Global performance technology leader, Catapult Group International Limited, has announced an expanded three-year partnership with the NRL.

The newly renewed deal will see all 16 teams in the NRL and six NRLW teams, as well as the Australian National teams and NRL referees, use Catapult’s Vector SaaS technology.

The move will see data-driven decisions to improve athlete performance, quantify decisions to prevent injuries, and inform return to play, while Catapult will continue to provide live game data in support of the NRL’s Telstra Tracker broadcast product.

The extension sees Catapult remain the performance technology supplier to the league, a partnership which began in 2019.

Catapult CEO, Will Lopes, said: “We are immensely proud to continue our longstanding relationship with the NRL.”

“It’s an honour to continue working with them and see expanded use of our technology across the entire league.

“The NRL has been at the forefront of research and development in sports for decades and we believe the decision to continue partnering with us is a testament to the power of our performance technology,” Lopes said.

The NRL’s executive general manager of elite football, Graham Annesley, said the deal will leverage the latest data science to help athletes and teams answer performance questions and make crucial decisions to better the sport.

“Catapult’s solutions are a trusted part of our league and fan experience,” Annesley said.

“We’re growing our work with Catapult into new parts of the league because their innovations allow us to track and improve the performance of our players and ultimately improve the game for our fans,” he said.

The announcement follows recent news Catapult had expanded its partnership with Champion Data, in an exclusive three-year deal which will supply performance analysis solutions to the AFL.

The deal means teams across the AFL, AFLW, and AFL Pathways will use Catapult’s Vector devices to make data-driven decisions for athlete performance, and Catapult’s ClearSky system will be installed and used across nine AFL stadiums during live matches.