Rugby league is one of the most popular team sports in Australia. It is the dominant winter sport in the states of New South Wales and Queensland, which comprise around half of the country's population. The elite club competition is the National Rugby League (NRL), which (as of 2007) features ten teams from New South Wales, three teams from Queensland, and one team each from Victoria, Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand.

Australia has a rich history of rugby league, first taking up the sport in 1908 alongside people in Britain and New Zealand. The country has been dominant over the other rugby league-playing nations for many years, but enjoys a strong rivalry with New Zealand.

"League", as it is commonly known (or informally as football or 'footy' in Queensland and New South Wales), is traditionally seen as a "working man's sport" with it's roots in the Public school systems, while rugby union has a more middle/upper class image with it's roots in prestigious Private school systems. The Australian Rugby League, the sport's governing body in Australia, is working on ways to expand rugby league's popularity across political and social borders.