1908 NSWRFL season

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The 1908 NSWRFL season was the first premiership of the New South Wales Rugby Football League, the beginning of professional rugby league in Australia. It ran from 20 April to 29 August with nine clubs competing (eight from Sydney and one from Newcastle). Cumberland joined in round two and then exited at the end of the season.

Format and results
- Ten regular-season rounds were played, followed by semi-finals and a final.
- The top four teams met in finals; after the regular rounds, South Sydney and Eastern Suburbs finished on 18 points, so an extra round was played to decide the premiership contenders.
- South Sydney defeated Eastern Suburbs in the final, 14–12, to become the first premiers. Both teams were short on players who were touring Britain at the time.

Honours
- Premiers (first title): South Sydney
- Minor Premiers: South Sydney
- Runners-up: Eastern Suburbs
- Wooden spoon (last place): Cumberland (their first spoon)

Top players
- Top point-scorer: Horrie Miller (Eastern Suburbs) – 47 points
- Top try-scorer: Horrie Miller (Eastern Suburbs) – 15 tries

Notable facts
- The season’s highest crowd was 20,000 for South Sydney’s round-two win over Cumberland.
- The final and much of the season were affected by absences due to players leaving for the first Kangaroo tour of Great Britain.
- Cumberland, admitted for this season, finished last and disbanded after the year.

Teams
- Balmain
- Glebe
- Newtown
- North Sydney
- South Sydney
- Sydney
- Eastern Suburbs
- Western Suburbs
- Newcastle
- Cumberland (joined in round two; later disbanded)

Second Grade premiers: Eastern Suburbs
Third Grade premiers: Sydney

This season marked the birth of rugby league in New South Wales, setting the stage for a new era of the sport.