1999 NRL Grand Final

Last updated

1999 (1999) NRL Grand Final  ()
1999 NRL Grand Final - Storm banner.jpg
Stadium Australia, where the match was played
Melbourne colours.svg
Melbourne
Storm 		St. George colours.svg
St George Illawarra
Dragons
2018
12Total
MEL Melbourne colours.svg 02020
STG St. George colours.svg 14418
Date26 September 1999
Stadium Stadium Australia
LocationSydney, Australia
Clive Churchill Medal Brett Kimmorley (MEL)
National anthem Hugh Jackman
Referee Bill Harrigan
Attendance107,999
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters
Commentators
←  1998
2000  →

The 1999 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 1999 NRL season. It was contested by the competition's two newest clubs: the Melbourne Storm, competing in only its second year (having finished the regular season in 3rd place); and the St. George Illawarra Dragons, in their first year as a joint-venture club (having finished the regular season in 6th place), after both sides eliminated the rest of the top eight during the finals.

Contents

A new rugby league world record crowd of 107,999 was at Stadium Australia for the game. The attendance, which saw 67,142 more people attend than had done so for the 1998 NRL Grand Final at the Sydney Football Stadium, broke the record attendance for a Grand Final, eclipsing the previous record of 78,065 set in 1965 when St. George defeated South Sydney 12–8 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It was the last time that the Clive Churchill Medal was presented in a case before it was changed the following season where it is presented separately with a ribbon being worn around the neck. Due to its competitive nature, It has been regarded as one of the greatest NRL grand finals of all time. [1]

Pre-match entertainment featured Hugh Jackman's rendition of the Australian national anthem.

Background

The 1999 NRL season was the 92nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be run by the National Rugby League. With the exclusion of the Adelaide Rams and Gold Coast Chargers, and the merger of the St. George Dragons and Illawarra Steelers, seventeen teams competed for the NRL Premiership during the 1999 season, which culminated in the first grand final to be played at Stadium Australia.

Melbourne Storm

The 1999 Melbourne Storm season was the second in the club's history. Coached by Chris Anderson and captained by Glenn Lazarus, they competed in the NRL's 1999 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 3rd (out of 17).

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
ResultWLWWLWLWWWWBLLLWWLWWWWWWLB
Ladder Position37436554443334654766543243
Source: Rugby League Tables
B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

St. George Illawarra Dragons

The 1999 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the first in the newly formed joint-venture club's history. Coached by David Waite and Andrew Farrar, and captained by Paul McGregor, they competed in the NRL's 1999 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 6th place (out of 17).

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
ResultLLWLWWWLWLLWWBWWWBWWLWLLWW
Ladder Position1215131313969610111098765444657776
Source: Rugby League Tables
B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Teams

Team details
Melbourne StormPositionSt. George-Illawarra Dragons
NameNumberNumberName
Robbie Ross 1 Fullback 1 Luke Patten
Craig Smith 2 Wing 2 Jamie Ainscough
Aaron Moule 3 Centre 3 Paul McGregor (c)
Tony Martin 4 Centre 4 Shaun Timmins
Marcus Bai 5 Wing 5 Nathan Blacklock
Matt Geyer 6 Five eighth 6 Anthony Mundine
Brett Kimmorley 7 Half back 7 Trent Barrett
Glenn Lazarus (c)8 Prop forward 8 Craig Smith
Richard Swain 9 Hooker 9 Nathan Brown
Rodney Howe 10 Prop forward 10 Chris Leikvoll
Stephen Kearney 11 Second row 11 Lance Thompson
Paul Marquet 12 Second row 12 Darren Treacy
Tawera Nikau 13 Lock forward 13 Wayne Bartrim
Matt Rua 14 Interchange 14 Craig Fitzgibbon
Russell Bawden 15 Interchange 15 Rod Wishart
Ben Roarty 16 Interchange 16 Brad Mackay
Danny Williams 17 Interchange 17 Colin Ward
Chris Anderson Coach David Waite & Andrew Farrar
[2]

Match details

St. George Illawara were up 14–0 at half time, with a converted try and penalty goal to Craig Fitzgibbon, and a converted try to Nathan Blacklock. However, an Anthony Mundine knock-on over the try line early in the second half proved to be a major turning point in the match, with Melbourne running in tries through Tony Martin and Ben Roarty and winger Craig Smith kicking two penalty goals. An unconverted try to Dragons captain Paul McGregor couldn't stem Melbourne's momentum, with Craig Smith kicking the Storm to within four points of the Dragons at 18–14.

In the 77th minute the Storm forced the Dragons to a goal line dropout. Melbourne's halfback Brett Kimmorley then bombed to Craig Smith's wing. Dragons centre Jamie Ainscough, anticipating a Melbourne try, caught Smith in a head-high tackle over the try-line, [3] resulting in Smith being knocked unconscious and, in the process of falling to the ground, Smith knocking on. Referee Bill Harrigan requested video referee Chris Ward adjudicate on the decision. [4] The Melbourne Storm were granted a penalty try, drawing them level with the Dragons. Being a penalty try, the subsequent conversion was taken from directly in front of the posts. Matt Geyer was successful in the conversion and the Storm, for the first time in the match, pulled ahead of the Dragons and took out their first grand final 20–18. [5]

The Melbourne side thus became the quickest expansion team to win a premiership, eclipsing the Canterbury side who won the 1938 premiership in just their fourth season. It was the last game of champion prop and captain Glenn Lazarus, who retired after a remarkable fifth grand final victory (having won premierships with the Canberra Raiders in 1989 and 1990 and with the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 and 1993).

For traditional St. George fans the loss was hard to take. The club were unsuccessful in their four previous visits to the grand final (1985, 1992, 1993 and 1996) and had not won a premiership since 1979. It would not be until 2010 that they would return to another Grand Final, in which it would win its first premiership as a joint-venture. [6] [7]

The grand final attracted a television viewership of over 600,000 in Melbourne, a traditional Australian Rules football stronghold. [8]

Scoreboard

1999 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 26 September
15:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm Melbourne colours.svg 20–18 St. George colours.svg St. George-Illawarra Dragons
Tries:3
Martin Ru ball.svg 53'
Roarty Ru ball.svg 57'
Smith Ru ball.svg (penalty) 75'
Goals:4
Smith Rugby penalty.svg pen 42', 59', pen 64'(3/4)
Geyer Rugby penalty.svg 77'(1/1)
1st: 0–14
2nd: 20–4
Report [2]
Tries:3
Fitzgibbon Ru ball.svg 13'
Blacklock Ru ball.svg 29'
McGregor Ru ball.svg 56'
Goals:3
Bartrim Rugby penalty.svg 15', 31'(2/3)
Fitzgibbon Rugby penalty.svg pen 23'(1/1)
Stadium Australia, Sydney
Attendance: 107,999 [9]
Referee: Bill Harrigan
Touch judges: Colin White, John McCormack
Clive Churchill Medal: Brett Kimmorley (Melbourne)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Rugby League</span> Australasian rugby league football competition

The National Rugby League is a professional rugby league competition in Australasia which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne Storm</span> Australian rugby league football club

The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blue jersey with gold and white trim.

The 1999 NRL season was the 92nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be run by the National Rugby League. With the exclusion of the Adelaide Rams and Gold Coast Chargers, and the joint venture of the St. George Dragons and Illawarra Steelers, seventeen teams competed for the NRL Premiership during the 1999 season, which culminated in the first grand final to be played at Stadium Australia. The St. George Illawarra Dragons, the first joint-venture club to appear in the grand final, played against the Melbourne Storm, who won the premiership in only their second season.

The 2006 NRL season was the 99th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the ninth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen clubs competing for the 2006 Telstra Premiership. Throughout the 26 rounds of the regular season ten teams from New South Wales, two from Queensland and one each from Victoria, the ACT and New Zealand competed for the minor premiership. Eight of these teams qualified for the four-week finals series, with the Brisbane Broncos eventual victors over the Melbourne Storm in the grand final. Melbourne finished the regular season first so were awarded the minor premiership, but this was later revoked due to the Melbourne Storm salary cap breach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George Illawarra Dragons</span> Australian professional rugby league club, based in Wollongong & Kogarah, NSW

The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since 1999 after a joint-venture was formed between the St. George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers. The club officially formed as the game's first joint-venture club on 23 September 1998 and remains the only inter-city team in the NRL. The team has its headquarters and leagues clubs in both Wollongong and the Sydney suburb of Kogarah, and trains and plays games regularly at WIN Stadium in Wollongong, as well as at Jubilee Oval in Kogarah. From 1999 to 2006 the club was jointly owned by the St. George Dragons 50% and Illawarra Steelers 50%. In 2006 WIN Corporation purchased 50% of the Illawarra Steelers stake in the club before purchasing the rest of the Illawarra Steelers' share in August 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Ainscough</span> Australia international rugby league footballer

Jamie Ainscough is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative three-quarter back, he played his club football for Western Suburbs, the Newcastle Knights, the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Wigan Warriors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 NRL season</span> Rugby league competition

The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusion of a new team, the Gold Coast Titans, the competition was the largest run since the 1999 NRL season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 NRL season</span> 101st season of National Rugby League

The 2008 NRL season was the 101st season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the eleventh run by the National Rugby League. For the second year, sixteen teams competed for the 2008 Telstra Premiership title. The season commenced with the first matches played on 14 March and ended with the grand final, played on 5 October. The premiership was won by the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles who set the record for the biggest grand final winning margin (40–0) in Australia's rugby league history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Smith (rugby league, born 1980)</span> New Zealand international rugby league footballer

Jeremy Smith is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A New Zealand international representative, he played as a second-row and lock. He played for the Melbourne Storm, the St. George Illawarra Dragons, with whom he won the 2010 NRL Grand Final with, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Newcastle Knights, who he co-captained, in the NRL.

The 2008 National Rugby League season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds, starting on 14 March, followed by four weeks of play-offs, culminating in a Grand Final on 5 October.

The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiership title. The season commenced with the first match played on 13 March and ended with the grand final, played on 4 October. The Grand Final was won by the Melbourne Storm in their fourth consecutive grand final appearance. However, they were stripped of their Premiership on 22 April 2010 after they were found to be guilty of breaching the league's salary cap.

The 1999 Melbourne Storm season was the second in the club's history. Coached by Chris Anderson and captained by Glenn Lazarus, they competed in the National Rugby League's 1999 season, finishing the regular season in 3rd out of 17 teams. Melbourne reached the 1999 NRL Grand Final and defeated the St George Illawarra Dragons, claiming their first premiership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 NRL Grand Final</span> 2010 national rugby match

The 2010 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2010 NRL season. Played on Sunday, 3 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, the match was contested by the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. It was the first time the two sides met in a grand final. They had played each other twice before during the season, with St. George Illawarra winning on both occasions. St. George Illawarra finished the season as minor premiers as they had the previous season. The Roosters were the previous year's wooden-spooners and only after playing and winning for five consecutive weeks were able to reach the 2010 decider.

The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the grand final, played on 3 October at ANZ Stadium. Sixteen teams competed for the 2010 Telstra Premiership whilst the third season of the National Youth Competition was also in progress.

The 2010 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the 12th in the joint venture club's history. They competed in the National Rugby League's 2010 Telstra Premiership, securing their second successive minor premiership. The Dragons went on to compete in the 2010 NRL Grand Final, defeating the Sydney Roosters to gain the club's first premiership since their formation as a joint venture club in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 NRL Grand Final</span> Australian rugby league championship match

The 2006 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding match of the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership season. It was played between the first-placed Melbourne Storm and the third-placed Brisbane Broncos clubs on the night of Sunday, 1 October. The 2006 grand final was the first ever to feature teams which were both from cities outside the borders of New South Wales, in this case the capitals of Queensland and Victoria, yet was played at the traditional venue of Sydney's Telstra Stadium. It was the first time the two sides had met in a grand final. They had played each other twice during the 2006 regular season, with Melbourne winning both times. The Melbourne side went into the grand final as heavy favorites, having won the minor premiership. Both teams were looking to keep their perfect grand final records intact: Brisbane with 5/5 and the Melbourne side with 1/1 heading into the game.

The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The NRL's main championship, called the 2011 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, was contested by sixteen teams for the fifth consecutive year. Alongside was the fourth season of the Toyota Cup taking place.

This is a list of rivalries in the National Rugby League.

The 2007 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive, premiership-deciding match of the 2007 NRL season. It was played between the first-placed Melbourne Storm and second-placed Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Telstra Stadium on 30 September, in front of 81,392 spectators. The 2007 Grand final was the fourth to be played between the first and second placed teams, and the first in three years. The match was the last Grand Final played at night until 2013; each Grand Final in the intervention switched to a 5:00pm AEST kick-off. This match was also the most-watched television program on Australian TV for 2007.

The 2002 Melbourne Storm season was the 5th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2002 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in 10th place making it their lowest finishing position until 2010, when it was sentenced to finish that season last due to gross salary cap breaches. As of 2022, it is also the most recent time that the Storm missed the finals due to not winning enough games. It was Mark Murray's final season as coach of the club.

References

  1. ↑ "25 in 25: Ranking all the grand finals of the NRL era – cliffhangers, controversy and classics". The Roar. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 Middleton, David (2000). Rugby League 2000. Sydney: Harper Sports. ISBN   0732265576.
  3. ↑ The consequences of a later, similar, head-high tackle would eventually cost Ainscough his career (see Gleeson, Martin, "On this Day: 26 August 2002: Wigan player has tooth removed – from arm", The Guardian.com, 22 August 2009).
  4. ↑ Prichard, Greg (19 September 2012). "Ward given keys to make right call". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  5. ↑ "1999 NRL Grand Final". rugbyleagueproject.org. Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson and Bill Bates. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  6. ↑ Crawford, Adrian (4 October 2010). "Dragons romp to sweet 16th". ABC News. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  7. ↑ Read, Brent (4 October 2010). "Wayne Bennett's Dragons blow away critics to end 31-year drought". The Australian . Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Cockerill, Ian (3 October 1999). "Eye of the Storm". The Sunday Age . p. 4. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  9. ↑ "1999 NRL Grand Final". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.