1999 NRL season

1999 NRL season
Teams 17
Premiers Melbourne (1st title)
Minor premiers Cronulla-Sutherland (2nd title)
Matches played 213
Points scored 8857 (total)
41.582 (per match)
Attendance 3,273,372 (total)
15,368 (per match)
Top point scorer(s) Matt Geyer (242)
Top try scorer(s) Nathan Blacklock (24)

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. Seventeen teams competed for the NRL Premiership during the season which culminated in a grand final between the first grand final played at Stadium Australia. The St George Illawarra Dragons became the first joint-venture club to appear in the grand final, which was against the Melbourne Storm, who won the premiership in only their second season.

Contents

Season summary

The 1999 National Rugby League season was historic for many reasons. The St George Illawarra Dragons played their inaugural game after forming the League's first joint venture, 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. That 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.

In August the NRL's CEO Neil Whittaker announced that he would resign at the end of the season. [1]

The defending premiers, Brisbane endured their worst ever start to a season, with just one win and a draw from their first ten games, however they would miracuously recover and record 10 wins in a row before hitting a few hurdles along the way, including a draw against Manly in round 24 and a loss against then-bogey team Parramatta at home in round 25. Their champion halfback and captain Allan Langer retired mid-season as a result. The Newcastle Knights also lost an iconic player when 1997 premiership captain Paul Harragon retired mid-season due to a chronic knee injury. The Melbourne Storm's premiership victory saw their captain Glenn Lazarus become the only player to ever win grand finals for three different clubs.

Cliff Lyons, making a comeback from retirement for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, was the oldest player in the NRL in 1999.[2]

Teams

Auckland Warriors
5th season
Ground: Ericsson Stadium
Coach: Mark Graham
Captain: Matthew Ridge → John Simon		 Balmain Tigers
92nd season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Wayne Pearce
Captain: Darren Senter		 Brisbane Broncos
12th season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Allan Langer → Kevin Walters		 Canberra Raiders
18th season
Ground: Bruce Stadium
Coach: Mal Meninga
Captain: Laurie Daley
Canterbury Bulldogs
65th season
Ground: Stadium Australia
Coach: Steve Folkes
Captain: Darren Britt		 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
33rd season
Ground: Shark Park
Coach: John Lang
Captain: Andrew Ettinghausen		 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
53rd season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Peter Sharp
Captain: Geoff Toovey		 Melbourne Storm
2nd season
Ground: Olympic Park Stadium
Coach: Chris Anderson
Captain: Glenn Lazarus
Newcastle Knights
12th season
Ground: Marathon Stadium
Coach: Warren Ryan
Captain: Paul Harragon → Tony Butterfield		 North Queensland Cowboys
5th season
Ground: Malanda Stadium
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Noel Goldthorpe		 North Sydney Bears
92nd season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Peter Louis → Keiran Dempsey
Captain: Jason Taylor		 Parramatta Eels
53rd season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Jarrod McCracken & Nathan Cayless
Penrith Panthers
33rd season
Ground: Penrith Stadium
Coach: Royce Simmons
Captain: Steve Carter		 Sydney City Roosters
92nd season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Phil Gould
Captain: Brad Fittler		 South Sydney Rabbitohs
92nd season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Craig Coleman
Captain: Sean Garlick
St. George Illawarra Dragons
1st season
Ground: Kogarah Oval & WIN Stadium
Coach: David Waite & Andrew Farrar
Captain: Paul McGregor		 Western Suburbs Magpies
92nd season
Ground: Campbelltown Stadium
Coach: Tommy Raudonikis
Captain: Steve Georgallis

Advertising

In a move that polarised some fans, the NRL in its 1999 promotional campaign focussed on the game's grass roots supporters who perhaps had been overlooked and pained in the trauma of the Super League war. Sydney advertising agency VCD, in the third year of their four-year tenure with the NRL, produced an advertisement featuring Thomas Keneally reading his poem, "Ode to Rugby League", which had been commissioned by the NRL. It speaks of the innocent excitement that begins each season. The ad was used at season launch and there was minimal media budget to support it throughout the year. Keneally is a long time supporter of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

“

We go to the cupboard, we take out club colours.
And the air sings. The season's close.
Our boys are running up sandhills, their legs pump.
This season, this season, this is our season.
This year we all start equal.
Kids paint signs, and I am seven again.
I know I will see heroes soon.
I feel the excitement.
I have hope in March, and I might share in the glory of September.
Blow that whistle, ref.
Send that ball soaring.
Blow that whistle, ref.

 ”

—Thomas Kenneally [3]

Ladder

Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Cronulla-Sutherland 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-Warringah 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

Ladder progression

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
1 Cronulla-Sutherland 2 4 6 8 10 12 12 14 16 18 20 22 22 24 24 26 26 26 28 30 30 32 34 36 38 40
2 Parramatta 2 4 4 6 6 6 8 8 10 12 14 14 16 18 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 34 36 38
3 Melbourne 2 2 4 6 6 8 8 10 12 14 16 18 18 18 18 20 22 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 34 36
4 Sydney City 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 16 18 20 22 22 24 24 24 26 28 30 30 32 32 34 34 36
5 Canterbury 0 2 4 4 6 6 8 10 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 22 22 24 24 26 28 30 32 33 35 35
6 St. George Illawarra 0 0 2 2 4 6 8 8 10 10 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 28 30 30 30 32 34
7 Newcastle 2 2 2 4 6 6 8 9 9 11 13 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 29 29 31 33 33 33
8 Brisbane 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 3 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 30 30 32
9 Canberra 2 2 2 4 6 8 8 9 11 11 11 13 13 15 17 17 19 21 21 21 23 25 27 29 29 31
10 Penrith 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 16 16 16 18 18 20 20 20 20 20 20 22 24 24 25 27 27
11 Auckland 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 8 8 8 10 10 12 14 14 14 14 16 16 18 20 22 24
12 South Sydney 2 4 4 6 8 8 8 8 10 10 12 14 16 16 18 18 20 22 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24
13 Manly-Warringah 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 6 6 8 8 10 10 10 10 12 14 16 18 18 20 21 23 23
14 North Sydney 2 4 6 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 12 14 14 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 18 20
15 Balmain 0 2 4 4 6 6 8 10 10 12 12 12 12 12 14 16 16 16 16 16 18 18 18 20 20 20
16 North Queensland 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 5 7 7 7 9 9 9 9 9 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 13 13
17 Western Suburbs 0 2 2 2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

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 Sean Hampstead 23,478
Melbourne Storm 10–34 St George Illawarra Dragons 4 September 1999 Olympic Park Steve Clark 22,053
Parramatta Eels 30–16 Newcastle Knights 4 September 1999 Parramatta Stadium Bill Harrigan 15,653
Cronulla Sharks 42–20 Brisbane Broncos 5 September 1999 Shark Park Tim Mander 13,713
Semi Finals
St George Illawarra Dragons 28–18 Sydney City Roosters 11 September 1999 Sydney Football Stadium Bill Harrigan 31,506
Canterbury Bulldogs 22–24 Melbourne Storm 12 September 1999 Sydney Football Stadium Steve Clark 20,075
Preliminary Finals
Parramatta Eels 16–18 Melbourne Storm 18 September 1999 Sydney Football Stadium Bill Harrigan 27,555
Cronulla Sharks 8–24 St George Illawarra Dragons 19 September 1999 Stadium Australia Steve Clark 51,827
Grand Final
St George Illawarra Dragons 18–20 Melbourne Storm 26 September 1999 Stadium Australia Bill Harrigan 107,999

Grand Final

Melbourne Storm Position St. George Illawarra
Robbie Ross FB Luke Patten
Craig Smith WG Jamie Ainscough
Aaron Moule CE Paul McGregor (c)
Tony Martin CE Shaun Timmins
Marcus Bai WG Nathan Blacklock
Matt Geyer FE Anthony Mundine
Brett Kimmorley HB Trent Barrett
Glenn Lazarus (c) PR Craig Smith
Richard Swain HK Nathan Brown
Rodney Howe PR Chris Leikvoll
Stephen Kearney SR Lance Thompson
Paul Marquet SR Darren Treacy
Tawera Nikau LK Wayne Bartrim
Matt Rua Bench Craig Fitzgibbon
Russell Bawden Bench Rod Wishart
Ben Roarty Bench Brad Mackay
Danny Williams Bench Colin Ward
Chris Anderson Coach David Waite
Andrew Farrar

A new rugby league world record crowd of 107,999 was at Stadium Australia for the Grand Final. Pre-match entertainment featured Hugh Jackman's rendition of the national anthem.

The Dragons were up 14-0 at half time, with a converted try and penalty goal to Craig Fitzgibbon (who would later eventually play in four grand finals for the Roosters, winning in his second of four attempts at the club and also winning the Clive Churchill Medal in 2002), 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, resulting in Smith knocking on. Referee Bill Harrigan requested video referee Chris Ward adjudicate on the decision. In one of the most controversial grand final incidents,[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.

The Storm 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 Dragons 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 wouldn't be until another eleven years that the Dragons would again return to the big dance, when they defeated the Sydney Roosters by 32-8.

20

 Melbourne Storm
Tries 1 Martin
1 Roarty
1 Smith (pen.)
Goals 3/4 Smith
1/1 Geyer
Field Goals

18

 St George Illawarra Dragons
Tries 1 Fitzgibbon
1 Blacklock
1 McGregor
Goals 2/3 Bartrim
1/1 Fitzgibbon
Field Goals

Clive Churchill Medal: Brett Kimmorley

The grand final attracted a television viewership of over 600,000 in Melbourne.[5]

To date this also remains Melbourne's only premiership, after their 2007 and 2009 titles were stripped following mass salary cap breaches disclosed in 2010.

References & links

  1. ^ sportsillustrated.cnn.com (1999-08-13). "NRL boss Neil Whittaker quits". CNN Sports Illustrated (Australia: Reuters). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/rugby/news/1999/08/13/nrl_boss_quits/. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  2. ^ Toohey, Barry (2 February 2011). "Still some bite in old Mad Dog". The Daily Telegraph (Australia: News Limited). http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/still-some-bite-in-old-mad-dog/story-e6frfgbo-1225998290314. Retrieved 2 February 2011. 
  3. ^ Mahoney, Blair (2009). Poetry Reloaded. Australia: Cambridge University Press. pp. 72. ISBN 0521746612, 9780521746618. http://books.google.com/books?id=Qpt7nNPK8FUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
  4. ^ ANZ Stadium - Event Highlights at anzstadium.com.au
  5. ^ Cockerill, Ian (1999-10-03). "Eye of the Storm". The Sunday Age: pp. 4. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=smh&docID=news991004_0014_7918. Retrieved 2009-10-06. 
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