| 2001 NRL season | |
| Teams | 14 |
| Premiers | Newcastle (2nd title) |
| Minor premiers | Parramatta (4th title) |
| Matches played | 191 |
| Points scored | 9333 (total) 48.864 (per match) |
| Attendance | 2,682,210 (total) 14,043 (per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) | Andrew Johns (279) Ben Walker (279) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Nathan Blacklock (27) |
The 2001 NRL season was the 94th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fourth run by the National Rugby League. The Newcastle Knights claimed their second premiership in five seasons, defeating minor premiers Parramatta Eels in the first ever night-time grand final.
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Early in the season NRL matches involving the Bulldogs were marred by off-field violence from the club's supporters.[1]
The Parramatta Eels looked set to break their fifteen-year premiership drought as they compiled one of the most dominant season records in rugby league history, losing just four of their 26 regular season games with the League's best attack and defensive record. In 2001 they established the standing record for most points by a club in a season with 943, blitzing the Brisbane Broncos' previous record tally of 871 set in 1998. The Eels tally was significantly contributed to by Jason Taylor, who that year surpassed Daryl Halligan as the greatest point-scorer in the history of club competition in Australia with a tally of 2,107 points. The Warriors made the finals for the first time in their seven-year history under rookie coach Daniel Anderson, but were hammered 56-12 by the aforementioned minor premiers.
After Warren Ryan retired in 2000, the Newcastle Knights appointed former player Michael Hagan to the coaching position. Hagan proceeded to become the first coach since Phil Gould in 1988 to win a premiership in his first season as coach. Ricky Stuart would follow suit with the Roosters the following season. Tim Sheens was sacked as the coach of the North Queensland Cowboys during the season and was replaced by Murray Hurst.
Preston Campbell was a deserved winner of the Dally M medal after being an instrumental player in the Sharks' rise to fourth position on the table. Newcastle's Andrew Johns would have been clear winner but was not in contention due to missing two matches through suspension. Brian Smith was recognised as Coach of the Year whilst Braith Anasta won Rookie of the Year.
It was during the 2001 finals series that the new NRL Telstra Premiership logo was used, first seen on the field in the first qualifying final between the Sharks and the Broncos. That logo was to be used until the end of the 2006 season. Coincidentally, the Brisbane Broncos were also involved in the last match to use that logo, albeit in a modified finals version seen on the ground in the 2006 NRL Grand Final.
At the end of the season a squad of players from the NRL premiership went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour.
Every team except Penrith played at least one drawn match during the course of the season. The Bulldogs had three drawn matches, the most of any team during the season.
Auckland were renamed the New Zealand Warriors for the 2001 season.
With a new CEO in David Moffat from 2000 the NRL late that year moved their account to a new advertising agency in Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney.
There was no umbrella campaign in 2001, no season launch gala ad. NRL Marketing Director, Mark Wallace insisted that the League's marketing budget remained the same as in prior years but that the focus was to be on promoting individual games and complementing the clubs' own marketing activities.[2].
An ad was produced to promote certain key games. The scene is a deserted, eerie CBD street. The sound of a squeaky wheel gets louder until a clown rides into the middle of shot on a tricycle and turns to camera pouting and frowning. The voice over comes up: "This Easter long weekend the Dragons v Rooosters at Sydney Football Stadium. You'd be a clown to miss it".
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parramatta | 26 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 839 | 406 | +433 | 42 |
| 2 | Bulldogs | 26 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 617 | 538 | +49 | 37 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 782 | 639 | +143 | 33 |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 594 | 513 | +81 | 32 |
| 5 | Brisbane | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 696 | 511 | +185 | 29 |
| 6 | Sydney | 26 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 647 | 589 | +58 | 27 |
| 7 | St. George Illawarra | 26 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 661 | 573 | +88 | 26 |
| 8 | New Zealand | 26 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 638 | 629 | +9 | 26 |
| 9 | Melbourne | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 704 | 725 | -21 | 23 |
| 10 | Northern Eagles | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 603 | 750 | -149 | 23 |
| 11 | Canberra | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 600 | 623 | -23 | 19 |
| 12 | Wests Tigers | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 474 | 746 | -272 | 19 |
| 13 | North Queensland | 26 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 514 | 771 | -257 | 14 |
| 14 | Penrith | 26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 521 | 847 | -326 | 14 |
| 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 | Parramatta | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 40 | 42 |
| 2 | Bulldogs | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 37 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 33 |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 32 |
| 5 | Brisbane | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 29 |
| 6 | Sydney Roosters | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 |
| 7 | St. George Illawarra | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| 8 | New Zealand | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 26 |
| 9 | Melbourne | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| 10 | Northern Eagles | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 |
| 11 | Canberra | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 |
| 12 | Wests Tigers | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| 13 | North Queensland | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 |
| 14 | Penrith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
To decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams, the NRL adopts the McIntyre Final Eight System.
| Qualifying Finals | Semi Finals | Preliminary Finals | Grand Final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Parramatta Eels | 56 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | NZ Warriors | 12 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1W | Parramatta Eels | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 22 | 4W | St. George Illawarra | 28 | Brisbane Broncos | 16 | |||||||||||
| 7 | St. George Illawarra | 23 | 2L | Brisbane Broncos | 44 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | |||||||||||
| Newcastle Knights | 30 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Newcastle Knights | 40 | 2W | Newcastle Knights | 18 | |||||||||||||
| 6 | Sydney Roosters | 6 | 3W | Cronulla Sharks | 52 | Cronulla Sharks | 10 | |||||||||||
| 1L | Canterbury Bulldogs | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Cronulla Sharks | 22 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Parramatta Eels | Position | Newcastle Knights |
|---|---|---|
| Brett Hodgson | FB | Robbie O'Davis |
| Luke Burt | WG | Timana Tahu |
| Jamie Lyon | CE | Matthew Gidley |
| David Vaealiki | CE | Mark Hughes |
| Jason Moodie | WG | Adam MacDougall |
| Michael Buettner | FE | Sean Rudder |
| Jason Taylor | HB | Andrew Johns (c) |
| Nathan Cayless (c) | PR | Josh Perry |
| Brad Drew | HK | Danny Buderus |
| Michael Vella | PR | Matt Parsons |
| Nathan Hindmarsh | SR | Steve Simpson |
| Ian Hindmarsh | SR | Ben Kennedy |
| Daniel Wagon | LK | Bill Peden |
| PJ Marsh | INT | Daniel Abraham |
| Andrew Ryan | INT | Paul Marquet |
| Alex Chan | INT | Glenn Grief |
| David Solomona | INT | Clinton O'Brien |
| Brian Smith | Coach | Michael Hagan |
First Half
The Knights were first to score with a try to Bill Peden in the 3rd minute with Andrew Johns converting to take the Knights out to a 6-0 lead. Four minutes later, the Knights scored again through Steve Simpson with Andrew Johns failing to convert, taking the score to 10-0. Johns not long after took a shot at penalty goal due to a leg pull from Brad Drew which was penalised by referee Bill Harrigan to make the score 12-0. By the 24th minute it was already to a 18-0 lead to the Knights with another try to Bill Peden and another conversion to Andrew Johns. Not long after, the Eels had their best chance of the first half with Andrew Ryan getting over the line but he was held up by Steve Simpson and failed to score with Simpson being injured in the tackle. In the following set the Eels got the ball wide left, but the pass which would have put Luke Burt in for a try in the corner was passed well behind him and he failed to catch it. In the 32nd minute, Ben Kennedy scored for the Knights with Andrew Johns converting to make it 24-0 to the Knights. The Eels had a couple of chances in the Knights half after that but failed to convert their opportunities so the score remained the same until halftime.
Second Half
The Eels were the first to score in the second half to make the score 24-6. In the 64th minute the knights wrapped up the 2001 Premiership when a wide pass from Bill Peden to Andrew Johns who put up a tremendous bomb to Timana Tahu's wing who got tangled up with Luke Burt before getting the ball down about 50 cm inside the touch in goal line. Two minutes later, Jamie Lyon scored to make it 28-12 to keep the Eels in the game. Three Minutes later, the Knights made the margin three converted tries at 30-12 from a penalty goal to Johns after an attempted short drop out by Brad Drew went out on the full. One more try to both Lyon and Hogdson in the final ten minutes got it back to a converted try (30-24) but just wasn't enough for the Eels set a remarkable Grand Final comeback as the Knights went on to clinch the 2001 Premiership from the performance in one of the best 1st halves of a Rugby League Grand Final ever.
Newcastle have not played in another Grand Final since then, whilst Parramatta were unsuccessful in 2009 when it lost out to the Melbourne Storm.
30 |
Newcastle Knights |
|---|---|
| Tries | 2 Peden 1 Simpson 1 Kennedy 1 Tahu |
| Goals | 5/6 Johns |
| Field Goals | |
24 |
Parramatta Eels |
| Tries | 2 Hodgson 2 Lyon |
| Goals | 4/4 Burt |
| Field Goals |
Half Time: 24 – 0
Clive Churchill Medalist: Andrew Johns
Referee: Bill Harrigan
Venue: Stadium Australia, Sydney
Attendance: 90,414
Scoring timeline
3rd: Newcastle 6-0 (Peden try; Johns goal)
7th: Newcastle 12-0 (Simpson try; Johns goal)
24th: Newcastle 18-0 (Peden try; Johns goal)
31st: Newcastle 24-0 (Kennedy try; Johns goal)
57th: Newcastle 24-6 (Hodgson try; Hodgson goal)
63rd: Newcastle 28-6 (Tahu try)
65th: Newcastle 28-12 (Lyon try; Hodgson goal)
68th: Newcastle 30-12 (Johns goal)
73rd: Newcastle 30-18 (Lyon try; Hogdson goal)
79th: Newcastle 30-24 (Hodgson try; Hodgson goal)
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