The easiest thing to measure in rugby league is wins and losses.

Culture is a little harder.

Yet ask anyone inside the game, and they'll tell you it can be the difference between keeping players and losing them, filling stadiums or emptying them, building a contender or constantly rebuilding one.

While some clubs are still searching for their identity, others are embracing it.

From the Warriors and their 'Up the Wahs' movement to the rise of 'Foz Ball', these are the clubs currently getting the top grades in the NRL culture curriculum.

 

3. South Sydney Rabbitohs

You could be sitting in the stands at a Liverpool-Arsenal match in England, thousands of kilometres from Redfern, and still spot a South Sydney jersey in the crowd. At this point, it almost feels inevitable.

Part of that can be attributed to the rise of "Random Souths Guy", a social media phenomenon that has helped turn the Rabbitohs into one of the NRL's most recognisable clubs outside Australia. What started as a simple internet joke has somehow become another thread in the fabric of South Sydney's identity.

But the Rabbitohs' cultural relevance runs much deeper than social media.

As the oldest club in the competition, founded in 1908, South Sydney's place in rugby league history is secure. They aren't just part of the game's story; in many ways, they helped write it.

That's what makes this season feel particularly fitting.

To see one of their own, Alex Johnston, become the competition's all-time leading try scorer feels like one of those rare moments where history and destiny meet. Some records just seem meant to belong to certain clubs.

Seeing the South Sydney fans flock to the field during that historic moment gave everyone goosebumps because of the club's culture and legacy. 

The first fan to congratulate Johnston on the field was a rival Sydney Rooster; there are only very few club rivalries that would do the same. 

Then there's the return of Wayne Bennett.

The Rabbitohs haven't set the competition alight on the field in 2026, but Bennett's return has reinforced something supporters have always known: South Sydney understands exactly who it is.

In an era where clubs are constantly trying to build identity, the Rabbitohs don't have to search for theirs. It's already there. In history, the colours, the supporters and the stories that continue to be passed down through generations.