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{{Short description|Defunct rugby league team in South Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2011}}
{{Infobox rugby league club
|image       = The_Adelaide_Rams_Rugby_League_Team.png
|clubname    = Adelaide Rams
|fullname    = {{nowrap|Adelaide Rugby League Football Club}}
|nickname    = Rams, Adelaide
|colours     = ''Primary:''<br>{{color box|Blue}} Blue<br>{{color box|Red}} Red<br>''Secondary:''<br>{{color box|yellow}} Yellow
|founded     = {{start date and age|df=y|1995|12|13}} (first season: 1997)
|exited      = {{start date and age|1998}}
|ground      = [[Adelaide Oval]] (1997–1998) <br> [[Hindmarsh Stadium]] (1998) <br> Ram Park, Oakden (training venue 1997–1998, now [[Adelaide City Park]])
|ceo         = [[Tim Pickup]] (1995–96) <br> [[Liz Dawson]] (1996–98) <br> [[Michael O'Connor (rugby)|Michael O'Connor]] (1999)
|coach       = [[Rod Reddy]] (1995–98)<br>[[Dean Lance]] (1998)
|captain     = [[Kerrod Walters]] (1997–98)
|league      = [[Super League (Australia)|Super League]] and [[National Rugby League|NRL]]
|season      = [[Super League (Australia) season 1997|1997]] <br> [[National Rugby League season 1998|1998]]
|position    = 9th of 10 <br> 17th of 20
|cap         = 41
|mostcap     = [[Kerrod Walters]]
|mostpoints  = [[Graham Appo]]
|points      = 116
|homejersey  =
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The '''Adelaide Rams''' was an Australian professional [[rugby league]] football club based in [[Adelaide|Adelaide, South Australia]]. The team was formed in 1995 for the planned rebel [[Super League (Australia)|Super League]] competition. The Rams lasted two seasons, the first in the [[Super League (Australia) season 1997|Super League competition in 1997]] and the second in the [[NRL season 1998|first season]] of the National Rugby League (NRL) in 1998. The Rams were not a successful club, winning only 13 out of 42 games. However crowd numbers in the first season were the fifth highest of any first-grade club that year, but dwindled to sixteenth in the second season. The Adelaide club was shut down at the end of the 1998 season as a result of poor on-field performances, dwindling crowd numbers, financial losses and a reduction in the number of teams in the NRL. They remain the only team from the state of South Australia to have participated in top-level rugby league in Australia.

==History==

===Background===
==== Australian rules football (later, Australian Football League [AFL]) ====
The [[Australian rules football]] code, with origins as far back as 1843,<ref name=historyofsanfl>{{cite web|title=History of the SANFL |url=http://www.sanfl.com.au/the_sanfl/history_of_the_sanfl/ |publisher=SANFL |access-date=8 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619232001/http://www.sanfl.com.au/the_sanfl/history_of_the_sanfl/ |archive-date=19 June 2010 }}</ref> had long dominated sport in the state. South Australia had two teams competing in the national Australian rules competition, the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL): the [[Adelaide Crows]] and {{AFL|PA}}, the latter starting in the AFL in the same year as the Rams first season in Super League. Port Adelaide's entry, propelled by a large local fan base in the [[South Australian National Football League]] (SANFL) competition, and the Crows successes in 1997–98 made it much harder for the Rams to compete for fan support. They were also competing against the popular [[Adelaide 36ers]] who played in the [[National Basketball League (Australia)|National Basketball League]] (NBL) which at the time ran a winter season. Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, was considered an Aussie rules stronghold, and in the SANFL had the oldest Aussie Rules Football league, and indeed the oldest league of any code, in Australia, as well as a viable [[South Australia Rugby Union|Rugby Union competition]] which had been running since 1932.<ref name="historyofsanfl" /> The [[South Australian Rugby League]] (SARL) also had a [[Adelaide First Grade Premiership|First Grade Premiership]] competition in place since 1976, while league been played competitively in Adelaide since the late 1940s.<ref>[http://sarl.leaguenet.com.au/ SARL History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909060911/http://sarl.leaguenet.com.au/ |date=9 September 2016 }}</ref>

==== NSWRL (later National Rugby League [NRL]) ====
The [[New South Wales Rugby League premiership]] (NSWRL) begun in 1908, as a rugby league competition mostly for clubs in the Sydney region of Australia (a team from [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] competed in 1908–09), a situation that lasted until 1982. The competition then expanded outside of NSW to [[Canberra]], and to outside of Sydney with a team from [[Wollongong]], and eventually in 1988 to [[Brisbane]] and the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]] in [[Queensland]], plus a new team from Newcastle. In 1992, the NSWRL decided to extend the competition further, by admitting four new teams for the 1995 competition, one from [[Western Australia]], one from New Zealand and two from Queensland. The NSWRL also decided to test the viability of a rugby league team from the South Australian capital, and between 1991 and 1995 programmed five matches to be played in Adelaide at the famous Adelaide Oval. In 1991, the [[St. George Dragons]] (whose primary sponsor since the mid-late 1970s had been Adelaide-based winery [[Penfolds]]) and [[Balmain Tigers]] match attracted 28,884 people, at the time the largest attendance for any rugby league game in South Australia (since beaten when 48,613 attended Game 1 of the [[2023 State of Origin series]] at the Adelaide Oval). The then record league crowd would prove to be the largest attendance of the entire minor round of the [[1991 NSWRL season]] (it was in fact the 6th highest attendance for the entire season, beating the attendance of two of the seven Finals series games).<ref name="attends"/> Around 20,000 attended the two matches in 1992 and 1993, and around 10,000 in 1994 and 1995.<ref name="attends">{{cite web|url=http://afltables.com/rl/crowds/adelaide_vn.html|title=Rugby League Tables / Attendances Adelaide|access-date=2009-04-03}}</ref> Despite this evidence of popular appeal, the NSWRL, already in the process of setting up a 20-team competition, could not see their way to admitting a team from Adelaide and their preferred option outside of rugby league strongholds of NSW, Qld and New Zealand was to have a team from [[Melbourne]] and another in [[Perth]] (the [[Melbourne Storm]] would be formed in 1998).<ref name="history">{{cite book | author=Whiticker, Alan | author-link=Alan Whiticker |author2=Collis, Ian | title= The History of Rugby League Clubs
| publisher=New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd | year=2004| isbn=1-74110-075-5}}</ref> By the end of 1995, this was apparent as the ARL had already played two international Test matches involving the [[Australian Kangaroos]] in Melbourne, as well as three [[State of Origin series|State of Origin]] games, with Game 2 of the [[1994 State of Origin series]] attracting a then Australian record rugby league crowd of 87,161 to the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-15/record-state-of-origin-crowd-expected-in-melbourne/6547346 |title=State of Origin: Record MCG crowd expected for Game II clash between Queensland and NSW |date=15 June 2015 |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |agency=AAP |access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref>

===Formation===

In 1994, the media company [[News Limited]] began developing a rival competition to the long-established NSWRL premiership: the "[[Super League (Australia)|Super League]]" premiership. In response to this move the [[Australian Rugby League]] (ARL), the governing body of [[rugby league in Australia]], took over the NSWRL. After 8 of the 20 teams in the ARL competition signed with News Limited to play in the proposed Super League competition in 1996 the organization began looking for further teams to make the new competition viable. In June 1995 the [[South Australian Rugby League]] (SARL), which governs the game of rugby league in South Australia, officially signed with Super League, who subsequently gave it a licence to form a franchise which would allow the SARL to create a Super League team. Another leading factor in the SARL's decision to sign with SL was the promise of greater financial assistance than they were receiving from the ARL.<ref name="history"/>

The team was owned and supported by News Limited. Former Australian representatives [[Tim Pickup]] and [[Rod Reddy]] were named inaugural CEO and head coach respectively.

On 13 December 1995, the SARL officially launched the 'Adelaide Rams', the tenth and final team to join the Super League competition (the 9th team was the [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] based [[Hunter Mariners]]). In early March 1996, the ARL were successful in gaining a [[Federal Court of Australia|federal court]] injunction, a legal ruling that prevented the Super League from beginning competition in 1996 and the Rams were put on hold causing Tim Pickup to stand down from his post in the ensuing months. In mid-1996, News Limited successfully appealed this ruling, which enabled the competition to proceed. [[Australia national rugby union team|Wallaby]] rugby union halfback [[George Gregan]] was approached to switch codes to be the starting halfback for the new team for "seriously more money than" he would earn playing rugby union, though he opted to remain in the 15-man code (Gregan would ultimately go on to win the [[1999 Rugby World Cup]] with the Wallabies and would become Wallaby captain in 2001).<ref>{{cite book
|title= Halfback, Half Forward
|last= Gregan
|first= George
|author-link= George Gregan
|year= 2008
|publisher= [[Pan Macmillan]]
|location= Australia
|isbn= 978-1-4050-3861-4
|page= 65
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gbJAIH35JvUC
|access-date= 12 March 2011}}</ref> The [[Super League (Australia) season 1997|first, and only Super League season]], was held in 1997,<ref name="history"/> and the Rams team was part of it.

===Inaugural season===
{{Further|1997 Adelaide Rams season}}
[[File:George Giffen stand.jpg|thumb|right|[[Adelaide Oval]], original home ground of the Adelaide Rams]]
The SARL appointed the former Auckland Warriors marketing manager Liz Dawson as Pickup's replacement as the Rams' chief executive – the first female chief executive of any rugby league club in either the ARL or the Super League. The club had appointed [[St. George Dragons]] international back rower [[Rod Reddy]] to be their inaugural coach, along with two-time NSWRL premiership-winning and former [[1990 Kangaroo Tour|Kangaroo tour]] {{rlp|HK}} [[Kerrod Walters]] from the [[Brisbane Broncos]] to be the first captain of the team. Most of the junior players were drawn from the SARL's lower grade competitions in Adelaide.<ref name="history"/>

The club played its first premiership match on 1 March against the [[North Queensland Cowboys]] in [[Townsville]] and, after leading 16–4 at half time, eventually lost 24–16. This was also the first ever match of the Australian Super League's only season.

Their first home match, against fellow new team the [[Hunter Mariners]] in Round 3 on 14 March, was also the Rams' first win, and drew their record home attendance of 27,435 to the [[Adelaide Oval]]. This would actually turn out to be one of only two home wins for the season (not counting the 3 [[1997 World Club Championship|World Club Championship]] wins over visiting [[Super League|British]] teams [[Salford City Reds|Salford Red Devils]], [[Leeds Rhinos]] and [[Oldham Bears|Oldham]]). The Rams also won four away games with their first being in Round 4 against the [[Auckland Warriors]] at the [[Ericsson Stadium Auckland|Ericsson Stadium]] in [[Auckland]], New Zealand, but their overall record of 6 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw placed them second last on the [[1997 Super League (Australia) season|Super League]] premiership ladder, one win ahead of North Queensland.<ref name="history"/>

The Rams first home game attendance of 27,435 was the 4th highest attendance of the entire 1997 season, behind only the Grand Final at the [[Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre|ANZ Stadium]] in Brisbane (58,912), the opening game of the season in Brisbane (42,361) and a Round 6 match at the [[Dairy Farmers Stadium]] in Townsville (30,122).

{| class="wikitable" style=" font-size:90%; text-align:center;" width=100%
|+ Adelaide Rams 1997 Super League season results<ref name=Results>{{cite web|url=http://afltables.com/rl/games/adelaide.html|title=Rugby League Tables / All Games / Adelaide|access-date=2009-04-20 }}{{dead link|date=September 2016|bot=medic}}</ref>
|-
!width=2%|Round !! width=25%|Home !! width="200pt"|Scoreline !! width=25%|Away !! width=14%|Date !! width=20%|Venue !! width=10%|Crowd
|-
| 1 || {{leagueicon|Nth Qld|16}} [[North Queensland Cowboys]] || 24–16 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 1 March|| [[Dairy Farmers Stadium]] || 17,738
|-
| 2 || {{leagueicon|Brisbane|16}} [[Brisbane Broncos]] || 28–12 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 9 March|| [[Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre|ANZ Stadium]] || 16,279
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 3 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 10–8 || {{leagueicon|Hunter|16}} [[Hunter Mariners]] || 14 March|| [[Adelaide Oval]] || 27,435
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 4 || {{leagueicon|Auckland|16}} [[Auckland Warriors]] || 12–16 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 21 March|| [[Ericsson Stadium Auckland|Ericsson Stadium]] || 13,000
|-
| 5 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 16–18 || {{leagueicon|Western Reds|16}} [[WA Reds#Perth Reds (1997)|Perth Reds]] || 27 March|| Adelaide Oval || 16,294
|-
| 6 || {{leagueicon|Bulldogs|16}} [[Canterbury Bulldogs]] || 34–22 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 6 April|| [[Belmore Sports Ground]] || 7,234
|-
| 7 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 10–20 || {{leagueicon|Brisbane|16}} [[Brisbane Broncos]] || 13 April|| Adelaide Oval || 17,633
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 8 || {{leagueicon|Cronulla|16}} [[Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks]] || 18–29 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 19 April|| [[Toyota Stadium (Cronulla)|Shark Park]] || 10,112
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 9 || {{leagueicon|Penrith|16}} [[Penrith Panthers]] || 16–22 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 27 April|| [[Penrith Football Stadium]] || 5,815
|-
| 10 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 14–14 || {{leagueicon|Nth Qld|16}} [[North Queensland Cowboys]] || 2 May|| Adelaide Oval || 15,970
|-
| 11 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 22–42 || {{leagueicon|Bulldogs|16}} [[Canterbury Bulldogs]] || 23 May|| Adelaide Oval || 15,022
|-
| 12 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 18–34 || {{leagueicon|Canberra|16}} [[Canberra Raiders]] || 1 June|| Adelaide Oval || 13,894
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 13 || {{leagueicon|Western Reds|16}} [[WA Reds#Perth Reds (1997)|Perth Reds]] || 4–28 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 29 June|| [[WACA Ground|W.A.C.A]] || 7,204
|-
| 14 || {{leagueicon|Hunter|16}} [[Hunter Mariners]] || 10–2 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 5 July|| [[Breakers Stadium|Topper Stadium]] || 2,345
|-
| 15 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 8–18 || {{leagueicon|Auckland|16}} [[Auckland Warriors]] || 11 July|| Adelaide Oval || 13,278
|-
| 16 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 6–28 || {{leagueicon|Cronulla|16}} [[Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks]] || 8 August|| Adelaide Oval || 7,231
|-
| 17 || {{leagueicon|Canberra|16}} [[Canberra Raiders]] || 58–16 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 17 August|| [[Canberra Stadium]] || 7,960
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 18 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 36–16 || {{leagueicon|Penrith|16}} [[Penrith Panthers]] || 22 August|| Adelaide Oval || 11,211
|}

Former [[Cronulla Sharks]] goal kicking utility back [[Kurt Wrigley]] was the Rams top point scorer for the season with 81 points from 5 tries, 30 goals and 1 field goal. Wrigley, and former [[South Sydney Rabbitohs]] and [[St George Dragons]] fullback [[Rod Maybon]], were the team's top try scorers with 5 each. Super League's top point scorer for the season was [[Penrith Panthers]] centre [[Ryan Girdler]] who scored 197 points from 11 tries, 76 goals and 1 field goal while the competition's top try scorer was [[Canterbury Bulldogs]] utility back [[Matthew Ryan (rugby league)|Matthew Ryan]] who crossed for 17 tries.

Following the unification of the Super League and ARL competitions after the 1997 season, a new [[National Rugby League]] (NRL) competition was formed. This meant that three teams would be demised, as part of the rationalisation process aimed at reducing teams to an optimal number. With the introduction of the [[Melbourne Storm]] (who despite being owned by New Ltd. were not actually a Super League team despite popular belief), and an agreement between Super League and the ARL to have a competition limited to 14&nbsp;teams by 2000, the future for the Rams looked bleak. However, the Rams' home ground support, which averaged 15,330&nbsp;fans each week, the 4th highest out of 22 teams across both the SL and ARL competitions, ensured that they remained in the unified 1998 competition.<ref name="history"/><ref name="crowds">{{cite web|url= http://afltables.com/rl/crowds/adelaide.html|title=Rugby League Tables / Attendances / Adelaide|access-date=2008-04-15}}</ref>

====World Club Championship====
{{Further|1997 World Club Championship}}
In addition to the Telstra Cup, the Adelaide Rams also competed in Super League's 1997 World Club Championship competition. The Rams were placed in '''Australasia Pool B''' along with the [[Hunter Mariners]], [[North Queensland Cowboys]] and [[WA Reds#Perth Reds (1997)|Perth Reds]] and would be matched up against teams from '''Europe Pool B''' including the [[Leeds Rhinos]], [[Oldham R.L.F.C.|Oldham Bears]] and [[Salford Red Devils|Salford City Reds]]. The competition would see the Rams play three games at home and three in England.<ref name="history"/><ref name="rl1908"/>

The Rams won their three home games rather easily including a surprise 34–8 win over glamour side Leeds, but only managed to win one of their games in England against Oldham leaving them in third place in their pool. As only one team from Australasia Pool B would go on to the Quarter finals, this meant that the Adelaide Rams did not advance past the group stage of the tournament.

{| class="wikitable" style=" font-size:90%; text-align:center;" width=100%
|+ Adelaide Rams 1997 World Club Championship results<ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/world-club-challenge-1997/summary.html 1997 World Club Championship at Rugby League Project]</ref>
|-
!width=2%|Round !! width=25%|Home !! width="200pt"|Scoreline !! width=25%|Away !! width=14%|Date !! width=20%|Venue !! width=10%|Crowd
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 1 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 50–16 || {{leagueicon|Salford City Reds|16}} [[Salford Red Devils|Salford City Reds]] || 8 June || [[Adelaide Oval]] || 11,009
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 2 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 34–8 || {{leagueicon|Leeds|16}} [[Leeds Rhinos]] || 13 June || [[Adelaide Oval]] || 14,360
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 3 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 42–14 || {{leagueicon|Oldham|16}} [[Oldham R.L.F.C.|Oldham Bears]] || 20 June || [[Adelaide Oval]] || 13,852
|-
| 4 || {{leagueicon|Leeds|16}} [[Leeds Rhinos]] || 22–14 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 18 July || [[Headingley Carnegie Stadium|Headingley]] || 11,269
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 5 || {{leagueicon|Oldham|16}} [[Oldham R.L.F.C.|Oldham Bears]] || 2–18 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 25 July || [[Boundary Park]] || 3,513
|-
| 6 || {{leagueicon|Salford City Reds|16}} [[Salford Red Devils|Salford City Reds]] || 14–12 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 3 August|| [[The Willows, Salford|The Willows]] || 6,995
|}

===Final season===
{{Further|1998 Adelaide Rams season}}
The demise of three clubs from the Super League and ARL ([[Western Reds]] and Hunter Mariners (SL), and [[South Queensland Crushers]] (ARL)) saw some player re-shuffling (which saw 1997 [[Queensland Maroons|Queensland]] representative [[Kevin Campion (rugby league)|Kevin Campion]] sensationally cut from the club after being told he was not in Rod Reddy's plans for the team), and brought [[New South Wales rugby league team|New South Wales]] halfback [[Noel Goldthorpe]], speedy winger [[Matt Daylight]], and [[New Zealand national rugby league team]] test veteran back rower [[Tony Iro]] to the Adelaide club.<ref name="rl1908">{{cite web|url=http://rl1908.com/Clubs/Adelaide-Rams.htm|first=Sean|last=Fagan|title=Rugby League History – RL1908.com – Adelaide Rams|access-date=2008-04-15|publisher=RL1908|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410094028/http://www.rl1908.com/Clubs/Adelaide-Rams.htm|archive-date=10 April 2008|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> However, after the Rams lost nine of their first ten games, coach Reddy and the entire coaching staff were sacked by the Rams' administration. Reddy was replaced by former [[WA Reds#Perth Reds (1997)|Perth Reds]] coach [[Dean Lance]] and mid-season saw the arrival of goal kicking [[Canberra Raiders]] utility back [[Graham Appo]].

In June after numerous financial disagreements with the [[South Australian Cricket Association]] (SACA) who at the time owned the Adelaide Oval, the club changed home grounds to the smaller, 16,500 capacity [[Hindmarsh Stadium]], a soccer specific venue which was better suited to a rugby league field than the Adelaide Oval was. The Rams celebrated the move with a record 52–0 win over the Balmain Tigers.<ref>{{Cite news
  | last = AP
  | title = Newcastle stay top despite tie
  | newspaper = sportsillustrated.cnn.com
  | location = Australia
  | publisher = CNN/SI
  | date = 1998-07-05
  | url = http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/rugby/news/1998/07/05/newcastle_nrl/
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121025133849/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/rugby/news/1998/07/05/newcastle_nrl/
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 25 October 2012
  | access-date = 2009-10-25}}
</ref>

The club went on to win six of their last fourteen games after Lance's arrival, enough to avoid the [[Wooden spoon (award)|wooden spoon]] awarded to the team finishing lowest on the competition ladder. Their overall results were comparable to those of their first season, coming fourth last in the 20–team competition. Appo broke several team records in his 14&nbsp;games with the Rams.

The Adelaide Rams last home game in the penultimate round of the season saw a 36–0 thrashing at the hands of the finals bound [[North Sydney Bears]] in front of 7,035 fans on 15 August 1998.<ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-1998/round-23/adelaide-vs-north-sydney/summary.html 1998 Adelaide vs North Sydney at Rugby League Project]</ref>

Throughout the 1998 season, the Rams attempted to build a stronger supporter base in order to avoid removal from the competition in 1999 or 2000. However, with the team's lack of on-field success, plus the success of other Adelaide-based sports teams who won national premierships/championships in 1997 and/or 1998 including the Adelaide Crows (AFL), Adelaide 36ers (NBL), Adelaide Lightning (WNBL) and [[Adelaide Thunderbirds]] ([[netball]]), saw average home attendances dropped by more than half (51.3%) from the previous years 15,330 to just 7,472 over the course of the season.<ref name="history"/><ref name="crowds"/>

{| class="wikitable" style=" font-size:90%; text-align:center;" width=100%
|+ Adelaide Rams 1998 NRL season results<ref name=Results/>
|-
!width=2%|Round !! width=25%|Home !! width=4%|Scoreline !! width=25%|Away !! width=14%|Date !! width=20%|Venue !! width=10%|Crowd
|-
| 1 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 8–18 || {{leagueicon|Nth Qld|16}} [[North Queensland Cowboys]] || 13 March|| [[Adelaide Oval]] || 11,289
|-
| 2 || {{leagueicon|Manly|16}} [[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles]] || 22–6 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 22 March|| [[Brookvale Oval]] || 6,434
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 3 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 22–20 || {{leagueicon|Bulldogs|16}} [[Canterbury Bulldogs]] || 27 March|| Adelaide Oval || 8,390
|-
| 4 || {{leagueicon|Penrith|16}} [[Penrith Panthers]] || 54–12 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 5 April|| [[Penrith Football Stadium]] || 6,637
|-
| 5 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 8–16 || {{leagueicon|Gold Coast Chargers|16}} [[Gold Coast Chargers]] || 9 April|| Adelaide Oval || 7,058
|-
| 6 || {{leagueicon|Easts|16}} [[Sydney City Roosters]] || 50–12 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 17 April|| [[Sydney Football Stadium (1988)|Sydney Football Stadium]] || 6,200
|-
| 7 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 12–22 || {{leagueicon|Cronulla|16}} [[Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks]] || 25 April|| Adelaide Oval || 8,472
|-
| 8 || {{leagueicon|Bulldogs|16}} [[Canterbury Bulldogs]] || 30–4 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 3 May|| [[Belmore Sports Ground]] || 5,041
|-
| 9 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 18–24 || {{leagueicon|Canberra|16}} [[Canberra Raiders]] || 8 May|| Adelaide Oval || 6,500
|-
| 10 || {{leagueicon|Parramatta|16}} [[Parramatta Eels]] || 18–2 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 16 May|| [[Pioneer Oval]] || 7,514
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 11 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 35–18 || {{leagueicon|Penrith|16}} [[Penrith Panthers]] || 23 May|| Adelaide Oval || 5,000
|-
| 12 || {{leagueicon|Western Suburbs|16}} [[Western Suburbs Magpies]] || 36–24 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 31 May|| [[Campbelltown Stadium]] || 6,392
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 13 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 22–20 || {{leagueicon|St George|16}} [[St. George Dragons]] || 6 June|| Adelaide Oval || 8,506
|-
| 14 || {{leagueicon|Melbourne|16}} [[Melbourne Storm]] || 24–4 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 13 June|| [[Olympic Park]] || 8,293
|-
| 15 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 4–39 || {{leagueicon|Illawarra|16}} [[Illawarra Steelers]] || 20 June|| Bennett Oval || 5,153
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 16 || {{leagueicon|Gold Coast Chargers|16}} [[Gold Coast Chargers]] || 12–40 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 27 June|| [[Carrara Stadium]] || 3,897
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 17 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 52–0 || {{leagueicon|Balmain|16}} [[Balmain Tigers]] || 3 July|| [[Hindmarsh Stadium]] || 7,351
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 18 || {{leagueicon|Souths|16}} [[South Sydney Rabbitohs]] || 18–34 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 12 July|| [[Sydney Football Stadium (1988)|Sydney Football Stadium]] || 4,060
|-
| 19 || {{leagueicon|Nth Qld|16}} [[North Queensland Cowboys]] || 14–10 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 18 July|| [[Dairy Farmers Stadium]] || 11,340
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc
| 20 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 22–20 || {{leagueicon|Auckland|16}} [[Auckland Warriors]] || 26 July|| Hindmarsh Stadium || 7,445
|-
| 21 || {{leagueicon|Brisbane|16}} [[Brisbane Broncos]] || 46–12 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 1 August|| [[Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre|ANZ Stadium]] || 13,858
|-
| 22 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 10–32 || {{leagueicon|Manly|16}} [[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles]] || 7 August|| Hindmarsh Stadium || 7,459
|-
| 23 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 0–36 || {{leagueicon|Norths|16}} [[North Sydney Bears]] || 15 August|| Hindmarsh Stadium || 7,035
|-
| 24 || {{leagueicon|Newcastle|16}} [[Newcastle Knights]] || 34–20 || {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide Rams || 22 August|| [[Marathon Stadium]] || 17,281
|}

The NRL had planned to continue a 20–team competition in [[1999 NRL season|1999]], with a reduction to 14 teams in [[2000 NRL season|2000]]. The Rams' management, led by newly named CEO, former [[List of dual-code rugby internationals|dual rugby international]] and [[Manly Sea Eagles|Manly-Warringah]] [[1987 NSWRL season|1987]] premiership player [[Michael O'Connor (rugby)|Michael O'Connor]], had their minds set on a place in the reduced competition, and went on a buying spree, obtaining rights for players that they hoped would be productive enough for the team to survive the cut in 2000. However, after the merger between rugby league clubs St. George Dragons and [[Illawarra Steelers]] which reduced the number of teams to 19, it was decided to avoid a bye that another team needed to be dropped from the competition. As the league's desire was to keep a team in Melbourne it was decided by the NRL to cut the Rams and owners News Limited then told the club they would no longer receive funding and the club was wound up just days after it had held its 1999 season launch. With little chance of securing a contract with another club just weeks before the start of the [[1999 NRL season]], the players were then placed in other News Ltd. owned or financed teams including Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne.

The cost of building and sustaining an uncompetitive rugby league team in an area dominated by another football sport had resulted in News Limited incurring heavy financial losses with the Rams. Subsequent attempts to merge with a Sydney club (rumoured to be the ARL loyal [[South Sydney Rabbitohs]]) failed, however the Canberra Raiders offered to merge with the club and effectively took over the club on 1 December 1998.<ref name="history"/>

{{Blockquote|You cannot expect the Rams to have won over South Australians after just two seasons in such an Aussie Rules stronghold, especially given the [[Super League war|extraordinary nature]] of those seasons.|South Australian Opposition Leader, [[Mike Rann]], 1998<ref>{{cite news
  | last = AAP Sports News
  | title = Rams deserved better says Rann
  | place =Australia
  | date = 1998-12-02
  | url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-21417360.html
  | access-date = 2009-10-05}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>}}

=== Future ===
While the Adelaide Rams no longer exist in their own right, numbers in junior rugby league in Adelaide have risen, and the SARL has begun again to promote the idea of a team based in Adelaide.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,21188753-5012431,00.html|title=Tigers spread word in Adelaide|first=Brent|last=Read|work=The Australian|access-date=2009-04-19|date=8 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624055717/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,21188753-5012431,00.html|archive-date=24 June 2009|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Due to its efforts, NRL teams have been brought to the city to revive interest; in 2006, the [[Penrith Panthers]] scheduled a home game at Adelaide's Hindmarsh Stadium while their home ground was under renovation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/panthers-travel-to-city-of-churches-praying-to-keep-run-going/2006/04/14/1144521506254.html|title=Panthers travel to City of Churches, praying to keep run going|access-date=2009-04-19|date=15 April 2009|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref> The NRL helped with the promotion of the match, although the SARL were disappointed with the small crowd of 7,017.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/NRL-should-stick-with-SA-says-Kidwell/2006/04/16/1145125999000.html|access-date=2009-04-19|date=16 April 2006|publisher=[[The Age]]|title=NRL should stick with SA, says Kidwell}}</ref> In 2008, Sydney based club the [[Cronulla Sharks]] announced they would play three matches over the next three years at Adelaide, with coach [[Ricky Stuart]] saying he wanted Adelaide to become the Sharks' second home. SARL general manager Bruce Walker has suggested that the NRL itself should take more responsibility for scheduling games in Adelaide.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=2009-04-18|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,21985,24440095-14823,00.html|date=2 October 2008|title=Sharks to play in Adelaide|last=Wills|first=Daniel|publisher=Herald Sun}}</ref> The 2009 match against North Queensland Cowboys attracted 8,547 people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25354960-23214,00.html|publisher=[[FoxSports]]|access-date=2009-04-14|date=14 April 2009|title=North Queensland finally click into gear to defeat Cronulla 34–10 in Adelaide|first=Daniel|last=Brettig}}</ref> However, at the end of the [[2008 NRL season]], the league's Centenary year, the Sharks decided to concentrate on their home fans and were allowed out of their contract to play in Adelaide after just one game. {{Citation needed|date=January 2016}}

In 2010, the [[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs]] took their home match against the [[Melbourne Storm]] to Adelaide in which Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs defeating the Melbourne Storm 20–18 where the game attracted 10,350 people at [[Adelaide Oval]].<ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-2010/round-18/canterbury-vs-melbourne/summary.html 2010 NRL season - Canterbury vs Melbourne] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029174450/http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-2010/round-18/canterbury-vs-melbourne/summary.html |date=29 October 2016 }}</ref>

In 2008, several NRL club bosses expressed the view that the NRL should be a "national" competition,<ref name=Boss>{{cite news|work=The Australian|access-date=2009-04-19|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23897151-5012431,00.html|title=Keep Adelaide, Perth on radar|first=Brett|last=Read|date=21 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625053311/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23897151-5012431,00.html|archive-date=25 June 2009|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> since it now had teams from all around Australia rather than just on the eastern seaboard, arguing that such a move would increase the competition's revenue. Peter Parr, the CEO of the North Queensland Cowboys and former assistant coach for the Rams in 1998, said that if the NRL had stuck with the Adelaide Rams, then rugby league in Adelaide might have flourished, making comparisons with the [[Melbourne Storm]], a team performing successfully on and off the field in the AFL's heartland.<ref name=Boss/>

Early in the [[2013 NRL season]], the NRL's official free-to-air broadcast partner the [[Nine Network]], began to show their Friday night and Sunday afternoon games live around Australia, including Adelaide, on their digital channel [[GEM (Australian TV channel)|GEM]].

==Colours, emblem and stadium==
The emblem of the team was a [[Sheep|ram]] (a male sheep). The ram was chosen, according to Super League chief executive [[John Ribot]], because it was "readily identifiable with strength and hardness".<ref name="rl1908"/> This name was considered a better alternative to the first choice, the ''Adelaide Aces'' (through a proposed sponsorship link with the [[Adelaide Casino]]), which Ribot believed was too soft a name and did not work well as a brand for a Super League team. The main colours of the Adelaide Rams were red and blue, although there was yellow in their emblem to reflect South Australia's traditional sporting colours. Their jerseys remained red and blue until the last game they played in 1998, when they used a mainly yellow jersey to avoid a colour clash with the similar jerseys of the [[Newcastle Knights]] (who were the home team).<ref name="rl1908"/>

The Rams' initial home ground was [[Adelaide Oval]], a round park that had been used for [[cricket]] and Australian Rules Football for over a century. For their first season they had average home attendances of 15,330, the fourth highest of the Super League teams and fifth highest of all 22&nbsp;teams in both competitions.<ref name="history"/><ref name="seasoncrowds">[http://afltables.com/rl/crowds/1997.html 1997 ARL Attendances] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401211732/http://afltables.com/rl/crowds/1997.html |date=1 April 2016 }} and [http://afltables.com/rl/crowds/1997SL.html 1997 SL Attendances] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401160407/http://afltables.com/rl/crowds/1997SL.html |date=1 April 2016 }}. Retrieved 2008-04-27.</ref> In 1998, however, the Rams' home attendances diminished, dropping to an average of about 7,500, the fourth lowest of any team in the 20–team competition.<ref name="history"/><ref name="crowds"/><ref name="seasoncrowds"/>

During 1998, the [[South Australian Cricket Association]] had ongoing problems with the SARL and the Rams' use of their stadium, Adelaide Oval. {{Citation needed|date=May 2016}} The Rams then moved to [[Hindmarsh Stadium]], a rectangular stadium more suited to rugby league and owned by the South Australian Soccer Association. They celebrated with a 52–0 defeat over Balmain in their first match at the stadium. However, attendances did not improve after the move, falling below 7,500.<ref name="history"/><ref name="crowds"/>

The Rams highest attendance at Adelaide Oval was 27,435 set in their inaugural home game against the Hunter Mariners. Their record attendance at Hindmarsh was 7,459 for their loss to [[1997 ARL season#Grand final|1997 ARL Grand Finalists]], the [[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles]]. In 1998, the Rams played their Round 15 home game against the [[Illawarra Steelers]] at the Bennett Oval in [[Whyalla]], in part due to Whyalla's main employer being [[BHP]] who were also the Steelers major sponsor. The Steelers won the game 39–4 in front of 5,153 fans.

==Records and statistics==

===Most games for club===
*41, [[Kerrod Walters]] (1997–1998)
*36, [[Mark Corvo]] (1997–1998)
*35, [[Dean Schifilliti]] (1997–1998)

===Most points for club===
*116, (12 tries, 34 goals), [[Graham Appo]] (1998)
*114, (6 tries, 45 goals), [[Luke Williamson]] (1997–1998)
*81, (5 tries, 30 goals), [[Kurt Wrigley]] (1997)

===Most tries for club===
*12, Graham Appo (1998)
*8, [[Rod Jensen]] (1998)
*7, [[Matt Daylight]] (1998)

===Most goals for club===
*45, (45/69–65.22%), Luke Williamson (1997–1998)
*34, (34/52–65.38%), Graham Appo (1998)
*30, (30/37–81.08%), Kurt Wrigley (1997)

===Most points in a season===
*116, (12 tries, 34 goals), Graham Appo in 1998
*81, (5 tries, 30 goals), Kurt Wrigley in 1997
*70, (3 tries, 29 goals), Luke Williamson in 1997

===Most tries in a season===
*12, Graham Appo in 1998
*8, [[Rod Jensen]] in 1998
*7, [[Matt Daylight]] in 1998

===Most goals in a season===
*34 (34/52–65.38%), Graham Appo in 1998
*30 (30/37–81.08%), Kurt Wrigley 1997
*29 (29/37–78.38%), Luke Williamson in 1997

===Most points in a match===
*24 (3 tries, 6 goals), Graham Appo vs [[Gold Coast Chargers]] on 27 June 1998 @ [[Carrara Stadium]]
*24 (2 tries, 8 goals), Graham Appo vs [[Balmain Tigers]] on 3 July 1998 @ [[Hindmarsh Stadium]]
*18 (2 tries, 5 goals), Graham Appo vs [[Penrith Panthers]] on 23 May 1998 @ [[Adelaide Oval]]

===Most tries in a match===
*3, Graham Appo against Gold Coast Chargers on 27 June 1998
*2, ''17 players''

===Most goals in a match===
*8, (8/9–88.9%), Graham Appo vs Balmain Tigers on 3 July 1998 @ Hindmarsh Stadium
*6, (6/6–100%), Luke Williamson vs [[Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks]] on 19 April 1997 [[Endeavour Field|Shark Park]]
*6, (6/7–85.7%), Kurt Wrigley vs Penrith Panthers on 22 August 1997 @ Adelaide Oval
*6, (6/7–85.7%), Graham Appo vs Gold Coast Chargers on 27 June 1998 @ Carrara Stadium

===Highest attendance (home)===
* [[Adelaide Oval]]: 27,435 vs [[Hunter Mariners]] on 14 March 1997
* [[Hindmarsh Stadium]]: 7,459 vs [[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles]] on 7 August 1998

===Highest attendance (away)===
* [[Stockland Stadium]] ([[Townsville]]): 17,738 vs [[North Queensland Cowboys]] on 1 March 1997

===Lowest attendance (home)===
* Adelaide Oval: 6,500 vs [[Canberra Raiders]] on 8 May 1998<ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-1998/round-9/adelaide-vs-canberra/summary.html 1998 NRL season - Adelaide vs Canberra] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029175010/http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-1998/round-9/adelaide-vs-canberra/summary.html |date=29 October 2016 }}</ref>
* Hindmarsh Stadium: 7,035 vs [[North Sydney Bears]] on 15 August 1998

===Lowest attendance (away)===
* [[Topper Stadium]] ([[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]]): 2,345 vs Hunter Mariners on 5 July 1997<ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/super-league-1997/round-14/hunter-vs-adelaide/summary.html 1997 SL season - Hunter vs Adelaide] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603210927/http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/super-league-1997/round-14/hunter-vs-adelaide/summary.html |date=3 June 2016 }}</ref>

==Club records==
{| class="wikitable" width="75%" style="font-size:90%"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! colspan=11 |Adelaide Rams
|-
|Effective 3 April 2014
|-
|'''Biggest Win''' <td align="left"> 52–0 vs [[Balmain Tigers]] (1998)
|-
|'''Biggest Loss''' <td align="left"> 16–58 vs [[Canberra Raiders]] (1997)
|-
|<td align="left"> 12–54 vs [[Penrith Panthers]] (1998)
|-
|'''Consecutive Wins''' <td align="left"> 3 – (1998)
|-
|'''Consecutive Losses''' <td align="left"> 7 – (1998)
|-
|'''Clubs (Most Wins Against)''' <td align="left"> [[Auckland Warriors]] – 3
|-
|'''Clubs (Most Losses To)''' <td align="left"> [[Cronulla Sharks]] – 3
|-
|'''Adelaide Oval Record''' <td align="left"> Played 16 – (W) 5 / (L) 10 / (D) 1
|-
|'''Hindmarsh Stadium Record''' <td align="left"> Played 4 – (W) 2 / (L) 2 / (D) 0
|-
|'''First Representative Player''' <td align="left"> [[Kevin Campion (rugby league)|Kevin Campion]] – [[Queensland Maroons|Queensland]], [[Super League Tri-series]]
|-
|'''First International Representative''' <td align="left"> [[Tony Iro]] – [[New Zealand national rugby league team|New Zealand]] vs [[Australian Kangaroos|Australia]], [[Anzac Test|1998 Anzac Test]]
|}

===Biggest wins===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
|-
!Margin!!Score!!Opposition!!Venue!!Date
|-   
|52|| 52–0 || {{leagueicon|Balmain|16}} [[Balmain Tigers]] || [[Hindmarsh Stadium]] || 3 July 1998
|-
|28|| 40–12 || {{leagueicon|Gold Coast Chargers|16}} [[Gold Coast Chargers]] || [[Carrara Stadium]] || 27 June 1998
|-
|24|| 28–4 || {{leagueicon|Western Reds|16}} [[Western Reds]] || [[WACA Ground|WACA]] || 29 June 1997
|-
|}

===Biggest losses===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
|-
!Margin!!Score!!Opposition!!Venue!!Date
|-   
|42|| 16–58 || {{leagueicon|Canberra|16}} [[Canberra Raiders]] || [[Bruce Stadium]] || 17 August 1997
|-
|42|| 12–54 || {{leagueicon|Penrith|16}} [[Penrith Panthers]] || [[Penrith Football Stadium]] || 5 April 1998
|-
|38|| 12–50 || {{leagueicon|Sydney Roosters|16}} [[Sydney City Roosters]] || [[Sydney Football Stadium (1988)|Sydney Football Stadium]] || 17 April 1998
|-
|}

===Team performance summary===
The Rams did not win any premierships, minor premierships or wooden spoons in their two seasons. Their biggest win was 52–0 over the [[Balmain Tigers]] in 1998 and their biggest losing margin was 42&nbsp;points, which occurred twice: against the [[Canberra Raiders]] in 1997 and the [[Penrith Panthers]] in 1998.<ref name="history"/> The Rams had a 32.14% win percentage for all of their premiership games, which made them statistically the sixth worst team in first grade rugby league in Australia, out of 33&nbsp;teams.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://afltables.com/rl/teams/all/overall_wl.html|title=Rugby League Tables / Win – Loss Records / All Teams|access-date=2008-04-29|publisher=<!--DASHBot-->}}</ref>

Of the Rams 13 wins, 7 of them were at home while 5 were away. The Rams final win came in Round 20 of the [[1998 NRL season]] when they defeated the [[Auckland Warriors]] 22–20 at Hindmarsh Stadium in front of 7,445 fans. The club's final ever home game in Round 23 of 1998 saw them go down 36–0 to the [[North Sydney Bears]] in front of 7,035 fans, the lowest recorded attendance at Hindmarsh.

==Players==
{{see also|List of Adelaide Rams players}}

===Inaugural team===
[[North Queensland Cowboys]] 24 def. Adelaide Rams 16<br>
Date: 1 March 1997<br>
Venue: [[Stockland Stadium]] ([[Townsville]])<br>
Attendance: 17,738<br>
Referee: Brian Grant

{{Rugby league squad start}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=3 | nat=Australia | pos=FB | name=[[Michael Maguire (rugby league)|Michael Maguire]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=22 | nat=Australia | pos=WG | name=[[Wayne Simonds]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=25 | nat=New Zealand | pos=CE | name=[[Solomon Kiri]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=4 | nat=Papua New Guinea | pos=CE | name=[[Elias Paiyo]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=44 | nat=Fiji | pos=WG | name=[[Joe Tamani]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=33 | nat=Australia | pos=FE | name=[[Kurt Wrigley]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=7 | nat=Australia | pos=HB | name=[[Stuart Topper]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=11 | nat=Australia   | pos=PR | name=[[Andrew Hick]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=27 | nat=Australia | pos=HK | name=[[Kerrod Walters]] (c)}}
{{Rugby league squad mid}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=10 | nat=Australia   | pos=PR | name=[[Marty McKenzie (rugby league)|Marty McKenzie]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=13 | nat=Australia | pos=SR | name=[[Dave Boughton]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=12 | nat=Australia | pos=SR | name=[[Brett Galea]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=8 | nat=Australia | pos=LK | name=[[Cameron Blair]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=36 | nat=Australia | pos=RE | name=[[Kevin Campion (rugby league)|Kevin Campion]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=6 | nat=Australia | pos=RE | name=[[Chris Quinn (rugby league)|Chris Quinn]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=9 | nat=Australia   | pos=RE | name=[[Steve Stone (rugby league)|Steve Stone]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=17 | nat=Papua New Guinea | pos=RE | name=[[Bruce Mamando]]}}
{{Rugby league squad player | no=CO | nat=Australia | pos=CO | name=[[Rod Reddy]]}}
{{Rugby league squad end}}

== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book
   |first1=Ian
   |last1=Collis
   |first2=Alan
   |last2=Whiticker
   |author2-link=Alan Whiticker
   |title=The History of Rugby League Clubs
   |publisher=New Holland
   |year=2004
   |isbn=1-74110-075-5}}

*Mike Colman, Super League : The Inside story. Pan Macmillan Publishing 1996

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080410094028/http://www.rl1908.com/Clubs/Adelaide-Rams.htm Adelaide Rams] at the RL1908 website.

{{Adelaide Rams}}
{{Rugby League in South Australia}}
{{NRL}}
{{NSW Cup}}

[[Category:1995 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:1998 disestablishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Adelaide Rams| ]]
[[Category:Defunct NSWRL/ARL/SL/NRL clubs]]
[[Category:Defunct rugby league teams in Australia]]
[[Category:Rugby clubs established in 1995]]
[[Category:Rugby league teams in South Australia]]
[[Category:Sports clubs and teams in Adelaide]]
[[Category:Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1998]]