1996 ARL Optus Cup

On March 11, Justice James Burchett handed down a decision on the court battle between the ARL and Super League, ruling in favour of the former. A key component of that decision was that News Limited, Super League and all breakaway clubs (Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra, Canterbury, Cronulla, North QLD, Penrith and the Western Reds) were not permitted to 'promote, participate in, advertise, televise, broadcast or transmit in any way, either on free-to-air or pay-TV, any match not authorised by the ARL' until the end of 1999. News Ltd was also required to, within 48 hours, send written notice to players and coaches to return to the clubs they were contracted with on the 28th of March, 1995 and be available to play, notwithstanding injury or illness. Any who refused were not allowed to be paid. The victory was so heavily in favour of the ARL that News Ltd was even forced to hand over any Super League promotional merchandise to the ARL. Two days later, News Ltd was granted a stay on some of the orders, pending appeal. Crucially, the individual players and coaches aligned with Super League were no longer required to play in the ARL comp, but the clubs themselves were still required to participate. It ended all hopes of them starting a breakaway competition in 1996, and paved the way for Super League-aligned players to effectively strike until appeals were heard.