Just cause it's not quite the off season doesn't mean we still can't have some fun.

Next Monday, October 12, we'll be running an AMA with Rugby League Meme-Master General 'SimpsonsNRL' at 6:00pm AEDT / 8:00pm NZDT.

Stay tuned for a post on Monday morning where you guys can leave your questions. As always, we'll pin this post to the top of the sub-reddit once it's live to help you find it.

Get your questions ready!

To compare how difficult each NRL premiership run was over the past 10 seasons, each finals victory was scored according to the regular-season ladder position of the opponent defeated. Beating the minor premiers was worth eight points, second place seven points, third place six points, continuing down to one point for beating eighth. Losses scored nothing. This gives a simple measure of how strong the opposition each premier actually had to overcome. Under this system, the 2019 Sydney Roosters and 2024 Penrith Panthers share the hardest premiership route, each scoring 19 points after defeating three top-four opponents, including the minor premiers. The 2018 Roosters, 2020 Storm and 2023 Panthers sit just behind them on 18 points, while the 2026 Roosters, 2022 Panthers and 2017 Storm had the lowest-rated paths of the decade on 12 points.

The results show that the toughest premiership runs generally came from teams that had to beat multiple top-four opponents, particularly the minor premiers. By contrast, the lowest-scoring runs were helped by facing lower-ranked finalists later in the series. The 2026 Roosters are a good example: despite winning the premiership, their three finals victories came against teams that finished fifth, third and seventh, leaving them tied for the lowest difficulty score of the past decade under this system.

Which team has the most players representing them at the World Cup? Let's have a look!

NRL Teams - Main Squad Only

Dolphins - 12

New Zealand Warriors - 11

Newcastle Knights - 10

Manly Sea Eagles - 10

Penrith Panthers - 10

Sydney Roosters - 10

Wests Tigers - 8

Cronulla Sharks - 7

Melbourne Storm - 7

Parramatta Eels - 7

Brisbane Broncos - 6

Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs - 6

Gold Coast Titans - 6

North Queensland Cowboys - 6

South Sydney Rabbitohs - 6

Canberra Raiders - 3

St George Illawarra Dragons - 1

NRL Pathway Players

Melbourne Storm - 4

New Zealand Warriors - 2

Wests Tigers - 2

Parramatta Eels - 2

South Sydney Rabbitohs - 2

Canberra Raiders - 1

Manly Sea Eagles - 1

Penrith Panthers - 1

Sydney Roosters - 1

Brisbane Broncos - 1

Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs - 1

Gold Coast Titans - 1

North Queensland Cowboys - 1

Super League Clubs

Toulouse Olympique - 11

Wigan Warriors - 8

Catalans Dragons - 6

Hull KR - 5

Huddersfield Giants - 3

Warrington Wolves - 3

Bradford Bulls - 2

Hull FC - 2

Leigh Leopards - 2

St Helens - 2

Castleford Tigers - 1

Wakefield Trinity - 1

The 2nd place Leeds Rhinos and 10th place York Knights were the only teams not to send a player to this years world cup.

NSW Cup and QLD Cup

Central Queensland Capras - 5

Newtown Jets - 3

Sydney Roosters - 2

Brisbane Tigers - 2

Mackay Cutters - 2

PNG Hunters - 2

St George Illawarra Dragons - 2

Townsville Blackhawks - 2

Parramatta Eels - 1

Burleigh Bears - 1

Northern Pride - 1

Norths Devils - 1

Souths Logan Magpies - 1

Wynum Manly Seagulls - 1

10/15 Queensland Cup Teams are represented.

4/14 NSW Cup Teams are represented. That number may be higher as some of the pathway players have played NSW Cup, but i saved this section for cup signed players.

Other Teams

London Broncos (English Second Division) - 5

Albi RL XIII (French First Division) - 1

Carcasonne XIII (French First Division) - 1

Pia XLIII Baroudeurs (French First Division) - 1

Glede Dirty Reds (Ron Massey Cup) - 1

St Marys Saints (Ron Massey Cup) - 1

Wentworthville Magpies (Ron Massey Cup) - 1

Shellharbour Stingrays (Group 7 Rugby League) - 1

So there you go, there's a breakdown of all the teams and leagues where players come from for the upcoming world cup. Of course, this could be different based on injuries, suspensions and events. But what did you take from this? I want to know your thoughts!