National Rugby League season 1999
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| 1999 National Rugby League season | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the NRL |
|
| Teams | 17 |
| Premiers |  Melbourne (1st title) |
| Minor Premiers |  Cronulla (2nd title) |
| Matches played | 213 |
| Points scored | 8857 (average 41.582 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,156,924 (average 14,821 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Matt Geyer (242 points) |
The second season of the National Rugby League saw the Melbourne Storm claim their maiden premiership in just their second season, defeating the St George Illawarra Dragons 20-18 in the first grand final played at Stadium Australia. The Dragons became the first joint-venture club to appear in the grand final.
Contents |
[edit] Season Summary
The 1999 National Rugby League season was historic for many reasons. The St George Illawarra Dragons played their inaugural game since forming the game's first joint venture in September 1998, losing 10-20 to the Parramatta Eels. That game was the second of a double header, which was the first event to be held at Sydney's Stadium Australia, the central venue for the Olympic Games the following year. Additionally, the game attracted a rugby league world record of 104,583 spectators.
During the season, the members of the Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies voted to form another joint venture, to be named the Wests Tigers. After the conclusion of the season, the South Sydney Rabbitohs and North Sydney Bears were excluded from the premiership. The Bears would later form the game's third joint venture with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, whilst South Sydney would fight a two-year legal battle for reinclusion.
The Brisbane Broncos endured their worst ever start to a season, with just one win and a draw from their first ten games. Remarkably, they would finish the season in eighth position, despite the mid-season retirement of champion halfback Allan Langer. The Newcastle Knights also lost an iconic player when 1997 premiership captain Paul Harragon retired mid-season.
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cronulla |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 586 | 332 | +254 | 40 |
| 2 |  Parramatta |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 500 | 294 | +206 | 38 |
| 3 | Melbourne |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 639 | 392 | +247 | 36 |
| 4 |  Sydney City |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 592 | 377 | +215 | 36 |
| 5 |  Canterbury |
24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 520 | 462 | +58 | 35 |
| 6 |  St George Illawarra |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 588 | 416 | +172 | 34 |
| 7 |  Newcastle |
24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 575 | 484 | +91 | 33 |
| 8 |  Brisbane |
24 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 510 | 368 | +142 | 32 |
| 9 |  Canberra |
24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 618 | 439 | +179 | 31 |
| 10 |  Penrith |
24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 492 | 428 | +64 | 27 |
| 11 |  Auckland |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 538 | 498 | +40 | 24 |
| 12 |  South Sydney |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 349 | 556 | -207 | 24 |
| 13 |  Manly |
24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 454 | 623 | -169 | 23 |
| 14 |  North Sydney |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 490 | 642 | -152 | 20 |
| 15 |  Balmain |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 345 | 636 | -291 | 20 |
| 16 |  North Queensland |
24 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 2 | 398 | 588 | -190 | 13 |
| 17 |  Western Suburbs |
24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 285 | 944 | -659 | 10 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
 Sydney City Roosters |
8 - 12 |  Canterbury Bulldogs |
3 September 1999 | Sydney Football Stadium | S. Hampstead | 23,478 | ||
 Melbourne Storm |
10 - 34 |  St George Illawarra Dragons |
4 September 1999 | Olympic Park | S. Clark | 22,053 | ||
 Parramatta Eels |
30 - 16 |  Newcastle Knights |
4 September 1999 | Parramatta Stadium | B. Harrigan | 15,653 | ||
 Cronulla Sharks |
42 - 20 |  Brisbane Broncos |
5 September 1999 | Shark Park | T. Mander | 13,713 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| St George Illawarra Dragons |
28 - 18 | Sydney City Roosters |
11 September 1999 | Sydney Football Stadium | B. Harrigan | 31,506 | ||
| Canterbury Bulldogs |
22 - 24 | Melbourne Storm |
12 September 1999 | Sydney Football Stadium | S. Clark | 20,075 | ||
| Preliminary Finals | ||||||||
| Parramatta Eels |
16 - 18 | Melbourne Storm |
18 September 1999 | Sydney Football Stadium | B. Harrigan | 27,555 | ||
| Cronulla Sharks |
8 - 24 | St George Illawarra Dragons |
19 September 1999 | Stadium Australia | S. Clark | 51,827 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| St George Illawarra Dragons |
18 - 20 | Melbourne Storm |
26 September 1999 | Stadium Australia | B. Harrigan | 107,558 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
With Hugh Jackman beginning proceedings by singing the national anthem, the Melbourne Storm won the grand final in their second season of existence in front of a new rugby league world record crowd of 107,558 at Stadium Australia (now Telstra Stadium).
The Dragons were up 14-0 at half time, with a try and a penalty goal to Craig Fitzgibbon, and a try to Nathan Blacklock. However, an Anthony Mundine knock on over the line in the first few minutes of the second half proved to be the major turning point in the match, with Melbourne running in tries through Tony Martin and Ben Roarty and with winger Craig Smith kicking 2 penalty goals. An unconverted try to Dragons captain Paul McGregor couldn't stem Melbourne's momentum, with Melbourne winger Craig Smith bringing the Storm to within 4 points of the Dragons at 18-14.
In the 77th minute the Dragons were forced to perform a goal line dropout. Three minutes from fulltime, Melbourne's halfback Brett Kimmorley 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, resulting in Smith knocking on. The referee Bill Harrigan requested that the video referee Chris Ward adjudicate on the decision. In one of the most infamous grand final incidents of all time, the Melbourne Storm were granted a penalty try, drawing them level with the Dragons. As it was a penalty try, the subsequent conversion was taken from directly infront of the posts. With the conversion successfully kicked by Matt Geyer, the Storm, for the first time in the match, pulled ahead of the Dragons.
In scenes which still haunt Dragons fans 8 years on, Melbourne took out their first grand final by 20-18. Melbourne 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 previously played in winning teams in 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1993).
For the St George-Illawarra fans the loss was hard to take, considering that the Dragons had lost in their previous 4 visits to the grand final, in 1985, 1992, 1993 and 1996, and had not won a premiership since 1979. To this day, St George-Illawarra supporters still reminisce of the tragedy of the 1999 Grand Final, to the extent where the term '1999 Grand Final' has become synonomous to Dragons fans with unimaginable horror and heartbreak.
[edit] External links
- Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1997 The World of Rugby League
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
