Number's up: The 13 reasons why NRL's 1-13 jersey system should be abolished

The Kangaroos’ decision to wear designated squad numbers instead of the “traditional” 1-13 jersey system should be a glimpse into the future. 

Rugby league traditionalists are up in arms that Australia’s players will wear the same jersey number throughout the World Cup rather than the method used in the NRL where the backs are 1-7 and the forwards 8-13.

Matty Johns on SEN Radio the other day that “traditional jerseys and numbers are part of the history of the sport, and you shouldn’t tamper with it”.

Kangaroos captain James Tedesco will wear No.1 as the leader of the team, which is a happy coincidence for the Roosters star as it’s what he’s worn throughout his career as a fullback. 

The rest of the squad are numbered based on when they made their debut with Daly Cherry-Evans to wear No.2 as the most experienced squad member and the final 13 tour rookies arranged in alphabetical order. 

(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

1. James Tedesco
2. Daly Cherry-Evans
3. Ben Hunt
4. Valentine Holmes
5. Jake Trbojevic
6. Reagan Campbell-Gillard
7. Cameron Munster
8. Latrell Mitchell
9. Josh Addo-Carr
10. Jack Wighton
11. Cameron Murray
12. Matt Burton
13. Pat Carrigan
14. Nathan Cleary
15. Lindsay Collins
16. Reuben Cotter
17. Angus Crichton
18. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui
19. Campbell Graham
20. Harry Grant
21. Liam Martin
22. Jeremiah Nanai
23. Murray Taulagi
24. Isaah Yeo

In the NRL, each team has a 30-man senior squad so give them jerseys 1-30 to choose from. 

The 1997 Super League season in Australia allowed players to choose their own number – a Greg Alexander No.55 in the garish Panthers strip from that year is a collector’s item these days.

Surnames should also be on the back of NRL player jerseys – every other piece of the playing strip is adorned with sponsors these days so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue to have their name above their number and add another business logo somewhere else.

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

The 13 reasons why NRL should scrap 1-13 system

1. Players become more recognisable not less. There will be a few weeks where it might be hard to work out who’s who but once fans know that certain players wear the same number every week, it’ll be easier for them to identify them at the games or on TV.

2. It hasn’t always been the way things have been done in Australia. In the early days of the premiership some clubs had designated squad numbers, some had them 1-13 starting with the backs, others had the other way around like rugby with the forwards having the lower numbers.

The 1955 grand final teams.

By the late 1950s the Australian league made it compulsory for teams to have starting sides 1-13, starting with the fullback, finishing with the prop. They switched the pack numbers from 8 (lock), 9-10 (second-rowers), 11 & 13 (props) and 12 (hooker) to the current system to fall in line with the international system in 1989.

Suddenly Benny Elias went from wearing 12 as Balmain hooker to 9. Incidentally, John Raper on his Kangaroo tours wore No.15 each time – the backs would get 1-14 and the forwards would get the rest in the 28-man squads so the 2022 system is not so revolutionary after all.

How teams would line up from the 1950s to the end of 1988 with locks wearing No.8 and the props in 11 and 13.

Cowboys halfback Chad Townsend is a savvy current player who brands his YouTube and social media content with a CT7 logo. It would have been awkward for him if Todd Payten insisted on him playing five-eighth instead of half when he switched clubs. 

3. Players can build their brand with an identifiable number. It may seem trivial but there are big dollars to be made by players by associating their brand with their playing number. It happens the world over in other sports but NRL players don’t have that guarantee of having their own number throughout their career, even one-club legends like Darren Lockyer who wore No.1 at the Broncos for many years before switching to No.6 because he had changed positions.

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

4. Younger fans follow players more so than teams. It’s the way of the world – a lot of young fans are more invested in following specific players than teams of the particular sports they follow. If they know a player is going to wear the same number throughout their career, they’re more likely to buy their jersey.

5. Retired numbers for club legends. This is an honour which is commonplace in most professional sports but NRL clubs cannot retire a jersey number for a club legend. If the NRL were to bring in designated numbers, teams should honour past players who were lucky enough to wear the same number throughout their career like Johnathan Thurston at the Cowboys, Andrew Johns at the Knights, Cameron Smith at the Storm – players who are synonymous with that jersey.

JT. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

6. It has been used in Super League for many years and there was no blood in the streets. The English clubs switched to squad numbers in 1996 with surnames on the back of the jersey, following on from the Premier League doing likewise three years earlier.

7. The current system makes little to no sense anyway. The two wingers are separated but the two centres are side by side, the props are also separated but the second-rowers are sequential. League teams are now split into two groups of four players on each edge, four middles and a fullback. Locks wear 13 because they are at the back of the scrum formation but they never pack down there anymore – hookers are there in attack because they’re the best passer and fullbacks “lock the scrum” in defence before shooting back behind the defensive line.

8. Specific positions have never been less relevant. Who was Cowboys lock between Jason Taumalolo and Reuben Cotter when they were on the field together. JT13 (there’s that branding again) is a bigger individual who plays like a prop while Cotter epitomises the modern-day lock but he was listed in jersey No.10 as a front-rower.

(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

Does anyone know or care who was Penrith’s hooker and who was the lock when Mitch Kenny and Api Koroisau were operating in tandem, same with Ben Hunt and Harry Grant for the Maroons.

9. Coaches don’t stick to the Tuesday team list announcements anyway. If you need any further proof of that, check out Trent Robinson’s team every week – almost without fail he will make a late switch between a starter and a bench player.

10. It’s been a few months since the last rule change out of the blue so we’re probably overdue for one. Some people might not like it but it would be a much better idea than some that have been green-lit the past few years. The term “Project Apollo” still sends shudders down the spine of many league fans.

11. It’d enrage the angry white male dinosaurs who arc up about any form of change. It’s always funny watching the veins pop in their neck when they blow up about even the most minor of tweaks to what is still essentially just a game. 

12. Think of the poor old gear stewards. They would love it as it would save them a helluva lot of time because they wouldn’t have to come up with a few different sized jerseys for each number. Player X is a XXL, so order a few jerseys for that number in that size. If he goes up to a XXXL, he goes back to reserve grade.

13. It can be another point of difference from rugby union. That’s more than just a throwaway line – for anyone outside of Australia’s Eastern Seaboard and the north of England it’s not second nature to know the difference between the codes so the NRL should be looking at introducing more ways of distancing itself from its long lost cousin.