2010 NRL season

Last updated

2010 National Rugby League
Teams16
Premiers St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons (1st title)
Minor premiers St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons (2nd title)
Matches played201
Average attendance17,373
Attendance3,491,890
Top points scorer(s) Panthers colours.svg Michael Gordon (270)
Player of the year Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Todd Carney (Dally M Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Newcastle colours.svg Akuila Uate (21)
Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Shaun Kenny-Dowall (21)
  2009
2011  

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.

Contents

The 2010 season was marred by the Melbourne Storm's admission in April of systematically breaching the NRL salary cap. As part of the NRL's imposed penalties, the Storm were deducted all 8 competition points earned at the time of the announcement, and were barred from earning points for the rest of the season, guaranteeing them the wooden spoon. [1] [2] The club was also stripped of all titles earned during the period they were in breach, including their 2007 and 2009 premierships and their 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships, and later also their 2010 World Club Challenge title.

2010's NRL premiership was won by the season's minor premiers the St. George Illawarra Dragons, the first title for the joint venture club. The Dragons became the first minor premiers since the Penrith Panthers in 2003 to complete the minor premiership and premiership double.

Season summary

During the pre-season the Melbourne Storm defeated the Leeds Rhinos 18–10 in the 2010 World Club Challenge. [3] The inaugural All Stars match took place on 13 February at Skilled Park, Gold Coast, where the Indigenous All Stars team won 16–12. [4]

Significant dates throughout the season include the annual Anzac Test and City vs Country Origin weekend, resulting in a shortened round in early May. Byes take place throughout the State of Origin period between Rounds 11 and 18 (during June and July). [5] The annual heritage round takes place again in Round 10, a round celebrating Women in League has been earmarked for Round 16, and later in the season a round has been set aside to celebrate Indigenous Australians.

For the second successive year the St. George Illawarra Dragons took out the JJ Giltinan Shield for winning the minor premiership.

The overall attendance record during the regular season was 3,151,039, an increase on last year's record of 3,081,874. This was the second consecutive year that the rugby league attendance record has been broken. [6]

On 7 September 2010, Sydney Roosters' five-eighth Todd Carney won the coveted Dally M Medal for Player of the Year for season 2010 and was also awarded the people's choice Provan-Summons award (see 2010 Dally M Awards for full award listing). It was a remarkable return to the field for Carney who in 2008 was sacked by the Canberra Raiders and deregistered by the NRL for the 2009 season for repeated off-field indiscretions.

In 2010, NRL games on New Zealand's Sky network drew average audiences of 60,779. [7]

Rule changes

During the 2010 season, a rule change to the playing field was implemented so that if a player in possession of the ball made contact with the corner post that player would no longer be considered to be touch in-goal. [8] Proponents of the move argued a series of possible future scenarios made this preventative measure necessary, with ARL chief executive Geoff Carr stating, "no one has thought of the possibility of using the corner post as a weapon to defuse a try and we want to stop it before they do". [9] One scenario was that a defending player might manipulate the corner post to put an attacker out of play. [9] Another concern cited was that the corner post might be made to make contact with a rolling ball to ensure the defending team gains possession with a 20-metre restart. [9] Corner posts, which sometimes lean to one side, have no upper height limit set and this led to a fear that corner posts might become "long rubber snakes, biting attackers and sending them into touch", in the words of Roy Masters. [9] Other laws concerning the corner posts remained unchanged. [10] A ball that makes contact with the corner post while not in the possession of a player will be deemed to be touch in-goal as before. [10] There was no attempt to remove the corner posts from the playing field as they are used to promote sponsors and are also a useful aid for players to judge their kicks. [9] The change was agreed by the NRL Board and approved by the RLIF as an experimental rule. [8] Implementation occurred mid-season following feedback from clubs. [8]

Melbourne Storm salary cap breach

On 22 April, Melbourne Storm officials confessed to the NRL that the club had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap regulations for the last five years by running a well-organized dual contract and bookkeeping system which left the NRL unable to know of $3.17 million in payments made to players outside of the salary cap, including $550,000 in 2007, $965,000 in 2009 and $1.03 million in 2010.

As a result of this confession, the following penalties were imposed by the NRL:

The Storm accepted this decision without question; [1] [2] however, the former directors of the club took legal action which later collapsed. The matter has been referred to ASIC, Australian Tax Office, the Victorian State Revenue Office, and the Victoria Police. [11]

Melbourne eventually finished the 2010 season with a 14–10 win–loss record, which would have seen them finish 5th disregarding the punishments, with Manly missing the finals. Statistically, the North Queensland Cowboys were the poorest performing team during the season, winning only five of its 24 matches played which, disregarding the Storm's punishment, would have been their first wooden spoon since 2000.

Season advertising

A new approach was taken in 2010 following the controversies of 2009 wherein marquee players Greg Inglis (who had featured in the season launch ad) and Brett Stewart (who had been the face of a season launch event) were charged with assault thus disempowering the message behind the ad. The NRL and their advertising agency MJW Hakuhodo set about presenting the acceptable face of Australian rugby league to the world and interspersed some sparse action shots with a gallery of characters to assure viewers that league is a family-friendly sport watched by everyman.

For the first time in many years the launch commercial did not use a popular soundtrack. Titled, the "Voices of the Game" the ad set out to show the diversity of rugby league's appeal featuring fans from all walks of life including a rodeo clown, a sculptor, a farmer, a businessman and Australian Paralympian Kurt Fearnley [12] The proposition was that "this season, many of you will....see/ feel/ experience/ dream/ hurt/ believe". The fans highlighted ticked all the boxes of a diverse but wholesome audience demographic. [13] Veteran Kangaroo captain Darren Lockyer is the only player to appear with a speaking part.

Teams

The number of teams in the NRL remains unchanged since the previous season, with sixteen participating in the regular season: ten from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. Of the ten from New South Wales, eight are from Sydney's metropolitan area, with St. George-Illawarra being a Sydney and Wollongong joint venture. Just two foundation clubs from New South Wales Rugby League season 1908 played in this competition: the Sydney Roosters (formerly known as Eastern Suburbs) and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Brisbane Broncos
23rd season
Ground: Suncorp Stadium
Coach: Ivan Henjak
Captain: Darren Lockyer
Canterbury Bulldogs home jersey 1997.svg
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
76th season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: Kevin Moore
Captain: Andrew Ryan
Canberra Raiders
29th season
Ground: Canberra Stadium
Coach: David Furner
Captain: Alan Tongue & Terry Campese
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
44th season
Ground: Toyota Stadium
Coach: Ricky StuartShane Flanagan
Captain: Trent Barrett
Gold Coast Titans
4th season
Ground: Skilled Park
Coach: John Cartwright
Captain: Scott Prince
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
61st season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Des Hasler
Captain: Jamie Lyon & Jason King
Melbourne Storm
13th season
Ground: Etihad StadiumAAMI Park
Coach: Craig Bellamy
Captain: Cameron Smith
Newcastle Knights home jersey 2008.svg
Newcastle Knights
23rd season
Ground: EnergyAustralia Stadium
Coach: Rick Stone
Captain: Kurt Gidley
2009 New Zealand Warriors home jersey 2009.svg
2009
New Zealand Warriors
16th season
Ground: Mt. Smart Stadium
Coach: Ivan Cleary
Captain: Simon Mannering
North Queensland Cowboys
16th season
Ground: Dairy Farmers Stadium
Coach: Neil Henry
Captain: Johnathan Thurston
Parramatta Eels
64th season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Daniel Anderson
Captain: Nathan Cayless & Nathan Hindmarsh
Penrith Panthers Primary Jersey 2007.svg
Penrith Panthers
44th season
Ground: CUA Stadium
Coach: Matthew Elliott
Captain: Petero Civoniceva
South Sydney Rabbitohs
101st season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: John Lang
Captain: Roy Asotasi
Sydney Roosters
103rd season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Braith Anasta
St. George Illawarra Dragons home jersey 1999.svg
St. George Illawarra Dragons
12th season
Ground: Jubilee Oval & Wollongong Showground
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Ben Hornby
Wests Tigers
11th season
Grounds: Campbelltown Stadium & Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Robbie Farah

Ladder

Pos.TeamPldWDLBPFPAPDPts
1 St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons (P)2417072518299+21938
2 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers 2415092645489+15634
3 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers 2415092537503+3434
4 Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans 2415092520498+2234
5 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors 24140102539486+5332
6 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters 24140102559510+4932
7 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders 24130112499493+630
8 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24120122545510+3528
9 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs 24110132584567+1726
10 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos 24110132508535−2726
11 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights 24100142499569−7024
12 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels 24100142413491−7824
13 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2490152494539−4522
14 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2470172354609−25518
15 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys 2450192425667−24214
16 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm 24140102489363+12601

1 Melbourne were deducted eight premiership points and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season due to gross long-term salary cap breaches. [14]

Ladder progression

Team1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
1 St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra 24668101214141616182022242626283030303234343638
2 Panthers colours.svg Penrith 2224681010121416161820222426262626282828303234
3 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests 22468888101012141618202022242626282830323434
4 Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast 2466881012141416161618202022222224262830323234
5 Auckland colours.svg New Zealand 0244666681012121214161820222424242628283032
6 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney 244668810101012141416181820222426282828283032
7 Canberra colours.svg Canberra 022244468810121414141414161820202224262830
8 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah 002468810121214161616181820202224242626282828
9 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney 00246688101212141616161820202022222424242626
10 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane 222224446810121416161818202222242626262626
11 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle 22222446688101010121416181818202222242424
12 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta 02222468101212121416161616182022222224242424
13 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown 002224668888810101214161616181818202022
14 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland 0002224466881012121414141414141416161818
15 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland 022444446688810101012121214141414141414
16 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne 24688800000000000000000000

Finals Series

To decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams, the NRL adopts the McIntyre final eight system.

Only three teams from 2009's finals series made an appearance in the 2010 finals race: St. George Illawarra Dragons, Gold Coast Titans and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, with only the Dragons managing to not drop positions from last year. Major improvements saw the Canberra Raiders, New Zealand Warriors and Sydney Roosters make a return to the finals after finishing 13th, 14th and last in 2009. This season also saw the Wests Tigers and Penrith Panthers make their long-awaited return to the finals race, with the Tigers last featuring in their grand final year of 2005 whilst the Panthers last appeared in the 2004 season. This was one of the 3 seasons where Melbourne were not in the finals and currently the last where they've missed the finals and it was also the first since 1991 which did not feature Brisbane.

HomeScoreAwayMatch information
Date and TimeVenueRefereesCrowd
QUALIFYING FINALS
Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans 28–16 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors 10 September, 7:45pm Skilled Park Gavin Badger
Tony Archer
27,026
Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers 15–19 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters 11 September, 6:30pm Sydney Football Stadium Shayne Hayne
Matt Cecchen
33,315
Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers 22–24 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders 11 September, 8:30pm CUA Stadium Ben Cummins
Steve Lyons
16,668
St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons 28–0 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 12 September, 4:00pm WIN Jubilee Oval Jarred Maxwell
Jason Robinson
15,574
SEMI FINALS
Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders 24–26 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers 17 September, 7:45pm Canberra Stadium Tony Archer
Jared Maxwell
26,476
Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters 34–12 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers 18 September, 7:35pm Sydney Football Stadium Shayne Hayne
Ben Cummins
23,459
PRELIMINARY FINALS
Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans 6–32 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters 24 September, 7:45pm Suncorp Stadium Tony Archer
Jared Maxwell
44,787
St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons 13–12 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers 25 September, 7:45pm ANZ Stadium Ben Cummins
Shayne Hayne
71,212

† Match decided in golden point extra time.

Qualifying finalsSemifinalsPreliminary finalsFinal
1 St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra 28
8 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly 01W St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra 13
4W Canberra colours.svg Canberra 24 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests 12
2 Panthers colours.svg Penrith 222L Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests 26
St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra 32
7 Canberra colours.svg Canberra 24
Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney 8
3 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests 152W Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast 6
6 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney 193W Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney 34 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney 32
1L Panthers colours.svg Penrith 12
4 Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast 28
5 Auckland colours.svg New Zealand 16

Grand Final

Sunday, 3 October
5:15pm (AEDT)
St. George Illawarra Dragons St. George colours.svg 32–8 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Tries:
Jason Nightingale (46', 60') 2
Mark Gasnier (7') 1
Dean Young (63') 1
Nathan Fien (70') 1
Goals:
Jamie Soward 6/7
(8', 48', 61', 64', 67' pen, 72')
1st: 6 – 8
2nd: 26 – 0
Report
Tries:
Braith Anasta (16') 1
Mitchell Aubusson (20') 1
Goals:
Todd Carney 0/2

Team and player records

The following statistics are correct as of the conclusion of Round 26.

Most points in a match by an individual

PointsPlayerTriesGoalsFGOpponentScoreVenueRound
30 Panthers colours.svg Michael Gordon 39/100 South Sydney Rabbitohs 54–18 CUA Stadium Round 24
28 Auckland colours.svg James Maloney 38/90 Brisbane Broncos 16–48 Suncorp Stadium Round 3
22 Panthers colours.svg Michael Gordon 35/50 Canterbury Bulldogs 31–16 CUA Stadium Round 11
22 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Jamie Lyon 27/70 Wests Tigers 38–20 Bluetongue Stadium Round 20

Most tries in a match by an individual

TriesPlayerOpponentScoreVenueRound
4 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Shaun Kenny-Dowall Brisbane Broncos 34–30 Suncorp Stadium Round 20
4 Canterbury colours.svg Josh Morris Sydney Roosters 60–14 ANZ Stadium Round 3
4 Canberra colours.svg Reece Robinson North Queensland Cowboys 48–4 Canberra Stadium Round 25
4 Newcastle colours.svg Cooper Vuna Brisbane Broncos 44–18 EnergyAustralia Stadium Round 24

Most points in a match

PointsVictorOpponentScoreVenueRound
76 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Wests Tigers 44–32 Sydney Football Stadium Round 2
74 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury Bulldogs Sydney Roosters 60–14 ANZ Stadium Round 3
74 Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans Newcastle Knights 38–36 EnergyAustralia Stadium Round 9
72 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos South Sydney Rabbitohs 50–22 Suncorp Stadium Round 14
72 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers South Sydney Rabbitohs 54–18 CUA Stadium Round 24

Fewest points in a match

PointsVictorOpponentScoreVenueRound
10 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Parramatta Eels 6–4 EnergyAustralia Stadium Round 15
11 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla Sharks Parramatta Eels 11–0 Toyota Park Round 4
16 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Parramatta Eels 10–6 Parramatta Stadium Round 16
16 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos St. George Illawarra Dragons 10–6 Suncorp Stadium Round 21

Most points scored in a match by an individual team

PointsTeamOpponentScoreVenueRound
60 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury Bulldogs Sydney Roosters 60–14 ANZ Stadium Round 3
58 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm North Queensland Cowboys 58–12 AAMI Park Round 15
54 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers South Sydney Rabbitohs 54–18 CUA Stadium Round 24
52 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Newcastle Knights 52–18 Canberra Stadium Round 19

Paul Gallen ran 4,056 metres with the ball in 2010, more than any other player in the competition. [15]

Attendances

The 2010 regular season attendance figures bettered last year's figures of 3,081,849 to become the highest attended regular season in Australia's rugby league history, with a total of 3,151,039. Along with 2009, the 2010 season also outshone other attendance blockbuster years of 2007 and the 1995 Winfield Cup. [16]

The highest twenty regular season match attendances:

CrowdVenueHome TeamOpponentRound
48,516 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos North Queensland Cowboys Round 1
42,269 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos St. George Illawarra Dragons Round 21
42,233 Suncorp Stadium
(Double header)
Brisbane Broncos
Gold Coast Titans
Penrith Panthers
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Round 15
40,168 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Gold Coast Titans Round 10
38,872 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Canberra Raiders Round 26
38,193 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Parramatta Eels Round 23
37,994 Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Roosters St. George Illawarra Dragons Round 22
37,773 ANZ Stadium Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs St. George Illawarra Dragons Round 10
36,212 Sydney Football Stadium St. George Illawarra Dragons Sydney Roosters Round 7
34,662 ANZ Stadium Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Parramatta Eels Round 20
32,338 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos New Zealand Warriors Round 3
31,911 ANZ Stadium Parramatta Eels Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Round 8
30,685 Sydney Cricket Ground Wests Tigers South Sydney Rabbitohs Round 10
30,311 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos South Sydney Rabbitohs Round 14
30,127 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Wests Tigers Round 17
30,120 ANZ Stadium South Sydney Rabbitohs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Round 4
26,486 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Sydney Roosters Round 20
26,197 Skilled Park Gold Coast Titans Brisbane Broncos Round 19
26,103 Skilled Park Gold Coast Titans Wests Tigers Round 26
25,688 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Cronulla Sharks Round 6
25,480 Etihad Stadium Melbourne Storm St. George Illawarra Dragons Round 4

2010 Transfers

Players

Player2009 Club2010 Club
Tonie Carroll Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Retirement
Michael De Vere Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Retirement
Aaron Gorrell Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Retirement
Karmichael Hunt Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Biarritz Olympique (French rugby union)
PJ Marsh Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Retirement
Dave Taylor Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Stuart Flanagan Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Phil Graham Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Nigel Plum Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers
Adrian Purtell Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers
Glen Turner Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Retirement
Greg Eastwood Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Rhinoscolours.svg Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Hazem El Masri Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Retirement
Daryl Millard Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Wcatscolours.svg Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Lee Te Maari Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels
Michael Sullivan Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Retirement
Mitch Brown Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers
Ian Donnelly Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Retirement
Blake Green Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Corey Hughes Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Retirement
Brett Kearney Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Bullscolours.svg Super League: Bradford Bulls
Bryan Norrie Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Ben Ross Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Terence Seu Seu Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Brett Seymour Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors
David Simmons Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers
Reece Williams Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Retirement
Daniel Conn Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Brett Delaney Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans Rhinoscolours.svg Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Adam Cuthbertson Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Glenn Hall Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Bullscolours.svg Super League: Bradford Bulls
Heath L'Estrange Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Bullscolours.svg Super League: Bradford Bulls
Matt Orford Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Bullscolours.svg Super League: Bradford Bulls
Scott Anderson Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos
Will Chambers Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Queensland Reds (Super 14)
Matthew Cross Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Wairangi Koopu Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Retirement
Steve Turner Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Danny Wicks Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Imprisonment
Nathan Fien New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons
Stacey Jones New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Retirement
Denan Kemp New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos
Steve Price New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Retirement
Evarn Tuimavave New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights
Travis Burns North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers
Shannon Hegarty North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Shane Tronc North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys Wcatscolours.svg Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Joe Galuvao Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Kevin Kingston Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers
Todd Lowrie Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Taulima Tautai Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Paul Aiton Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Junior Moors Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers
David Fa'alogo South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Giantscolours.svg Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Michael Greenfield South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons
David Kidwell South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Retirement
Craig Wing South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs NTT Communications Shining Arcs (Japanese rugby union)
Mathew Head St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Retirement
Mickey Paea St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Justin Poore St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels
Wendell Sailor St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Retirement
Chase Stanley St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Riley Brown Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Craig Fitzgibbon Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Hullcolours.svg Super League: Hull F.C.
Willie Mason Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys
Mark O'Meley Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Hullcolours.svg Super League: Hull F.C.
Shane Shackleton Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels
Iosia Soliola Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Saintscolours.svg Super League: St. Helens
Jordan Tansey Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Hullcolours.svg Super League: Hull F.C.
Dean Collis Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Danny Galea Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders
Dene Halatau Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
John Morris Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Corey Payne Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Taniela Tuiaki Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Retirement
Sam Burgess Bullscolours.svg Super League: Bradford Bulls South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Greg Bird Catalanscolours.svg Super League: Catalans Dragons Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Adam Mogg Catalanscolours.svg Super League: Catalans Dragons Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders
Jason Ryles Catalanscolours.svg Super League: Catalans Dragons Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Liam Fulton Giantscolours.svg Super League: Huddersfield Giants Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers
Josh Cordoba Hullcolours.svg Super League: Hull F.C. Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Daniel Fitzhenry HKRcolours.svg Super League: Hull Kingston Rovers Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers
Craig Stapleton Redscolours.svg Super League: Salford City Reds South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Jason Cayless Saintscolours.svg Super League: St. Helens Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers
Tim Smith Wigancolours.svg Super League: Wigan Warriors Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Timana Tahu New South Wales Waratahs (Super 14) Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels
Lote Tuqiri Leicester Tigers (English rugby union) Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers
Mark Gasnier Stade Français (French rugby union) St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons
Clinton Toopi Bay of Plenty Steamers (New Zealand rugby union) Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans
Todd Carney N/A Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters

Coaches

Coach2009 Club2010 Club
Brian Smith Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
John Lang N/A South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs

See also

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The National Rugby League (NRL) is a professional rugby league competition in Australasia which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. Tracing its origins back to the New South Wales Rugby League, which formed in 1908, rugby league competition in Australia had gone through numerous iterations, including the 1990s Super League war, by the time the NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the News Corporation-controlled Super League. The partnership was dissolved in 2012, with control of the NRL going to the re-constituted ARL, which was re-structured with an independent board of directors and renamed the Australian Rugby League Commission.

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

The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership since 1982. Over this period the club has won 3 premierships out of 6 Grand Finals, the last one played being the 2019 NRL Grand Final, resulting in a 14-8 controversial loss to the Sydney Roosters. They have received 1 wooden spoon and had a total of 15 of its players selected to play for the Australia national rugby league team. The Raiders' current home ground is Canberra Stadium in Bruce, Australian Capital Territory. Previously, the team played home matches at Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, with the move to the AIS Stadium in Bruce taking place in 1990. The official symbol for the Canberra Raiders is the Viking. The Viking, also a mascot at Raiders' games, is known as Victor the Viking.

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

The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. The Storm were originally a Super League initiative, created in 1997 during the Super League war, however, following the Super League collapse, the team became a part of the newly formed, united competition. The club play their home games at AAMI Park. The Storm have won four premierships since their inception, in 1999, 2012, 2017 and 2020, and have contested several more grand finals, but were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships following salary cap breaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke MacDougall</span> Australian rugby league footballer

Luke MacDougall is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the National Rugby League competition, who last played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. He previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Newcastle Knights and the Melbourne Storm. MacDougall's position of choice was on the wing.

The 2000 NRL season was the 93rd season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the third to be run by the National Rugby League. Fourteen teams competed from February till August for the NRL Premiership, culminating in the 2000 NRL Grand final between the Brisbane Broncos and the Sydney Roosters.

The 1998 NRL season was the 91st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the inaugural season of the newly formed National Rugby League (NRL). After the 1997 season, in which the Australian Rugby League and Super League organisations ran separate competitions parallel to each other, they joined to create a reunited competition in the NRL. The first professional rugby league club to be based in Victoria, the Melbourne Storm was introduced into the League, and with the closure of the Hunter Mariners, Western Reds and South Queensland Crushers, twenty teams competed for the premiership, which culminated in the 1998 NRL grand final between the Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury-Bankstown. It was also the final season for the Illawarra Steelers and the St. George Dragons as their own clubs prior to their merger into the St. George-Illawarra Dragons for the 1999 NRL 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">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.

The Australian rugby league wooden spooners are the team that finished last in the premier top-grade rugby league competition in Australia, which is currently the National Rugby League, and was previously the New South Wales Rugby Football League (1908-1994), the Australian Rugby League (1995-1997), and Super League (1997). Each of these seasons is considered to represent one continuous line of competition dating back from the first season in 1908. The wooden spoon is an unofficial award, however, fans often bring "real" wooden spoons to taunt opposition sides who are struggling on the bottom of the ladder.

<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 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 2009 Parramatta Eels season was the 63rd in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership, just making the finals by finishing 8th. The Eels then continued their winning streak into the play-offs, reaching the 2009 NRL grand final which they lost to the Melbourne Storm.

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.

The 2010 Melbourne Storm season was the 13th in the club's history and competed in the NRL's 2010 Telstra Premiership. After winning the first four games of the season, Storm's season would hit a significant challenge after Round 6 when the NRL penalised the club for salary cap breaches with the team unable to play for points for the remainder of the season. These revelations also saw them stripped of the 2007 and 2009 Premierships and the 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premiership titles.

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 Melbourne Storm season was the 14th in the club's history. They competed in the 2011 NRL season and finished the regular season in first place, winning the J.J. Giltinan Shield for taking out the minor premiership.

In 1990, the NSWRL introduced a salary cap system in an attempt to even the playing field of teams in the Winfield Cup. The National Rugby League has adopted the salary cap system from its predecessor. A special team headed by former Australian representative Ian Schubert deals with salary cap issues and monitors teams on a yearly basis.

The Manly–Melbourne NRL rivalry is between two National Rugby League clubs, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm, who are engaged in a modern-day rivalry. They have met 42 times since 1998, with Melbourne leading the head-to-head 25–16; there has also been a drawn match between the two sides. They have finished three regular seasons as the top two placed sides on the premiership ladder, although in the cases of 2007 and 2008, Melbourne had those minor premierships stripped from them due to the discovery of salary cap breaches in April 2010.

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

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  2. 1 2 McDonald, Margie (22 April 2010). "Melbourne Storm stripped of two rugby league titles over salary cap fraud". The Australian. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
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  11. Storm salary cap rort report handed to police
  12. http://mumbrella.com.au/nrl-turns-to-real-life-supporters-to-kick-off-new-season-19416 2010 Season Launch ad
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