On This Day in NRL history, the Blow That Whistle campaign launches, a Newcastle Knights grand final hero is born and the Storm conquer the world.
1976
Newcastle winger Darren Albert was born. The blond-haired speedster wrote his name into rugby league folklore by scoring the winning try as the full-time siren sounded when the Knights beat Manly in the 1997 ARL grand final.
He scored 65 tries in his 89 appearances for Newcastle before switching to the Super League, then finishing his career with a season at Cronulla in 2006, adding 12 tries from 23 matches. He represented NSW Country twice and made one State of Origin appearance for the Blues in 1999.
1981
Nathan Friend, a player who spent 15 seasons in first grade, was born. Friend made his debut for Brisbane in 2002 then made 34 appearances with Melbourne over the next four seasons before joining Gold Coast. He played 100 games for the Titans before joining the Warriors for a four-year stint, then finishing his career back at the Gold Coast in 2016.
1982
The Illawarra Steelers enter the NSWRFL big league, hosting Penrith at Wollongong Showground, now known as WIN Stadium. Illawarra, captained by returning local junior John Dorahy, suffer a 17-7 defeat to the Panthers with prop Greg Cook going down in the history books as the club's first try scorer.
1987
The late, great Peter Jackson made his debut for the Raiders as Canberra started what would be their first season in which they made the grand final with a 19-2 win over Cronulla at Seiffert Oval. Five-eighth Chris O'Sullivan scored two tries and a field goal.
1989
Kiwi international Kevin Proctor was born in Te Kuiti. The second-rower made his Telstra Premiership debut in 2008 with Melbourne and racked up 179 matches with the Storm, including the 2012 grand final win over Canterbury. He switched to the Titans in 2017 to add extra starch and experience to the young Gold Coast pack.
1999
The NRL launches the "Blow that whistle, Ref" advertising campaign. The advertisement featured author Tom Kenneally, a devout Sea Eagles fan, reciting a poem about his anticipation for the start of the season. It caused controversy as it was markedly different from the usual campaigns featuring big hits and spectacular tries.
2009
South Sydney defeat St George Illawarra 18-6 to claim the Charity Shield for the fourth time in five years at ANZ Stadium.
2010
Melbourne downed Leeds to win the World Club Challenge at Elland Road. Luke MacDougall and Anthony Quinn scored as the NRL champions broke a 4-4 half-time deadlock to overcome their Super League opponents. Cameron Smith was named man of the match.
2016
South Sydney co-owers Russell Crowe and Jamie Packer waive the $7 million in loans the club owes, leaving the Bunnies in soundest financial position in their history.
This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton