Methodology

Identity and names

Players and teams are matched conservatively. Exact source IDs, official profile identity and verified source routes take precedence. A matching name alone is not enough to merge people, and ambiguous identities remain separate or quarantined.

Dates of birth and ages

Exact dates of birth require an explicitly published full date tied to the same player. Age-only evidence is not converted into a date. Historical ages are calculated against a reliable season reference date; otherwise the age remains unknown.

Positions and scoring

Positions are published only when supported by a roster or other source record. Jersey numbers are never treated as positions. Results, tries, goals and field goals remain unknown when the source does not establish them.

Conflicts and corrections

Conflicting sources are retained for review rather than silently overwritten. Corrections are manually reviewed, require public evidence where possible, and do not write directly from a public submission into the canonical database.

Coverage

RL Reserves is an ongoing historical archive. Competition and season pages disclose partial roster, position, scoring and source coverage rather than claiming completeness.