There was, 6 or 7 years ago Telstra/Gallop did a mass delete of all league content.
Yes, you are correct.
I remember when I moved to Sydney in 2006 for uni and used to access the NRL website frequently, especially for Knights matches that were on Fox since I was busy, didn't have Foxtel at the time and didn't live near places that had it. I used to have a look at the highlights section regularly on the website of most NRL matches from the round, and I distinctly remember being able to look at highlights and full replays of matches as far back as Rd 9 2001 (when the Knights played Sharks. I was at that game, very hot day that day and myself, along with many others in the crowd, got sunburnt). Also, even though YouTube was still in its infancy back then and was nowhere near as widespread/ubiquitous as it is today, there were several YouTube posters who posted numerous highlights and moments from matches in years gone by, and also on Google Videos.
Then, yeah, somewhere down the line, all that footage got taken down (and the timing of when you said it happened - 6-7yrs ago - sounds accurate to me as it probably would've happened sometime during the 2007-12 tv rights deal). It's a big shame that you can't even find footage from many great games from - not so much the '90s - but even as recently as 2001-2006, yet there's heaps of footage from AFL matches you can find on YouTube from years ago. Not just that, but to add insult to injury, even 7Mate (I don't know if they still do) were regularly showing replays of classic AFL matches late at night a couple of years ago, yet Ch9 - who were supposed to provide 2hrs of RL footage every night on their digital channel as a part of the current tv rights deal - can't even honor that.
Only our administration would be dumb enough to try to stop the promotion of the game.
Yes, I know things have slightly changed in recent times, you get Fox Sports showing the occasional replay of a match from the past, and Rugby League Films releasing full matches (although you have to pay), but still, so many memorable moments from the aforementioned time period that you were able to find in 2006 (which would've been just before the takedown), but can no longer find anywhere on the net. I can remember more great games during that era compared to the last few years, where I rarely watched any matches besides my team, finals matches, Origin and Tests (even when I had Foxtel) due to the wrestling which was a major turnoff (great they have got rid of most of it this year with the rule changes).
By the way, I'm sorry all your stuff got taken down. Would've loved to have seen the Bears (probably would've been my defacto, 2nd favourite side if the Knights went bust). They had some great teams in the '90s that, even in today's game, would give all the current NRL sides a run for their money. Terrible unlucky not to bring home the bacon in '94, '96 and '97. There used to be a video on Google Videos that someone compiled (about nearly an hour long) of NRL highlights from the '90s and the Bears featured prominently in many of the clips. Yes, there are many RL clips I've found on YouTube without searching for the NRL.
And yeah, that Preliminary Final debacle was in 1998. Massive stuff-up from the NRL to have a Preliminary Final scheduled at QE II Stadium, given that those matches were always held at the SFS in previous years. The NRL were made to look like a goose, but would've been just as much of a goose if all 4 Preliminary Finalists were Sydney teams, tantamount to playing Broncos vs Cowboys at SFS. The Roosters genuinely deserved to play at the SFS being one of the 2 teams that got byes from the semis (the other being Parramatta). Bulldogs and Eels initially qualified for the PF held at QE II Stadium, but because the Broncos made the Prelims, the venues were switched and the Broncos/Roosters PF was scheduled at QE II Stadium and Bulldogs/Eels was switched to SFS. The Broncs hammered the Roosters as a result. Very unfair and unlucky for the Roosters, and thankfully that mistake was never repeated again before home week 2/3 finals were introduced in 2007.
