| 2000 NRL season | |
| Teams | 14 |
| Premiers | Brisbane (5th title) |
| Minor premiers | Brisbane (4th title) |
| Matches played | 191 |
| Points scored | 8050 (total) 42.147 (per match) |
| Attendance | 2,959,390 (total) 15,494 (per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) | Joel Caine (224) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Nathan Blacklock (25) |
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 a grand final between the Brisbane Broncos and the Sydney Roosters.
Contents |
The 2000 National Rugby League season started with a new CEO in rugby union's David Moffett who replaced Neil Whittaker in late 1999.[1]
The season began in early February to accommodate the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games which were to be held during September and required the use of Stadium Australia, the grand final venue. The grand final was scheduled for late August, the first grand final in that month since 1963. The capacity of Stadium Australia for the grand final was limited due to preparations for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, which would take place just nineteen days later.
Throughout the month of February, mandatory breaks in play at the 20th and 60th minute of the game were implemented to allow players to rehydrate themselves. Due to concerns over the summer heat, the Brisbane and North Queensland clubs played their first four games away from home.
The Cowboys were stripped of two competition points after it was later revealed that they unwittingly used a fourteenth player for three minutes in their 26-18 win against the Parramatta Eels, due to an error in interchanging players.
Melbourne Storm players Stephen Kearney and Marcus Bai ended the career of West Tigers captain Jarrod McCracken with a spear tackle. Kearney was suspended for 8 matches and Bai for 2 matches. The two men were also sued by McCraken, who won a six-figure damages bill.
The Canberra Raiders and the West Tigers became the first teams to play a premiership game in the snow. It occurred at Bruce Stadium on the 18th May and it is the only premiership game played in these conditions.
The season saw the debut of the Wests Tigers (formed by the merging of the Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies) and Northern Eagles (formed by the merging of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and North Sydney Bears) in the National Rugby League. In addition, the South Sydney Rabbitohs were excluded from the competition, thereby completing the NRL's rationalisation process from 20 teams in 1998 to 14 in 2000.
For the 2000 season, the Canterbury Bulldogs changed their name once again, this time to the geographically indistinct "Bulldogs" and the Auckland Warriors were re-branded the New Zealand Warriors at the end of the season.
For the first time since farewelling Tina Turner in 1995 the NRL used a major recording star in its promotional campaign and accessed a media budget that saw the launch ad shown regularly throughout the season. Sydney advertising agency VCD in the last of their four year tenure on the NRL account shot an ad with Tom Jones performing on stage alongside hi-kicking female dancers,[2] the 1993 Salt-N-Pepa hit Whatta Man with lyrics re-worked as "What A Game".
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane | 26 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 696 | 388 | +308 | 38 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 601 | 520 | +81 | 32 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 26 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 686 | 532 | +154 | 31 |
| 4 | Canberra | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 506 | 479 | +27 | 30 |
| 5 | Penrith | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 573 | 562 | +11 | 30 |
| 6 | Melbourne | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 672 | 529 | +143 | 29 |
| 7 | Parramatta | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 476 | 456 | +20 | 29 |
| 8 | Cronulla | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 570 | 463 | +107 | 26 |
| 9 | St George Illawarra | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 576 | 656 | -80 | 24 |
| 10 | Wests Tigers | 26 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 519 | 642 | -123 | 24 |
| 11 | Bulldogs | 26 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 469 | 553 | -84 | 21 |
| 12 | Northern Eagles | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 476 | 628 | -152 | 18 |
| 13 | Auckland | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 426 | 662 | -236 | 18 |
| 14 | North Queensland | 26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 436 | 612 | -176 | 12 |
| 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 | Brisbane | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 38 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 |
| 4 | Canberra | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 |
| 5 | Penrith | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 |
| 6 | Melbourne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 |
| 7 | Parramatta | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 |
| 8 | Cronulla | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 |
| 9 | St. George Illawarra | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 |
| 10 | Wests Tigers | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| 11 | Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
| 12 | Northern Eagles | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 13 | Auckland | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 |
| 14 | North Queensland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
The biggest upset of the 2000 Finals series was in the 3rd Qualifying Final when 7th placed Parramatta Eels beat 2nd placed Sydney Roosters 32-8 at the SFS. It was nearly a similar story for Minor Premiers' the Brisbane Broncos when they came from 20-6 down at halftime to win 34-20 against 8th placed Cronulla Sharks in the 4th Qualifying Final at QSAC. Sydney also made a famous comeback when they came from 16-2 down at halftime to win 26-20 against the Newcastle Knights in the 1st Preliminary Final at the SFS to earn a spot in the Grand Final against Brisbane.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
| Canberra Raiders | 34–16 | Penrith Panthers | 4 August 2000 | Bruce Stadium | Steve Clark | 18,479 | ||
| Newcastle Knights | 30–16 | Melbourne Storm | 5 August 2000 | Marathon Stadium | Tim Mander | 20,597 | ||
| Sydney Roosters | 8–32 | Parramatta Eels | 5 August 2000 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 21,377 | ||
| Brisbane Broncos | 34–20 | Cronulla Sharks | 6 August 2000 | ANZ Stadium | Paul Simpkins | 25,831 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Parramatta Eels | 28–10 | Penrith Panthers | 12 August 2000 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 25,746 | ||
| Canberra Raiders | 10–38 | Sydney Roosters | 13 August 2000 | Sydney Football Stadium | Tim Mander | 16,441 | ||
| Preliminary Finals | ||||||||
| Newcastle Knights | 20–26 | Sydney Roosters | 19 August 2000 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 33,727 | ||
| Brisbane Broncos | 16–10 | Parramatta Eels | 20 August 2000 | Stadium Australia | Tim Mander | 31,087 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Brisbane Broncos | 14–6 | Sydney Roosters | 27 August 2000 | Stadium Australia | Bill Harrigan | 94,277 | ||
The Brisbane Broncos were favourites heading into the match with the Sydney Roosters as underdogs. Brisbane were premiership favourites for most of the season after leading the competition every round since Round 4. It was their fifth Grand Final in nine years, while it was the first Grand Final appearance for the Roosters in twenty years.
Shane Webcke went into the match with a broken arm.[3]
First Half
Sydney were unlucky not to have an early lead only 3 minutes in when Shannon Hegarty got over the line but good cover defence by Brisbane fullback Darren Lockyer stopped them from scoring. The Broncos opened the scoring with a penalty goal to Michael De Vere to make it 2-0 at the 12th minute. Four minutes later, Lote Tuqiri scored the first try of the Grand Final which was converted by Michael De Vere to make it 8-0 in Brisbane's favour. Michael De Vere extended his side's lead out to 10-0 in the 27th minute. The Roosters opened their scoring in the 35th minute with a penalty goal to Luke Phillips to make it 10-2 and it remained that scoreline until halftime.
Second Half
In the first minute of play after the break, Broncos five-eighth Ben Ikin got hit late with a high shot and went to the bench missing twenty minutes of the second half. Brisbane had a chance to go ten in front with a penalty goal but missed marginally. However the Broncos extended their lead to 14-2 when Wendell Sailor scored in the 55th but the conversion was unsuccessful by Michael De Vere. Craig Fitzgibbon got Sydney's first try of the match in the 70th minute to give the Roosters a glimmer of hope but the conversion was unsuccessful making the score 14-6.
| 14 |
Brisbane Broncos |
|---|---|
| Tries | Tuqiri, Sailor |
| Goals | De Vere 3/5 |
| Field Goals | |
| 6 |
Sydney Roosters |
| Tries | Fitzgibbon |
| Goals | Phillips 1/1, Fitzgibbon 0/1 |
| Field Goals |
Clive Churchill Medal: Darren Lockyer (Brisbane)
When They Scored
12th Minute: Brisbane 2-0 (De Vere goal)
16th Minute: Brisbane 8-0 (Tuqiri try; De Vere goal)
27th Minute: Brisbane 10-0 (De Vere goal)
35th Minute: Brisbane 10-2 (Phillips goal)
53rd Minute: Brisbane 14-2 (Sailor try)
71st Minute: Brisbane 14-6 (Fitzgibbon try)
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