones.
And in the same game his three goals saw him become the first player in Rugby League history to score 500 points in a season.
The previous month he had broken two longstanding club records, following Trinity’s 60-6 defeat of Whitehaven.
In 1961-62 – 62 years ago – the great Neil Fox had kicked 163 goals and scored 27 tries for a total of 407 points.
But Max, who scored 28 points against Haven with two tries and ten goals, passed both of those landmarks with several weeks to spare.
Across all competitions, the Trinity fullback’s final stats for 2024 are as follows: 35 appearances, 26 tries, 198 goals – 500 points.
8 Captain’s Challenge gets the go-ahead
The RFL decided at its Council meeting in early December that from 2025 the Captain’s Challenge will be introduced to northern hemisphere Rugby League on a regular basis in 2025, starting from Round One of the Betfred Super League in February.
The new law will allow the captains in all televised fixtures in 2025 – also including the Betfred Women’s Super League and Betfred Challenge Cup competitions – to refer a range of on-field decisions to the video referee.
The decision means that Super League has moved a step closer to the NRL, which has had the Captain’s Challenge as a feature of its matches since its introduction in 2020.
As in the NRL, each team will only be allowed one unsuccessful challenge in each fixture.
7 Rob Burrow night at Headingley
When Leeds Rhinos played Leigh Leopards at Headingley on 21st June it was one of the most special nights in the stadium’s long history.
Rob Burrow had died 19 days earlier after his long battle against motor neurone disease and the Rhinos has selected their home game against Leigh as the event at which they would pay tribute to him.
Among the pre-match video tributes was a special message from his best friend and former captain Kevin Sinfield from Japan, where he was with the England rugby union team. Sinfield described Burrow as his “little friend”, and “the bravest and toughest man I’ve ever met”.
Burrow’s name and a large yellow number seven adorned the Headingley turf, and Leeds wore a special blue and orange kit for the game, which was taking place on Global MND Awareness Day.
There were more than 80 former Leeds players in attendance, including Danny Buderus, who had flown from Australia to be present.
The Leeds shirt, which featured an image of Burrow with Sinfield, was designed by Cath Muir, who had been diagnosed with MND in 2014. A portion of the profit from each shirt sold would be donated to the Leeds Hospitals Charity appeal to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND.
In an address to the crowd, Burrow’s father Geoff said: “It’s a very emotional night, especially because Leeds v Leigh was the first game I brought Rob to. He loved every minute.
“I wish he could have seen this crowd. He had a fabulous sense of humour. He was cheeky. He was a lovely lad, and I’ll miss him so much.”
6 PNG to join NRL
Papua New Guinea will have its own NRL team from 2028.
The announcement was made by the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in early December, standing alongside his PNG equivalent James Marape.
The announcement was one of the largest single developments in the history of the NRL and one that will have an impact across the game and throughout the Pacific.
Papua New Guinea – Australia’s closest neighbour, which was granted independence 50 years ago – will join the NRL in 1928, becoming the NRL’s 18th team, probably joining the competition ahead of a new team from Perth.
The first ten years of the new club will be funded by A$600 million of support from the Australian government, whose interest in supporting the new club comes from its desire to counter China’s growing influence in the South Pacific region, although the Australian government has reserved the right to withdraw its support if the PNG government engages in trade or other treaties with China.
Chief executive Andrew Hill is confident the new club will be competitive from its launch. It will play its home games at Santos Stadium in Port Moresby and for the first five years its board of directors will be controlled by the ARLC.
“Today is a day where people will look back in five years, 10 years, 20 years, and see that this was a day where the relationship between our nations was cemented even further,” said Albanese.
5 David Hughes leaves London Broncos
David Hughes has funded London Broncos and Rugby League in the south of England for a quarter of a century, with some estimates suggesting that he has sunk £25 million into the game over that period.
But in September he announced that he will now walk away, with the club having suffered under IMG’s gradings system after being condemned to relegation before a ball was kicked in 2024.
His decision cast doubt on the future of London Broncos and Rugby League in southeast England.
In leaving the club, Hughes appealed for interested parties to step forward and continue to support London’s efforts to strengthen the game in the capital. But despite rumours of interest in the club, there is so far no firm news of that happening.
Hughes said: “After 27 eventful years of which we spent 20 years in the Super League, I have decided on behalf of myself and the Hughes family that we will step down at the end of the season. We will make every effort to facilitate anyone interested in taking over the club to lead it through the Championship.
“We would ask any interested party to contact Jason Loubser at London Broncos at Jason.loubser@londonbroncosrl.com.”
Hughes was a major critic of IMG’s plans throughout 2024 and it appears that the RFL’s decision to stick with that system was the straw that broke the camel’s back for him as the club plans for life without its greatest benefactor.
4 Australia and PNG awarded 2026 World Cup
After the postponed 2021 World Cup was played in England in 2022, the next tournament had initially been planned for the United States in 2025.
However, the proposed organisers withdrew because of a lack of finance and the tournament was then proposed to be played in France, with the French government persuaded to back the event.
But that proposal also fell through and for a time the future of the World Cup itself looked to be in some doubt.
But on 24 July International Rugby League confirmed that Australia had been confirmed as the host for the next World Cup, which will be played in 2026 and will again feature Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair competitions – with a number of fixtures to be played in Papua New Guinea.
RLWC2026 will be contested by a total of 26 teams – comprising of ten men’s, eight women’s and eight wheelchair teams – in October and November 2026.
“Rugby League has never been stronger in Australia and the Pacific, with sold-out stadiums, record television ratings and much excitement about Pacific expansion,” said IRL Chair Troy Grant.
“The 2026 World Cup in Australia, with matches to played in Papua New Guinea, will see the rise of the game in the Pacific reach greater heights and ensure Rugby League is the No.1 sport in the region.
“The condensed format at RLWC2026 will mean every single match is competitive, while the possibility of some games being played as double or triple headers represents great value for fans wanting to see the best Rugby League talent on the planet.”
3 Wigan’s crowning glory
The 2024 season began and ended superbly for the Wigan Warriors.
In February they defeated Penrith Panthers 16–12 at the (then) DW Stadium in front of a sell-out crowd of 24,091.
And on 17th December they were named BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year for 2024, which reflected their success in winning four major trophies during the season and it significantly raised Rugby League’s profile in front of a general sporting audience.
Matt Peet’s side completed the quadruple by securing the World Club Challenge, Challenge Cup, League Leaders’ Shield and Grand Final.
It meant that they repeated the achievement of their 1994 side, which also won the Team of the Year award, of winning every major honour over a single campaign.
Peet, speaking at the presentation ceremony, said: “It’s a great honour to receive this award – Wigan have a history with this trophy.
“The club is in good shape; we are very connected and it starts at the top with Kris [Radlinski] the CEO.
“We want success and we have big ambition.
“We try represent the town as best we can and we look how we can help our supporters – it is a great honour and a privilege to work with these guys.”
2 The death of Rob Burrow
On 2nd June came the tragic news that former Leeds Rhinos star Rob Burrow CBE had finally lost his heroic battle with motor neurone disease.
“It is with deep sadness that the club can confirm that former player Rob Burrow CBE has passed away, aged 41,” said a statement issued by the club.
“Rob inspired the entire country with his brave battle against Motor Neurone Disease (MND) since his diagnosis in December 2019. He passed away peacefully at Pinderfields Hospital near his home surrounded by his loving family after becoming ill earlier this week.”
The Rhinos had stunned the world on 19th December 2019 when the club issued a press release revealing that Burrow was suffering from the disease. The normal survival rate after diagnosis was around two years but Burrow’s incomparable spirit enabled him to live for another four and a half years.
He made 492 appearances for the club, placing him in fifth in the club’s all-time list of career appearances and he scored 196 tries for a total of 1,103 points. He was capped 15 times by England and played five more tests for Great Britain including a Man of the Series performance in 2007 for the national side. He won the Challenge Cup at Wembley in 2014 and 2015 as well as three World Club Challenges and three League Leaders’ Shields.
Following his MND diagnosis he raised awareness of MND and alongside his great friend Kevin Sinfield he raised millions of pounds for the MND community. He also inspired two award-winning documentaries, wrote a best-selling autobiography, hosted an award-winning podcast and was awarded a CBE from HRH Prince William at AMT Headingley in January 2023.
Perhaps his greatest legacy will be the Rob Burrow Centre for MND in Leeds for those who follow him as they battle the disease.
The Rhinos allowed well-wishers who wished to pay their respects to do so in the South Stand at Headingley, with thousands of Leeds fans laying flowers as a shrine to their departed hero.
1 Rugby League’s debut in Las Vegas
Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo, the Chairman and CEO of the NRL, were celebrating on the first weekend of March after the successful and historic staging of the opening two games of the NRL season at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
It was the first time any NRL game had been played outside Australia and New Zealand and, despite extreme weather conditions, which saw gusts of wind of 111km/hr reported nearby, the two games drew an official attendance of 40,746, with an estimated 15,000 travelling from Australia.
Manly defeated South Sydney 36-24 before Sydney Roosters beat Brisbane 20-10, with the enclosed stadium protecting the teams and the crowd from the inclement weather outside.
“Amazing, so many months in the planning and then to see it all brought to life,” said Abdo.
“The players had a great time, but more importantly the fans had a great time. Peter’s vision was for growth coming out of Covid, thinking about how we could make the game stronger and more sustainable, taking us to new markets. We got 40,000 this year and we want 50,000 next year.”
V’landys agreed that he was looking to make the weekend even bigger in 2025.
“We’ve now built the foundation and we’re going to improve next year.
“It’s going to take three or four years, but I am now more confident than ever that we can make tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars that will go back into the grass roots.”
One interested spectator from England was Rhodri Jones, the managing director of RL Commercial, who was impressed by what he saw.
“There was obvious relevance to RL Commercial in the NRL’s Las Vegas promotion, and it also presented an opportunity to catch up with NRL officials to develop our collaborative relationship,” Jones told League Express.
“It’s been a highly successful weekend, in terms of the global profile of Rugby League – and we congratulate the NRL for that.”
And the result of all that was that the Las Vegas event will expand in 2025 to include a Super League game between Wigan and Warrington and a Women’s international game between England and Australia.
