October 16: Eels sign Brad Arthur; Gal keeps on keeping on

On this day, Rabbitohs reject Sharks joint venture, Adrian Morley gets a triple crown, and the Eels appoint Brad Arthur as coach over favourite Jason Taylor.

1999

South Sydney president George Piggins rejects an offer from Cronulla boss Barry Pierce to form a 50-50 joint venture with the Sharks, just 24-hours after the NRL axed the Rabbitohs and North Sydney Bears from the competition.

2001

Test captain Brad Fittler relents to overwhelming public pressure and agrees to lead the Kangaroos on a three-Test tour of Great Britain.

2002

NRL boss David Gallop rejects an idea for the Wellington Rugby Union to operate a future NRL franchise.

2004

New Zealand hold Australia to a 16-all draw in the Tri-Nations series opener at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium. Winger Luke Rooney scores twice on debut for the green-and-gold. The result leads to calls for the golden point rule to be extended to international football.

2005

Sydney Roosters prop Adrian Morley becomes the first player to win the NRL (2002), Challenge Cup (1999), and Super League treble when he is part of Bradford’s 15-6 grand final defeat of Leeds in Manchester.

2011

Test captain Darren Lockyer celebrates his final game on Australian soil as Australia cane New Zealand 42-6 at Newcastle’s Ausgrid Stadium.

2013

Parramatta appoint former assistant Brad Arthur as first-grade coach for the next three seasons after the club’s board surprisingly ceased negotiations with Jason Taylor, who was considered favourite for the job. It is believed the talks broke down over who should take the head of football position.

2018       

Cronulla veteran Paul Gallen signs on for a record 19th season with the Sharks, agreeing to a deal that will make him the club’s most capped player. 'Gal' would eventually bow out at the end of 2019 with 348 games to his name for the Sharks, 20 ahead of the great Andrew Ettingshausen.

2020

The Melbourne Storm surge to the grand final after disposing of the Raiders 30-10 at Suncorp Stadium. Storm players chair captain Cameron Smith from the field at full-time, suggesting to many that the gesture is a sure signal of Smith’s imminent retirement.

This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.