1995 ARL season
| 1995 Australian Rugby League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 20 |
| Premiers | Sydney Bulldogs (7th title) |
| Minor premiers | Manly Sea Eagles (7th title) |
| Matches played | 229 |
| Points scored | 5,370 |
| Average attendance | 14,642 |
| Attendance | 3,352,927 |
| Top points scorer(s) | Matthew Ridge (257) |
| Wooden spoon | North Queensland (1st spoon) |
| Rothmans Medal | Paul Green |
| Top try-scorer(s) | Steve Menzies (22) |
The 1995 ARL premiership was the 88th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League following the hand-over of the Premiership's administration by the New South Wales Rugby League. For the first time since 1988, the Premiership expanded again, with the addition of two new clubs from Queensland:
- North Queensland Cowboys, based in Townsville
- South Queensland Crushers, based in Brisbane.
For the first time ever, clubs were also added from outside the borders of New South Wales and Queensland, and indeed, Australia:
- Western Reds (later called Perth Reds), based in Perth
- Auckland Warriors, based in Auckland.
This saw a total of twenty teams, the largest number in the League's history, compete during the regular season for the J J Giltinan Shield, which was followed by a series of play-off finals between the top eight teams that culminated in a grand final for the Winfield Cup between the re-branded Sydney Bulldogs and Manly.
The 1995 season also saw the first major consequences of the Super League war, with the ARL's refusal to select almost all players from the eight clubs who had aligned with News Ltd's proposed Super League for State of Origin or Test matches, including the 1995 Rugby League World Cup.