AEST 00:00, Thu Dec 1 2011
The year 2011 was another big one for rugby league, but it will surely be remembered as the year league legend Darren Lockyer retired from the game.
Lockyer had one of the longest farwells in sport - spanning the NRL season with the Broncos, Queensland's record sixth-straight State of Origin series win and the Four Nations tournament in the United Kingdom.
As usual, there were high and low moments on and off the field but the great game of rugby league remains as strong as ever.
The season kicked off with the annual Indigenous All Stars game on the Gold Coast. (AAP)
AFL