<p>You can’t win them all. Since the inception of professional Rugby League in Australia in 1908, every year one unlucky club has had to come last.</p> <p>This achievement is commemorated with the wooden spoon. Now, while the wooden spoon is an unofficial award (no sorry the NRL doesn’t actually award a real wooden spoon) it’s still a big deal.</p> <p>Real or not, no side or their supporters want to finish at the bottom of the pile, but someone has to.</p> <p>Some clubs have had to endure the shame of finishing last more than others, with one currently holding the most NRL wooden spoons of all time by some distance.</p> <p>Who are they? And where does everyone else sit in the hall of shame? Let’s find out.</p> <p>The clubs with the most wooden spoons in the NRL of all time are below.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 1 Wooden Spoon</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Cumberland, Canberra Raiders, Melbourne Storm &amp; Brisbane Broncos</strong></p> <p>Cumberland were one of the foundation teams back in 1908 and actually won the first ever wooden spoon on offer.</p> <p>However, it is still disputed to this day, as they finished on the same wins as the Western Suburbs who had a worse points differential but received an extra bye throughout the season. A victim of scheduling it seems.</p> <p>Melbourne’s solitary spoon came as a result of their salary cap breaches back in 2010, meaning they were stripped of all their points and unable to receive any more for the rest of the season.</p> <p>It was actually the Cowboys who won the fewest games that season.</p> <p>Joining Cumberland and Melbourne on just the one wooden spoon are Canberra and Brisbane, highlighting the consistency they’ve both shown during their tenure as NRL clubs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 2 Wooden Spoons</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>South Queensland Crushers &amp; Gold Coast Titans</strong></p> <p>If the Titans think having two wooden spoons is bad, they need only look at the other side with two last placed finishes – the South Queensland Crushers.</p> <p>Remember them? Don’t worry, not many do. They lasted just three seasons in the top flight of Australian Rugby League, finishing dead bottom two of those three years. What a strike rate.</p> <p>The Titans have had an up and down history (mainly down)with a few bright periods of finals footy. Though at any point these days they could very well be about to leave the now defunct Crushers behind and leap from two to three, as they find themselves languishing near the foot of the 2025 NRL ladder.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 3 Wooden Spoons</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Annadale, St George Dragons, Illawarra Steelers, Gold Coast Seagulls, North Queensland Cowboys, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks &amp; Wests Tigers</strong></p> <p>There are no less than sevensides with an unwanted hat-trick of wooden spoons. Of the sevenonly the Wests Tigers, North Queensland Cowboys and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks currently compete in the NRL.</p> <p>Annandale exited the competition back in 1920, they only lasted a decade in the big time after getting started in 1910, two years after the foundation of the league.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Gold Coast Seagulls were a failed Glitter Strip franchise in the late 80s and 90s, that had more name changes than a local punk band.&nbsp;</p> <p>First they were the Giants, then they changed to the Seagulls (which is when they won their three wooden spoons), before trying on the Gladiators and then finally landing on the Chargers.&nbsp;</p> <p>Then they decided the whole Rugby League thing wasn’t really for them and disbanded all together, exactly like a local punk band.&nbsp;</p> <p>As for St George and Illawarra, well they merged in 1998, to form, any guesses? Yep, the St George Illawarra Dragons, who are one of the four teams currently playing in the NRL yet to win the wooden spoon. The other three being Manly, the Warriors and the Dolphins.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 4 Wooden Spoons</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Balmain Tigers &amp; Penrith Panthers</strong></p> <p>They may have the recent history of four&nbsp;straight premierships after 2024, but the Panthers already have four pieces of hardware stashed away at home.</p> <p>Ok, they’re not quite <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/nrl/news/most-nrl-premierships-of-all-time">premiership trophies</a>, in fact they’re the complete opposite, they’re wooden spoons. The good news is they’re unlikely to be adding more anytime soon.</p> <p>Joining Penrith on four last-placed finishes are the now merged Balmain Tigers.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 5 Wooden Spoons</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Sydney Roosters &amp; Newcastle Knights</strong></p> <p>Somewhat of a perennial powerhouse, when you’ve been around for as long as these guys your luck can’t hold forever.</p> <p>The fact that the Roosters have only won five wooden spoons, compared to 15 premierships, in their 116-year existence is a remarkable achievement.</p> <p>The Newcastle Knights decided the Chooks were looking a little lonely on five all by themseleves, so they decided to run last in 2025 in order to keep them comapny.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 6 Wooden Spoons</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs</strong></p> <p>The Doggies could have one less wooden spoon if they hadn’t got greedy back in the day.</p> <p>They were busted in 2002 for salary cap breaches, deducted 37 competition points and sent straight to the foot of the ladder.</p> <p>Just like with Melbourne in 2010, it was the Cowboys who actually won the fewest games that season but were saved thanks to Canterbury’s indiscretions.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 8 Wooden Spoons</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Newtown Jets &amp; South Sydney Rabbitohs</strong></p> <p>Two foundation clubs, eight wooden spoons each, one still in the NRL.</p> <p>Both the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Newtown Jets have finished last eight times each.</p> <p>Newtown won’t be adding to this tally however as they exited the top flight of Australian footy in 1983. The Bunnies on the other hand will have plenty opportunities to add to their collection, including this season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 9 Wooden Spoons</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>North Sydney Bears</strong></p> <p>Just shy of double digits into terms of wooden spoons are the North Sydney Bears. They won’t get the chance to make it 10 unless they are reinstated as an NRL club in the future, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 10 Wooden Spoons</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>University</strong></p> <p>Thirteen seasons in, what back then was the equivalent of the NRL, 12 wooden spoons.</p> <p>It’s safe to say things didn’t work out for University as a professional Rugby League organisation, but as they say you get points for trying. Just not competition points.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 14 Wooden Spoons</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Parramatta Eels</strong></p> <p>Start as you mean to go on. Formed in 1947, the Eels wasted no time in picking up their first wooden spoon, taking home the dreaded kitchen utensil in their first season as a professional club.</p> <p>Since then, they’ve added a further 13. Their latest piece of unwanted kitchen hardware came as recently as 2018, a season after they finished in the top four.</p> <p>They’re not out of the woods in season 2024 either and could very well be adding wooden spoon number 15 to their collection if they’re not careful.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NRL Teams With 18 Wooden Spoons</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Western Suburbs Magpies</strong></p> <p>And the winner? Is Western Suburbs Magpies! Talk about a dubious honour. Yes, the now defunct Western Suburbs Magpies have the most NRL wooden spoons in history with no less than 18 last placed finishes.</p> <p>In order to survive, they merged with Balmain Tigers at the turn of the century to create the Wests Tigers.</p> <p>It’s great to see Wests Tigers keeping the Magpies legacy alive in 2024, as they stare down an unwanted hattrick of wooden spoons. The more things change hey.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>So there you have it, the entire list of Most Wooden Spoons In the NRL of All Time. How has your team faired in the history books? Keep on reading on The Huddle and find out some more positive stats such as the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/nrl/news/most-nrl-premierships-of-all-time">Teams With The Most NRL Premierships</a>, <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/nrl/news/most-nrl-tries">Most Tries in NRL History</a> or <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/nrl/news/highest-paid-nrl-players">Highest Plaid NRL Players of 2025</a>.</p> <p>Want to follow on with our predictions throughout this years NRL premiership competition? Stay on The Huddle and head over to our <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/nrl/predictions">Weekly Expert NRL Tips &amp; Predictions</a> including individual game previews!</p>