New South Wales - Sport

Sport

Throughout Australian history, NSW sporting teams have been very successful in both winning domestic competitions and providing players to the Australian national teams.

The largest sporting competition in the state is the National Rugby League, which expanded from the New South Wales Rugby League and Australian Rugby Leagues whose headquarters are in Sydney. The state is represented by the The 'Blues' in the traditional State of Origin series. Sydney is the spiritual home of Australian rugby league and to 9 of the 16 NRL teams: (Sydney Roosters, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Parramatta Eels, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Wests Tigers, Penrith Panthers, Canterbury Bulldogs and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles), as well as being the northern home of the St George Illawarra Dragons, which is half-based in Wollongong. A tenth team, the Newcastle Knights is located in Newcastle. The City vs Country origin match is also taken to various regional cities around the state.

The state is represented by three teams in football (soccer)'s A-League: Sydney FC (the inaugural champions in 2005–06), the Central Coast Mariners, based at Gosford and the Newcastle United Jets (2007–08 A League Champions). Football has the highest number of registered players in New South Wales of any football code. Australian rules football has historically not been strong in New South Wales outside the Riverina region. However, the Sydney Swans relocated from South Melbourne in 1982 and their presence and success since the late 1990s has raised the profile of Australian rules football, especially after their AFL premiership in 2005. A second NSW AFL club, the Greater Western Sydney Giants, entered the competition in 2012. Other teams in national competitions include basketball's Sydney Kings, Sydney Uni Flames, rugby union's NSW Waratahs and netball's Sydney Swifts.

Sydney was the host of the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 1938 British Empire Games. The Olympic Stadium, now known as ANZ Stadium is the scene of the annual NRL Grand Final. It also regularly hosts State of Origin matches and rugby union internationals, and has recently hosted the final of the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the football World Cup qualifier between Australia and Uruguay.

The main summer sport is cricket and the SCG hosts the 'New Year' cricket Test match from 2–6 January each year, and is also one of the sites for the finals of the One Day International series. The NSW Blues play in the Ford Ranger Cup and Sheffield Shield cricket competitions. The annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race begins in Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day. The climax of Australia's touring car racing series is the Bathurst 1000, held near the city of Bathurst.

The popular equine sports of campdrafting and polocrosse were developed in New South Wales and competitions are now held across Australia. Polocrosse is now played in many overseas countries.