SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 28: John Sutton of the Rabbitohs acknowledges the crowd as he leaves the field after playing his 300th match during the round 20 NRL match between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Parramatta Eels at ANZ Stadium on July 28, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Australia is ranked among the best rugby-playing countries in the world today.

The country’s men’s National Rugby League team has constantly been a strong presence in the top ten world rugby rankings. The land down under is also popular for cricket, but the men’s rugby league team has always put the country in the global spotlight.

The truth is that rugby in Australia has a long and tumultuous history of success and failures.

This year, there are 16 teams in the National Rugby League. So, if you are looking to place a bet on the best picks, the betting markets are readily available here.

In this post, we explore the five things you didn’t know about the NRL.

The winning team must pay to keep the trophy in NRL

Quite bizarre but the fact that a winning team in the NRL must pay to keep the trophy is something most fans of rugby in Australia may not know.

Usually, a team captain receives the trophy after winning the league title. However, any interaction with the silverware ends after the celebration and the team is only allowed to take care of it for a few months.

Any extension of the custody for the NRL trophy attracts some fees. Several sources indicate that the winning team must part with around AU$30,000 to retain the silverware.

Don’t forget that state deciders could significantly impact your NRL outright bets this season.

The longest suspension in NRL

Suspensions in sports are a normal phenomenon but some send-offs in a game like rugby league are unforgettable. In rugby league, offences such as stamping, punching and dangerous tackles often attract 2 weeks or up to 12 months suspension.

However, that was not the case in 1982 in Australia’s NRL. Bob Cooper, who was then a player of Western Suburbs Magpies, was handed a 15-month suspension. In that match, Cooper punched three players of the Illawarra Steelers. The offence left the players with broken jaws, concussions and fractured cheekbones.

It remains the longest suspension in the history of the NRL.

Most NRL appearances without playing an international match

It is strange to hold the record of most appearances in the NRL yet fail to show up on international stages. Well, that’s the case with John Sutton’s professional file.

Sutton was a former professional rugby player in the NRL. Sutton played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs but never made an appearance on the international stage.

John Sutton retired in 2019 as the player with the most first-grade appearances but without an international match to his name.

Brian Bevan - A legend who never represented his Country

Facts are stubborn but the case of Brian Bevan is quite bizarre.

Brian was named in the NRL Team of the Century in 2008. The strange part is that he only made 8 appearances for the NRL side, the Roosters, but never scored a try. Strangely, he would later switch to England’s rugby team, Warrington, where he played in 620 matches and scored 740 tries.

Notably, Brian Bevan never played an international game for either England or Australia yet somehow found his name inducted into the 2008 team of the country.