One championship is an achievement for any sports team and one rightly celebrated by players and fans alike.

Imagine a team winning 11 titles in a row.

That’s what St George did in Sydney’s rugby league competition from 1956 to 1966.

This incredible dominance, and rival clubs’ frustration with it, sparked a radical change in rugby league – the move away from unlimited tackles to the four-tackle rule in 1967.

As well as wanting to make the game faster, authorities hoped moving away from unlimited tackles would make the competition more even.

Sports can change dramatically in the blink of an eye. Sometimes, these moments create immediate shockwaves. Other times, it’s not until much later that their impact become obvious. This is the first story in a rolling series that explores key (and sometimes long forgotten) moments in sports history.

The early days: breaking away from rugby union

In the early 20th century, rugby union was the dominant football code of eastern Australia.

However, planning for a breakaway rugby league competition began in New South Wales in 1907. Then in 1908, rugby league was first played in Australia.

The main factor for the split was the failure of rugby union to properly compensate players for their expenses and time away from work.

The new code streamlined some of the stodgier elements of rugby union:

moving from 15 to 13 players per side

simplifying the scrum

doing away with lineouts

introducing the hallmark “play the ball” method of restarting play, in which a tackled player stands up and rolls the ball backwards with their foot to a teammate behind........

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