Sport Rugby league Number of teams 2 | Inaugural season 1982 | |
Shield Holders South Sydney Rabbitohs (2017) Most titles South Sydney Rabbitohs (18 titles) | ||
The National Rugby League's Charity Shield match is an annual pre-season game between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and St. George Illawarra Dragons played before the start of the Premiership regular season. It has been regarded as the unofficial start to the National Rugby League (NRL) season and has been in operation since 1982, with the exception of 2000 and 2001 when Souths were omitted from the NRL.
Originally contested between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the St. George Dragons, and later by the St George Illawarra Dragons when they merged in 1999, the teams go head to head in an annual clash three weeks prior to the kickoff of the NRL season.
Since its inception in 1982, the Charity Shield has been played on thirty occasions. Of these, the Dragons (St George and St George Illawarra) have won 16 times, while South Sydney have triumphed outright on 11 occasions and retained the shield as the current holder in each of the 5 drawn matches. Broken down, St George played 17 matches, winning 11; while St George Illawarra, since their merger in 1999, have played 13 matches, winning 5.
The match has been broadcast on national television and in 2002 for the first and only time was screened live in the UK. The Charity Shield is for Souths Cares, Wollongong Hospital and St George Hospital