ADELAIDE Australia AP Australia's National Rugby League competition will shrink from 20 teams in 1998 to at most 18 in 1999 with Tuesday's announcement of the demise of the Adelaide Rams. The Gold Coast Chargers were also tipped to close which would leave 17 teams next year following the previously announced St George-Illawarra merger. For the past month there had been mounting speculation that the Australian Rugby League-backed Chargers would be axed along with the Super League-created Rams as part of the NRL's bid to reduce to premiership to 14 teams by 2000. Adelaide chairman Peter Wylie announced late Tuesday that News Limited had decided to stop funding the club it created for the breakaway competition that operated in 1997. djp APW19981201.1511.txt.body.html APW19981201.0402.txt.body.html