With the year coming to an end, we have taken a moment to look back on the headlines that most caught the eye during another astonishing NRL season. Here they are in chronological order.
NRL deserves to be very proud of Las Vegas accomplishment
The NRL's first foray into the U.S. market came to an end. The hordes of Aussies headed home, the expats now based in America headed back to their respective states, and within a couple of days, it was like the NRL was never here.
That's not to say it wasn't a success. It was. Tens of thousands of fans descended upon Sin City for an incredible few days, and two excellent contests.
Leniu banned for eight games for racial slur on Mam
Spencer Leniu was banned for eight matches by the NRL's judiciary after they rejected claims the Sydney Roosters prop did not know he was racially vilifying Ezra Mam when calling him a "monkey".
Leniu admitted he told Mam to "f*** up, you monkey" during a verbal stoush in the Las Vegas season-opening double-header against Brisbane.
Titans prop Tino Fa'asuamaleaui out for season with torn ACL
Gold Coast captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui would miss the rest of the season after scans confirmed he tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Canterbury.
The Titans confirmed the 24-year-old representative prop had scans in Sydney after the side's 32-0 loss and a further analysis by a club doctor reinforced the worst possible news.
Bulldogs, Warriors to join expanded NRLW in 2025
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo emphatically declared the time was right for women's expansion, confirming Canterbury and the Warriors will join the NRLW in 2025.
The NRL took its next giant leap into the women's game confirming the league would go to a 12-team competition from next year.
It means the competition will extend to an 11-week regular season.
Warriors land Fisher-Harris with Penrith release
The Warriors completed the shock signing of three-time NRL premiership-winning prop James Fisher-Harris after he was granted a release from Penrith on compassionate grounds.
Fisher-Harris saw out the remainder of the 2024 season with the Panthers before moving to Auckland to take up a four-year deal.
Warriors chief executive Cameron George described the signing as one of the most significant coups in the club's history.
Manly NRL great Terry Hill dead at 52
Rugby league mourned the loss of one of the game's cult heroes of the 1990s and 2000s, after Terry Hill died at age 52 while in the Philippines.
A NSW State of Origin and Kangaroos Test centre, Hill won a premiership at Manly in 1996 and played 246 first-grade games for five clubs.
Turuva follows Luai's lead, departs Penrith for Tigers
Sunia Turuva told his Penrith teammates he would exit the NRL club at the end of the season and follow Jarome Luai to Wests Tigers in 2025 on a three-year deal.
Turuva will become the latest high-profile Panther to join the Tigers, after Apisai Koroisau's arrival last year and Luai's deal that begins in 2025.
Boost for Melbourne Storm as Bellamy stays on as coach
Cameron Munster became Melbourne's go-to for keeping Craig Bellamy at the club, with a plea by the star five-eighth again leading to the coach committing for a 23rd NRL season.
The Storm announced that Bellamy would remain in charge in 2025.
Bellamy signed a unique five-year contract with the Storm in 2022 that allows him to decide each year whether he will continue in the head coach position, or transition into a coaching director role.
David Fifita backflips on Roosters to stay at Titans
In a stunning backflip, Gold Coast forward David Fifita turned his back on Sydney Roosters and instead took up his two-year option to stay at the Titans for family reasons and to continue his career under coach Des Hasler.
A week earlier the 24-year-old informed the Roosters he would take up their four-year deal, but then changed his mind.
The Tricolours withdrew their offer and Fifita activated a two-year option in his favour, which will keep him at the club until the end of 2026.
Raiders coach Stuart pens new deal until end of 2029
After inking a four-year contract extension, Ricky Stuart said he wants to change every Canberra player's life by sharing the feeling of winning a premiership with the Raiders.
Ahead of the 30-year anniversary of the club's last NRL premiership, Canberra announced that Stuart had signed a new deal to the end of 2029.
Brisbane secures NRL Magic Round until 2027
Brisbane won the race to secure Magic Round for the next three years as the NRL developed plans to hold the same format for the NRLW in New Zealand.
ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys said Brisbane won the bid, also contested by other cities, despite the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council not offering the most lucrative financial package of the other contenders.
Magic Round, contested over three days at Suncorp Stadium, sold out this year and is expected to generate $120 million into the Queensland economy through until 2027.
Wayne Bennett signs three-year deal with Rabbitohs
Wayne Bennett confirmed he had signed a three-year deal at South Sydney and will return to the club next year to work with a side he insists can go places.
Dolphins coach Bennett, 74, said he has unfinished business at the club he coached to to two preliminary finals and a grand final from 2019-2021.
Reece Walsh commits to Broncos
Reece Walsh said he wants to play out his career at Brisbane, putting to bed speculation about his NRL future.
The 21-year-old fullback, in camp with the Maroons ahead of the State of Origin series opener, knew he would be peppered with questions about his future in his first all-in media conference since he was in Los Angeles ahead of round one.
Walsh's future had been a hot topic in Brisbane due to a perceived delay in negotiations, but Walsh said he was not going anywhere. He eventually inked a four-year, $5million deal, keeping him at the club at least until the end of 2029.
'Let down my state': Suaali'i remorseful after Walsh Origin hit
Joseph Suaali'i insisted his knockout tackle on Reece Walsh was purely accidental, apologising to the whole of NSW after being sent off less than eight minutes into his State of Origin debut.
Amid accusations from Queensland that the Blues had deliberately set out to hurt Walsh, Suaali'i was left facing a four-game ban after his hit collected the Maroons fullback flush on the cheek.
Maroons great Johnathan Thurston claimed NSW had gone out to target Walsh, with Suaali'i getting his tackle all wrong in the early stages of Queensland's 38-10 victory in Sydney.
Eels name Jason Ryles as new head coach
Jason Ryles won the lengthy tussle for the Parramatta NRL coaching job, with the Eels appointing the Melbourne assistant on a four-year deal.
Parramatta ended the wait to replace sacked Brad Arthur with an early-morning announcement, following a board meeting held a week earlier.
Ryles' appointment meant he had beaten Queensland and Cronulla assistant Josh Hannay for the job, while Dean Young and interim coach Trent Barrett were the other main contenders.
NRL to dazzle Las Vegas in nine-hour extravaganza
The NRL has turned its 2025 Las Vegas venture into a nine-hour extravaganza, with its season-opening double-header, women's Test match and Super League fixture all to be played on the same day.
League bosses confirmed the game's worst-kept secret, with Penrith, Cronulla, Canberra and the Warriors bound for Vegas next year.
The matches will be two of four played at Allegiant Stadium on March 1, with Wigan and Warrington to kick off the event in a regular-season Super League fixture.
Australia's women will also take on England in an international Test match on the same day at the venue.
Blues topple Qld fortress for comeback Origin victory
NSW conquered the cauldron of Suncorp Stadium to claim their first State of Origin series in three years, beating Queensland 14-4 in a brutal decider.
On a night of ferocity and chaos that included a fight spilling off the field and Cameron Murray being sin-binned from the bench, NSW scored twice late to claim a famous win.
The victory marked only the Blues third win in a decider in Brisbane from 13 attempts, with the class of 2024 joining the teams from 1994 and 2005.
Storm capture Utoikamanu in three-year deal
Melbourne signed Wests Tigers prop Stefano Utoikamanu, bringing an end to one of the NRL season's biggest contract sagas.
Rated one of the best young forwards in the competition, Utoikamanu shunned interest from resurgent Canterbury to sign a three-year deal with the Storm that will begin in 2025.
The signing comes only days after the one-time NSW representative delivered a seismic blow to the rebuilding Tigers by rejecting their five-year contract offer.
Papenhuyzen not lured by bright lights of Sydney yet
There were plenty of rumours flying about the future of Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen, but he insisted his priority was to remain at the Storm.
The 26-year-old's management met with Storm officials midseason with a desire from both ends to get a deal done.
Papenhuyzen eventually signed a one-year extension with the Storm which will take him through till the end of the 2027 season..
Coote becomes rugby league's 14th Immortal
Ron Coote was named rugby league's 14th Immortal, ending one of the longest waits of the post-war era to earn the status.
Coote was officially revealed as the latest Immortal at a gala dinner at the SCG, rewarding him for a career that dominated the 1960s and 1970s.
Coote's selection came ahead of the likes of Cameron Smith, Darren Lockyer, Allan Langer, Brett Kenny, Peter Sterling, Johnathan Thurston, Billy Slater and Ken Irvine.
Latrell Mitchell seen with white powder
The NRL integrity unit was made aware of a photo that appeared to depict South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell with a white powder.
The image began circulating on social media, with a Rabbitohs statement confirming it had been taken during Mitchell's trip to Dubbo for a personal appearance.
The picture appears to show Mitchell, one of the most recognisable personalities in rugby league, leaning over a table on which white powder had been placed.
Maguire new Broncos coach on a three-year deal
Michael Maguire was officially Brisbane's new coach, after he was released from his duties with the NSW State of Origin side and confirmed on a three-year deal at the Broncos.
Just five days after sacking club legend Kevin Walters, the Broncos confirmed that Maguire would take over the team immediately ahead of the 2025 pre-season.
Maguire's appointment marked a stunning turnaround for the 2014 premiership winner, who was sacked by the struggling Wests Tigers midway through 2021. He has since won a Pacific Championships with New Zealand and an Origin series with NSW, before now returning to club land with 2023 grand-finalists Brisbane.
Jahrome Hughes wins maiden Dally M Medal
Jahrome Hughes won the Dally M Medal, after holding out James Tedesco by one point to claim his greatest individual honour.
Melbourne No.7 Hughes became the first Kiwi half in 32 years to claim the NRL's top award, after a thrilling finish to the count.
Leading Tedesco by one point headed into the final round, Hughes and the Sydney Roosters fullback both polled six votes to finish the season one point apart.
Roosters forward Olivia Kernick became the second Rooster in three years to take home the coveted NRLW Dally M Medal.
Roosters survive Sharks fightback to win NRLW crown
The Sydney Roosters resisted a Cronulla fightback to prevail 32-28 in the NRLW grand final and claim the club's second premiership.
Winger Brydie Parker and Dally M medallist Olivia Kernick scored two tries apiece as the Roosters cemented their status as competition heavyweights at Accor Stadium.
Roosters playmaker Tarryn Aiken won the Karyn Murphy Medal after setting up two tries.
Panthers beat Storm for fourth consecutive title
Penrith secured their status as rugby league's greatest team in almost 60 years, claiming their fourth straight premiership with a 14-6 triumph over Melbourne.
In a drama-filled grand final that included a biting allegation and bunker controversy, Penrith pulled away late in front of a crowd of 80,156 people at Accor Stadium.
The win makes them only the third team in history to claim four straight premierships, and the first since the great St George side won 11 in a row from 1956 to 1966.
Dragons terminate NRL contract of captain Hunt
The Dragons confirmed they had chosen to part ways with Hunt, despite the 34-year-old having a year to run on his contract.
Hunt had spent 12 months agitating for a release from his contract, and comments in the media made his ongoing employment untenable.
He was soon snapped up by the Broncos, returning to Brisbane in 2025 where his career began.
Bulldogs sack Addo-Carr over failed drugs test
Josh Addo-Carr was sacked by Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs with immediate effect after failing a roadside drugs test.
Addo-Carr's fate was sealed when the Australian Test winger was forced to front the Bulldogs board of directors and explain why he shouldn't have his contract torn up.
It came after the 29-year-old was pulled over by NSW Police in September, a week out from the club's first finals games in eight years.
Australia withstand Tonga fightback to win Pacific Cup
Tom Dearden proved he belongs in the do-or-die environment of Test rugby league after standing tall and guiding Australia to a 20-14 Pacific Cup final win over Tonga.
In front of a 28,728-strong pro-Tongan crowd at CommBank Stadium, the Kangaroos made amends for last year's final - when they suffered the biggest defeat in their history at the hands of New Zealand.
Tom Trbojevic grabbed two tries at centre but it was Dearden who shone brightest as he upstaged halfback Mitchell Moses on his home ground, showing a ruthless edge to exploit Tonga's defensive lapses.
Blues turn to the past naming Laurie Daley as head coach
Laurie Daley was appointed NSW's new State of Origin coach, seven years after he was first sacked from the role.
The NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) called a snap press conference at their Homebush headquarters, where they unveiled the Canberra Raiders legend as Michael Maguire's successor.
Daley had appeared to be the front-runner to fill the vacancy for some weeks, enjoying strong support from sections of the NSWRL board.
Prime Minister Albanese confirms NRL expansion into PNG
A team from Papua New Guinea will enter the NRL from 2028 after officially being granted a licence by the league.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his PNG counterpart James Marape met in Sydney to shake hands over the deal, the culmination of two years of planning.
The pair reached an in-principle agreement with the NRL in May, and have since been ironing out specifics.