2007 NRL season

Last updated
2007 National Rugby League
National Rugby League 2007.png
Teams16
Premiers Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm [1]
Minor premiers Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Matches played201
Points scored8539
Average attendance16,578
Attendance3,332,114
Top points scorer(s) Canterbury colours.svg Hazem El Masri (210)
Player of the year North Queensland colours.svg Johnathan Thurston (Dally M Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) North Queensland colours.svg Matthew Bowen (22)
  2006
2008  

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.

Contents

The Melbourne Storm were the minor premiers in 2007, six points clear of second-placed Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. The Storm eventually ran out 34–8 winners in the 2007 NRL Grand Final to claim the premiership. However, they were subsequently stripped of both their minor premiership and premiership titles on 22 April 2010, after they were found to be guilty of breaching the league's salary cap. [2] [3]

Season summary

Pre-season, 2006 premiers the Brisbane Broncos travelled to England to play the Super League champions in the 2007 World Club Challenge.

The 2007 NRL Season kicked off on Friday 16 March 2007 with eight games to be played in each round. The 2007 season saw the return of Monday Night Football, which helped the NRL to set new first round aggregate attendance record of 174,475. [4] The opening round also saw two matches at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, one featured reigning champions Brisbane playing fellow Queensland side the Cowboys, while the second match introduced the newest club to be admitted to the competition, the Gold Coast Titans.

The North Queensland Cowboys' Jason Smith was the NRL's oldest player in 2007 at 35 years and 186 days. [5]

Teams had fewer byes in 2007 than in the 2006 competition. With an odd number of teams contesting between 2002 and 2006, the draw meant that at least one team would have to have a bye each weekend. With the inclusion of the 16th team for the 2007 season, the National Rugby League had the option of reverting to the system used between 2000 and 2001 in which every team played in each round. However, this option was not chosen. In 2007, teams had just a single bye during the year, grouped in periods that will assist clubs around representative fixtures.

The top eight was not settled until the final round as the Brisbane Broncos and Wests Tigers were both on 24 points in 8th and 9th position respectively, with the Broncos ahead on points differential. Both teams lost their final regular season match and as a result of this, the South Sydney Rabbitohs made the top eight for the first time since 1989. The New Zealand Warriors secured a home final: the second match in the history of the National Rugby League Finals played outside of Australia. The first was the Warriors' victory over the Canberra Raiders at Mt Smart Stadium while on their way to the 2002 Grand Final.

On the other end of the ladder, the Newcastle Knights and Penrith Panthers were both in contention for the Wooden Spoon – the traditional label for last place. The Knights performed well in their last match and denied the Wests Tigers a spot in the top eight, winning by two points, whereas the Panthers were defeated by the New Zealand Warriors, seeing them finish last.

2007 saw a total of over 3 million spectators attend regular season matches for only the second time in history. [6]

Records set

Advertising

The National Rugby League kept use of the Hoodoo Gurus' "That's My Team" for a fifth consecutive season, with their advertising agency MJW Hakuhodo reworking the track "What's My Scene" and the "That's My Dream" slogan. With a design change for the Telstra Premiership logo (after months of off-season deliberation on whether Telstra would sponsor the code again), the commercial was a fast-paced action clip, with key players from all teams superimposed to appear as if they are playing in front the famous landmarks of their team's area. They are as follows:

As with previous seasons, all team captains featured prominently in the ads, holding aloft the premiership trophy as the advertisement closes, replicating the 2006 equivalent. Only weeks after it was put to air, Newcastle Knights captain Andrew Johns' career was ended by a neck injury.

Sponsorship

Telecommunications giant Telstra once again held the naming rights to the premiership season and for the seventh season the competition was known as the "Telstra Premiership". For the second time, however, a change was made to the Telstra Premiership Logo to align with the telco's own new logo.

Spirit producers Bundaberg Rum sponsored Monday night football – as Bundaberg Monday Night Football. Electronics wholesaler Harvey Norman continued their support of the State of Origin Series, The insurer AAMI sponsored the City vs Country Origin.

Teams

For the 2007 season the number of teams in the NRL had increasing from fifteen to sixteen with the re-inclusion of a Gold Coast, Queensland-based club for the first since 1998, now as the Gold Coast Titans. It was the first time the number of Premiership teams had changed since 2002 when the re-inclusion of the South Sydney Rabbitohs saw the number of teams increase from 14 to 15. The Titans were the NRL's first expansion team since the Melbourne Storm, who entered the League in 1998.

The sixteen teams participated in the competition over the regular season, making it the largest it had been since 1999 when there were seventeen. Of the sixteen clubs, ten were from New South Wales (nine from Sydney's metropolitan area), three from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the ACT and New Zealand.

Just two foundation clubs from New South Wales Rugby League season 1908 played in this, the 100th season of the competition: the Sydney Roosters (formerly known as Eastern Suburbs) and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Of these two clubs, only the Sydney Roosters played their 100th full season, as the South Sydney Rabbitohs were in recess during 2000 and 2001. Two foundation clubs, the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs Magpies, had played in every year since 1908, but the two sides merged to create the Wests Tigers who competed every year since the merger in 2000.

Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Jersey 2007.png
20th season
Ground: Suncorp Stadium
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Darren Lockyer
Bulldogs
Bulldogs Jersey 2007.png
73rd season
Ground: Telstra Stadium
Coach: Steve Folkes
Captain: Andrew Ryan
Canberra Raiders
Canberra Jersey 2007.png
26th season
Ground: Canberra Stadium
Coach: Neil Henry
Captain: Alan Tongue
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Cronulla-Sutherland Jersey 2007.png
41st season
Ground: Toyota Stadium
Coach: Ricky Stuart
Captain: Brett Kimmorley
Gold Coast Titans
Gold Coast Jersey 2007.png
1st season
Ground: Carrara Stadium
Coach: John Cartwright
Captain: Scott Prince & Luke Bailey
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Jersey 2007.png
58th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Des Hasler
Captain: Matt Orford
Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Jersey 2007.png
10th season
Ground Olympic Park Stadium
Coach: Craig Bellamy
Captain: Cameron Smith
New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Jersey 2007.png
13th season
Ground: Mt. Smart Stadium
Coach: Ivan Cleary
Captain: Steve Price
Newcastle Knights
Newcastle Jersey 2007.png
20th season
Ground: EnergyAustralia Stadium
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Andrew JohnsDanny Buderus
North Queensland Cowboys
North Queensland Jersey 2007.png
13th season
Ground: Dairy Farmers Stadium
Coach: Graham Murray
Captain: Johnathan Thurston
Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Jersey 2007.png
61st season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Michael Hagan
Captain: Nathan Cayless
Penrith Panthers
Penrith Jersey 2007.png
41st season
Ground: CUA Stadium
Coach: Matthew Elliott
Captain: Tony Puletua
South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Jersey 2007.png
98th season
Ground: Telstra Stadium
Coach: Jason Taylor
Captain: David Kidwell & Roy Asotasi
St. George Illawarra Dragons
St George-Illawarra Jersey 2007.png
9th season
Ground: OKI Jubilee Stadium & WIN Stadium
Coach: Nathan Brown
Captain: Mark Gasnier
Sydney Roosters
Sydney Jersey 2007.png
100th season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Chris AndersonBrad Fittler
Captain: Craig Fitzgibbon
Wests Tigers
Wests Jersey 2007.png
8th season
Ground: Campbelltown Stadium & Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Brett Hodgson

Ladder

PosTeamPldWDLBPFPAPDPts
1 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm 2421031627277+35044
2 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2418061597377+22038
3 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys 2415091547618−7132
4 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors 24131101593434+15929
5 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels 24130111573481+9228
6 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24120121575528+4726
7 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs 24120121408399+926
8 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos 24110131511476+3524
9 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers 24110131541561−2024
10 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters 24101131445610−16523
11 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24100141463403+6022
12 Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans 24100141409559−15022
13 St. George Illawarra colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons 2490151431509−7820
14 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders 2490151522650−12820
15 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights 2490151418708−29020
16 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers 2480161539607−6818

Ladder progression

Team12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
1 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne 2468101214141618182022242628303234343638404244
2 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly-Warringah 2468101212141618202022242424262830323436363638
3 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland 24688810121212141616161820222222222426283032
4 Auckland colours.svg New Zealand 24446810101010101010121416161820222325252729
5 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta 00246668810121414161820202224242626262628
6 Canterbury colours.svg Bulldogs 002446688881012121416181820222224262628
7 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney 24666888810101012121416161618202022242626
8 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane 00022446668810121416182020222222222424
9 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests 000024681012141416161618202020222222242424
10 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney 00000244668810121212121416181921212123
11 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland 222446681012121214141416161616161618182022
12 Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast 0224668888101214161818181818182020222222
13 St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra 222224466881010101012141416161818182020
14 Canberra colours.svg Canberra 00224466810121214141414141616181818202020
15 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle 244466881012121414161616181818181818181820
16 Panthers colours.svg Penrith 024444446881010101010101212121414161818

Finals series

To decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams, the NRL adopts the McIntyre final eight system. The finals series was contested over a period of four weeks, culminating with the NRL Grand Final being held on Sunday 30 September 2007. For the first time, the week 2 and week 3 final matches were played in the cities of previous week winners rather than Sydney only.

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
Date and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd
Qualifying Finals
New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors 10–12 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels 7 September 2007 8:30pm Mt. Smart Stadium Tony Archer28,745
North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys 20–18 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 8 September 2007 6:30pm Dairy Farmers Stadium Paul Simpkins24,004
Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 30–6 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs 8 September 2007 8:30pm Brookvale Oval Shayne Hayne19,875
Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm 40–0 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos 9 September 2007 4:00pm Olympic Park Stadium Steve Clark15,522
Semi-finals
Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels 25–6 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 15 September 2007 7:45pm Telstra Stadium Shayne Hayne50,621
North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys 49–12 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors 16 September 2007 4:00pm Dairy Farmers Stadium Tony Archer21,847
Preliminary Finals
Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 28–6 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys 22 September 2007 7:45pm Sydney Football Stadium Paul Simpkins32,611
Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm 26–10 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels 23 September 2007 4:00pm Telstra Dome Tony Archer33,427

Finals Chart

Qualifying finalsSemifinalsPreliminary finalsGrand Final
1 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne40
8 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane01W Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne26
4W Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta25 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta10
4 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand102L Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury6
Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne34
5 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta12
Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly8
3 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland202W Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly28
6 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury183W North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland49 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland6
1L New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand12
2 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly30
7 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney6

Grand final

2007 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 30 September
19:15 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm Melbourne colours.svg 34 – 8 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Tries:7
Quinn Ru ball.svg 12', 76'
Inglis Ru ball.svg 23', 55'
Crocker Ru ball.svg 44'
King Ru ball.svg 52'
Newton Ru ball.svg 72'
Goals:3
C Smith Rugby penalty.svg 13', 74', 76'(3/8)
1st: 10–4
2nd: 24–4
Report
Tries:2
Matai Ru ball.svg 39'
Hicks Ru ball.svg 62'
Goals:
Orford (0/2)
ANZStadium, Sydney
Attendance: 81,392 [8] [9]
Referee: Tony Archer
Touch judges: Steve Chiddy, Russell Turner
Clive Churchill Medal: Greg Inglis (Melbourne)

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 25.

Dally M Awards

The Dally M Awards were introduced in 1980 by News Limited. The most prestigious of these awards is the Dally M Medal which is awarded to the Player Of The Year and many other awards. The other prestigious award is the Provans Summons Medal which is the season's best player as voted by the public. As well as honouring the player of the year the awards night also recognises the premier player in each position, the best coach, the best captain, representative player of the year and the most outstanding rookie of the season. The awards night and Player of the Year medal are named in honour of Australian former rugby league great Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger. The top try-scorer and top point-scorer tallies are made at the end of the last round of the regular season and hence may be different from the overall top-scorers by the end of the finals.

AwardPlayerClub
Dally M Medal Johnathan Thurston North Queensland Cowboys
Provan-Summons Medal Nathan Hindmarsh Parramatta Eels
Rookie of the Year Israel Folau Melbourne Storm
Captain of the Year Steve Price New Zealand Warriors
Rep Player of the Year Cameron Smith Melbourne Storm
Coach of the Year Craig Bellamy Melbourne Storm
Top Tryscorer of the Year Israel Folau
Matt Bowen
Melbourne Storm
North Queensland Cowboys
Top Pointscorer of the Year Hazem El Masri Bulldogs

Team of the Year

AwardPlayerClub
Best Fullback Matthew Bowen North Queensland Cowboys
Best Winger Jarryd Hayne Parramatta Eels
Best Centre Justin Hodges Brisbane Broncos
Best Five-Eighth Darren Lockyer Brisbane Broncos
Best Halfback Johnathan Thurston North Queensland Cowboys
Best Lock Dallas Johnson Melbourne Storm
Best Second-Rower Anthony Watmough Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Best Prop Steve Price New Zealand Warriors
Best Hooker Robbie Farah Wests Tigers

2007 Transfers

Players

Player2006 Club2007 Club
Neville Costigan Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders
Casey McGuire Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Catalanscolours.svg Super League: Catalans Dragons
Scott Minto Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys
Brett Seymour Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Tame Tupou Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Bullscolours.svg Super League: Bradford Bulls
Shane Webcke Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Retirement
Jason Croker Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Catalanscolours.svg Super League: Catalans Dragons
Craig Frawley Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos
Michael Hodgson Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Kris Kahler Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Andrew Lomu Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos
Terry Martin Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Celtic Crusaders
Adam Mogg Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Catalanscolours.svg Super League: Catalans Dragons
Clinton Schifcofske Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Queensland Reds (Super 14)
Jason Smith Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys
Simon Woolford Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons
Roy Asotasi Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Tony Grimaldi Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Retirement
Daniel Irvine Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Nate Myles Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Darren Albert Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Retirement
Phil Bailey Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Wigancolours.svg Super League: Wigan Warriors
Matt Hilder Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Tevita Leo-Latu Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Wcatscolours.svg Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Hutch Maiava Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Hullcolours.svg Super League: Hull F.C.
Darren Mapp Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Celtic Crusaders
Beau Scott Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons
James Stosic Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Nigel Vagana Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Richard Villasanti Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Retirement
Ben Kennedy Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Retirement
Kylie Leuluai Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Rhinoscolours.svg Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Paul Stephenson Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Michael Witt Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors
Jamie Feeney Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Retirement
Nathan Friend Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Scott Hill Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Quinscolours.svg Super League: Harlequins RL
David Kidwell Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Glen Turner Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders
Chris Walker Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Jake Webster Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Brian Carney Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Munster (Irish rugby union)
Dustin Cooper Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Matt Gidley Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Saintscolours.svg Super League: St. Helens
Todd Lowrie Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels
Anthony Quinn Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Craig Smith Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Retirement
Sione Faumuina New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys
Awen Guttenbeil New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Castleford colours.svg Castleford Tigers (National League One)
Clinton Toopi New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Rhinoscolours.svg Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Brent Webb New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Rhinoscolours.svg Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Brett Firman North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers
Josh Hannay North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Travis Norton North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Mitchell Sargent North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights
Matt Sing North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys Hullcolours.svg Super League: Hull F.C.
Wade McKinnon Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors
John Morris Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers
Glenn Morrison Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Bullscolours.svg Super League: Bradford Bulls
Luke O'Dwyer Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Adam Peek Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons
Henry Perenara Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Matt Petersen Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Paul Stringer Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Retirement
Michael Vella Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels HKRcolours.svg Super League: Hull Kingston Rovers
Dean Widders Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Preston Campbell Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Danny Galea Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers
Lee Hookey Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers Retirement
Craig Stapleton Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Luke Swain Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Adam MacDougall South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights
Mark Minichiello South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Todd Polglase South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights
Ben Walker South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Retirement
Shane Walker South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Retirement
Luke Bailey St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Trent Barrett St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Wigancolours.svg Super League: Wigan Warriors
Colin Best St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders
Matt Bickerstaff St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders
Aaron Gorrell St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Catalanscolours.svg Super League: Catalans Dragons
Clint Greenshields St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Catalanscolours.svg Super League: Catalans Dragons
Michael Henderson St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Reece Simmonds St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Shaun Timmins St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Retirement
Ryan Cross Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Western Force (Super 14)
John Doyle Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Retirement
Mark Edmondson Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Redscolours.svg Super League: Salford City Reds
Brett Finch Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels
Chris Flannery Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Saintscolours.svg Super League: St. Helens
Glenn Hall Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Adrian Morley Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Wolvescolours.svg Super League: Warrington Wolves
Shane Elford Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Giantscolours.svg Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Sam Harris Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers New South Wales Waratahs (Super 14)
Anthony Laffranchi Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Jamahl Lolesi Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Giantscolours.svg Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Scott Prince Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
John Skandalis Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Giantscolours.svg Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Brad Meyers Bullscolours.svg Super League: Bradford Bulls Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Richie Faʻaoso Castleford colours.svg Super League: Castleford Tigers Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels
Danny Nutley Castleford colours.svg Super League: Castleford Tigers Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Chris Beattie Catalanscolours.svg Super League: Catalans Dragons Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Ian Hindmarsh Catalanscolours.svg Super League: Catalans Dragons Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels
Nick Bradley-Qalilawa Quinscolours.svg Super League: Harlequins RL Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Richard Mathers Rhinoscolours.svg Super League: Leeds Rhinos Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Andrew Dunemann Redscolours.svg Super League: Salford City Reds Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders
Jamie Lyon Saintscolours.svg Super League: St. Helens Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Logan Swann Wolvescolours.svg Super League: Warrington Wolves New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors
Michael Dobson Wigancolours.svg Super League: Wigan Warriors Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders
Scott Logan Wigancolours.svg Super League: Wigan Warriors Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders
David Myles Toulouse Olympique Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Matt Rua Central Comets (Queensland Cup) Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Mat Rogers New South Wales Waratahs (Super 14) Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Jason Moodie N/A Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers

Coaches

Coach2006 Club2007 Club
Matthew Elliott Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers
Michael Hagan Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels
Ricky Stuart Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Footnotes

  1. Stuart Honeysett and Brent Read (23 April 2010) Shocking end to the Melbourne Storm era The Australian
  2. "Melbourne Storm breach NRL Salary Cap". National Rugby League. 22 April 2010. Archived from the original on 25 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  3. McDonald, Margie (22 April 2010). "Melbourne Storm stripped of two rugby league titles over salary cap fraud". The Australian . Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  4. Paul, Crawley (15 March 2011). "Record-breaking week for NRL". The Daily Telegraph . Australia: Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  5. Toohey, Barry (2 February 2011). "Still some bite in old Mad Dog". The Daily Telegraph . Australia: News Limited . Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  6. Gallop, David (2007). "Australian Rugby Football League Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Australian Rugby League Limited. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-13. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  7. Proszenko, Adrian (6 May 2012). "Gallen set to smash record". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  8. Middleton, David. 2007 Official Rugby League Annual. Surrey Hills: News Magazines. p. 110.
  9. NRL Grand Final History Archived 9 February 2010 at archive.today at rl1908.com

See also

Related Research Articles

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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.

The 2006 National Rugby League season consisted of 25 weekly regular season rounds starting on 11 March, followed by four weeks of play-offs that culminated in a grand final on 1 October.

The history of the National Rugby League (NRL), the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia, goes back to December 1997, when it was formed in the aftermath of the Super League war of the mid-1990s. The NRL has, in its relatively brief history, enjoyed growth and record attendance figures.

The 2007 NRL season consisted of 25 weekly regular season rounds, starting from 16 March and ending on 2 September, followed by four weeks of play-offs that culminated in a grand final on 30 September.

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 2008 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season was the 42nd in the club's history. Coached by Ricky Stuart and captained by Paul Gallen and Greg Bird, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2008 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 3rd to qualify for the finals. The Sharks then came within one game of the Grand Final but were knocked out by eventual runners-up Melbourne Storm.

The 2010 NRL season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds, starting on 12 March and ending on 5 September, followed by four weeks of play-offs culminating in the grand final on 3 October.

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.

The 2011 NRL season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds, which began on 11 March and ended on 4 September, followed by four weeks of the finals series culminating in the grand final on 2 October.

The 2017 Melbourne Storm season was the 20th in the club's history. They competed in the 2017 NRL season and at the end of the Regular season had finished in 1st place earning them their third legitimate minor premiership. The team was coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 15th consecutive season. Melbourne Storm were also captained by Cameron Smith, who has been the sole captain for the team since 2008—making this his 10th consecutive season. Cameron Smith broke a number of league, club and personal records throughout the 2017 season including the NRL games record for the most games played, league record for the most wins as a captain, a personal best for the most points in a game and also scored his 2000th career point and 1000th career goal, the first time any player has achieved this.

The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, which was played at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, and the World Club Series. It marked the last time that the Anzac Test and City vs. Country representative matches were played.

The 2017 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 68th in the club's history since their entry into the then New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NRL Women's Premiership</span> Australasian rugby league football competition

The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is contested by a subset of clubs from that competition. The current premiers are the Newcastle Knights.

The 2018 Wests Tigers season was the 19th in the Wests Tigers's history. They completed the NRL's 2018 Telstra Premiership season in ninth place and did not qualify for the finals.

The 2019 NRL season was the 112th of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League.

The 2020 NRL season was the 113th of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.

The 2022 NRLW Premiership was the fifth professional season of Women's rugby league in Australia. The season started on Saturday, 20 August and ran for seven weekends. This comprised five rounds, semi-finals for the top four teams, and a Grand Final that was played on Sunday 2 October as a curtain raiser to the 2022 men's Grand Final. This was the last season before the NRLW goes professional.