National Rugby League season 1998
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| 1998 National Rugby League season | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the NRL |
|
| Teams | 20 |
| Premiers |  Brisbane (4th title) |
| Minor Premiers | Brisbane (3rd title) |
| Matches played | 253 |
| Points scored | 10131 (average 40.043 per match) |
| Attendance | 2,921,264 (average 11,546 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Ivan Cleary (284 points) |
The inaugural season of the National Rugby League saw the Brisbane Broncos claim their fourth premiership in seven seasons, defeating the Canterbury Bulldogs 38-12 in the last grand final played at the Sydney Football Stadium. It was also the second highest scoring grand final in Australian rugby league history, the highest being when the Newcastle Knights defeated the Parramatta Eels 30 -24.
Contents |
[edit] History
The National Rugby League was formed after an agreement between the two rivaling competitions from 1997, the Australian Rugby League competition and the Super League competition. In December 1997, the two parties formed a joint board to run the new rugby league competition in Australia. The large majority of the 22 clubs that contested in 1997 across the split competitions also contested the first season of the National Rugby League, with the exception of the Hunter Mariners, the Western Reds and South Queensland.
In all, 20 clubs contested in 1998 after the addition of a new club, Melbourne. Eleven of these clubs were from Sydney, the traditional home of the competition, but an agreement between the Australian Rugby League and Super League meant that many of these clubs were in danger of being cut from the competition by the 2000 season where only 14 clubs would be invited to contest the premiership.
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane |
24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 688 | 310 | +378 | 37 |
| 2 |  Newcastle |
24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 562 | 381 | +181 | 37 |
| 3 |  Melbourne |
24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 546 | 372 | +174 | 35 |
| 4 |  Parramatta |
24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 468 | 349 | +119 | 35 |
| 5 |  North Sydney |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 663 | 367 | +296 | 34 |
| 6 | Sydney City |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 680 | 383 | +297 | 32 |
| 7 |  Canberra |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 564 | 429 | +135 | 30 |
| 8 |  St George |
24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 486 | 490 | -4 | 27 |
| 9 |  Canterbury |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 489 | 411 | +78 | 26 |
| 10 |  Manly |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 503 | 473 | +30 | 26 |
| 11 |  Cronulla |
24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 438 | 387 | +51 | 25 |
| 12 |  Illawarra |
24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 476 | 539 | -63 | 23 |
| 13 |  Balmain |
24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 381 | 463 | -82 | 19 |
| 14 |  Penrith |
24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 525 | 580 | -55 | 18 |
| 15 |  Auckland |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 417 | 518 | -101 | 18 |
| 16 |  North Queensland |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 361 | 556 | -195 | 18 |
| 17 |  Adelaide |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 393 | 615 | -222 | 14 |
| 18 |  South Sydney |
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 339 | 560 | -221 | 10 |
| 19 |  Gold Coast |
24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 289 | 654 | -365 | 8 |
| 20 |  Western Suburbs |
24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 371 | 802 | -431 | 8 |
[edit] Finals
Melbourne surprised many by finishing third out of twenty clubs in their first season and were only knocked out by Brisbane, the eventual premiers, in the semi finals. Quite possibly the most remarkable run was that of Canterbury, who finished ninth in the regular season yet were able to reach the Grand Final. After beating St. George and North Sydney, Canterbury was able to pull off two come-from-behind wins over Newcastle and Parramatta to reach the decider. In the final, Canterbury were 18-2 against Parramatta with just ten minutes to play, but were able to square the game following a late Daryl Halligan conversion from the sideline and hence force the game into extra time where they eventually won 32-20.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
 Canberra Raiders |
17 - 4 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
28 August 1998 | Bruce Stadium | B. Harrigan | 15,953 | ||
 St. George Dragons |
12 - 20 |  Canterbury Bulldogs |
29 August 1998 | Jubilee Oval | S. Clark | 16,833 | ||
 Parramatta Eels |
25 - 12 |  North Sydney Bears |
29 August 1998 | Parramatta Stadium | K. Jeffes | 16,033 | ||
 Melbourne Storm |
12 - 26 |  Sydney City Roosters |
30 August 1998 | Olympic Park | P. McBlane | 18,247 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| North Sydney Bears |
2 - 23 | Canterbury Bulldogs |
4 September 1998 | North Sydney Oval | B. Harrigan | 18,718 | ||
| Melbourne Storm |
24 - 10 | Canberra Raiders |
5 September 1998 | Olympic Park | S. Clark | 12,592 | ||
 Newcastle Knights |
15 - 26 | Sydney City Roosters |
5 September 1998 | Marathon Stadium | K. Jeffes | 26,482 | ||
 Brisbane Broncos |
10 - 15 | Parramatta Eels |
6 September 1998 | ANZ Stadium | P. McBlane | 21,172 | ||
| Preliminary Finals | ||||||||
| Newcastle Knights |
16 - 28 | Canterbury Bulldogs |
12 September 1998 | Sydney Football Stadium | S. Clark | 24,449 | ||
| Brisbane Broncos |
30 - 6 | Melbourne Storm |
13 September 1998 | Sydney Football Stadium | B. Harrigan | 20,354 | ||
| Finals | ||||||||
| Sydney City Roosters |
18 - 46 | Brisbane Broncos |
19 September 1998 | ANZ Stadium | S. Clark | 28,374 | ||
| Parramatta Eels |
20 - 32 | Canterbury Bulldogs |
20 September 1998 | Sydney Football Stadium | B. Harrigan | 36,841 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Canterbury Bulldogs |
8 - 26 | Brisbane Broncos |
27 September 1998 | Sydney Football Stadium | B. Harrigan | 40,857 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
In the Grand Final, a powerful Brisbane side overcame the in-form Canterbury side 38-12. The result ensured Brisbane won their fourth premiership in seven years in a time where the game was in its most turbulent form in its history. Brisbane's consistent dominance over other teams at this period of time forced the National Rugby League to cut down the number of teams to 14 in order to ensure competitiveness and the long-term financial success of the game.
Despite the inclusion of "national" in the competition's name, both the Gold Coast and Adelaide were dropped from the competition after 1998. The long-serving St. George team, existent since 1921, and the Illawarra team merged to form the first joint-venture side at the conclusion of the season, St. George Illawarra.
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1998 The World of Rugby League
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- 1998 - Broncos Take Inaugural NRL Competition RL1908
