Rugby League Week (frequently abbreviated to RLW) is the highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, ahead of major competitor Big League. It is published weekly (on Wednesdays) during the Australian rugby league season, which runs from March to late September (roughly corresponding to the southern hemisphere autumn and winter) and has been published continuously since 1970. In 2001 the magazine's name was changed to League Week, to avoid confusion with "that other game for lovers of forward passes, knock-ons, and penalty goals". It reverted to Rugby League Week in 2003. It is currently owned by Australian Consolidated Press.

The magazine contains news coverage of Australian rugby league, focused primarily on the first-grade NRL competition (previously the NSWRL) but with time also devoted to lower-level competitions. There are usually also several profiles of rugby league players in each edition. A number of league personalities, including Mark Geyer, Stacey Jones and Wally Lewis, have regular columns; unconfirmed rumours and miscellaneous gossip are reported in a column written by 'The Mole'.

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 as a split from the Rugby Football Union over the issue of payments to players. Its rules gradually changed in an attempt to produce a more entertaining game for spectators. It is frequently cited as the toughest, most physically demanding of team sports.

Points get scored by carrying or kicking a ball down a field, crossing the ball over the opponent's designated goal line and grounding the ball; this is called a try. After a try, the scoring team gains a free kick to try at goal with a conversion – a kick for further points. The opposing team attempts to stop the attacking side gaining points by preventing their progress up the field by tackling the player carrying the ball.

Rugby league is among the most popular sports in England,Australia,New Zealand,France,Tonga and Papua New Guinea where it is considered the national sport. The European Super League and Australasian National Rugby League are the premier club competitions. Rugby league is played internationally, predominantly by European, Australasian and Pacific countries, and is governed by the Rugby League International Federation. The current World Cup holders are New Zealand.