2009 NRL season | |
Teams | 16 |
Premiers | |
Minor premiers | St. George Illawarra (1st title) |
Matches played | 201 |
Points scored | 8315 (total) 41.368 (per match) |
Attendance | 3,412,872 (total) 16,979 (per match) |
Top point scorer(s) | Hazem El Masri (248) |
Top try scorer(s) | Brett Morris (25) |
The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiership title. The season commenced with the first match played on 13 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 4 October. The premiership was won by the Melbourne Storm in their fourth consecutive grand final appearance, however they were stripped of their Premiership on 22 April 2010 after they were found to be guilty of breaching the league's salary cap.[2][3]
The second season of the National Youth Competition also commenced in line with the Telstra Premiership.
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This season the NRL introduced a second on-field referee.[4] Previously when the ball changed possession the lone on-field referee would have to change his position to stay with the defending team. He also could only observe the ruck from one direction. The two-referee system saves the referees some running back and forth to get into position as possession changes and also improves watchfulness over the ruck.
The St. George Illawarra Dragons, under new coach Wayne Bennett finished the regular season with their first minor premiership title as a joint venture club. However, the Dragons then became the first minor premiers since the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 1993 to be eliminated from the final series in consecutive losses.
For the first time since the McIntyre Final Eight System was introduced, a game was played twice in a row in the same stadium. This happened when the Dragons and Parramatta Eels played each other in round 26 (the final regular season round) and again in the first week of finals, both at WIN Jubilee Oval at Kogarah.
The Eels went on to become the first side since the McIntyre Final Eight System was introduced (in 1999) to make the grand final from eighth position. Along the way, they defeated the top three teams – the St George Illawarra Dragons, Gold Coast Titans and Bulldogs – in their three finals series matches, to make it to their first Grand Final since 2001.
The clubs in the League for 2009 remained unchanged for the third consecutive year, with sixteen participating in the regular season: ten from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. Of the ten from New South Wales, eight were from Sydney's metropolitan area (with St. George Illawarra being a Sydney and Wollongong joint venture). Just two foundation clubs from the 1908 New South Wales Rugby Football League season played in this competition: the Roosters and the Rabbitohs.
Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | St. George Illawarra | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 548 | 329 | +219 | 38 |
2 | Bulldogs | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 575 | 428 | +147 | 38* |
3 | Gold Coast | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 514 | 467 | +47 | 36 |
4 | Melbourne | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 505 | 348 | +157 | 33 |
5 | Manly-Warringah | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 549 | 439 | +90 | 32 |
6 | Brisbane | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 511 | 566 | −55 | 32 |
7 | Newcastle | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 508 | 491 | +17 | 30 |
8 | Parramatta | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 476 | 473 | +3 | 29 |
9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 558 | 483 | +75 | 28 |
10 | South Sydney | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 566 | 549 | +17 | 27 |
11 | Penrith | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 515 | 589 | −74 | 27 |
12 | North Queensland | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 558 | 474 | +84 | 26 |
13 | Canberra | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 489 | 510 | −31 | 22 |
14 | New Zealand | 24 | 7 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 377 | 545 | −188 | 20 |
15 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 359 | 568 | −209 | 14 |
16 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 382 | 681 | −299 | 14 |
* Bulldogs stripped of 2 competition points after an interchange breach in round 2
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 | St. George Illawarra | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 38 |
2 | Bulldogs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 38 |
3 | Gold Coast | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 36 |
4 | Melbourne | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 33 |
5 | Manly-Warringah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
6 | Brisbane | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
7 | Newcastle | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 |
8 | Parramatta | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 29 |
9 | Wests Tigers | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 |
10 | South Sydney | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 27 |
11 | Penrith | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
12 | North Queensland | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 |
13 | Canberra | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 |
14 | New Zealand | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
15 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
16 | Sydney Roosters | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
The NRL finals series adopts the McIntyre Final Eight System.
Four teams made a return to the 2009 finals from 2008, grand finalists Melbourne Storm, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles along with the Brisbane Broncos and St George Illawarra Dragons. Both the Bulldogs and Parramatta Eels made a return after being absent in 2008. The Newcastle Knights made the finals for the first time since 2006 and their first since the departure of club legend Andrew Johns. The Gold Coast Titans entered their maiden finals series. It was also the first finals series since 2002 that no team was held scoreless.
Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date and Time | Venue | Referees | Crowd | |||||
QUALIFYING FINALS | ||||||||
Melbourne Storm | 40 – 12 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 11 September, 7:45pm | Etihad Stadium | Gavin Badger Shayne Hayne |
21,155 | ||
Gold Coast Titans | 32 – 40 | Brisbane Broncos | 12 September, 6:30pm | Skilled Park | Ben Cummins Ashley Klein |
27,227 | ||
Bulldogs | 26 – 12 | Newcastle Knights | 12 September, 8:30pm | ANZ Stadium | Tony Archer Jason Robinson |
21,369 | ||
St George Illawarra Dragons | 12 – 25 | Parramatta Eels | 13 September, 4:00pm | WIN Jubilee Oval | Jarred Maxwell Matt Cecchin |
18,174 | ||
SEMI FINALS | ||||||||
Parramatta Eels | 27 – 2 | Gold Coast Titans | 18 September, 7:45pm | Sydney Football Stadium | Shayne Hayne Jared Maxwell |
28,524 | ||
Brisbane Broncos | 24 – 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 19 September, 7:45pm | Suncorp Stadium | Tony Archer Ben Cummins |
50,225 | ||
PRELIMINARY FINALS | ||||||||
Bulldogs | 12 – 22 | Parramatta Eels | 25 September, 7:45pm | ANZ Stadium | Tony Archer Ben Cummins |
74,549 | ||
Melbourne Storm | 40 – 10 | Brisbane Broncos | 26 September, 7:45pm | Etihad Stadium | Shayne Hayne Jared Maxwell |
27,687 | ||
GRAND FINAL | ||||||||
Melbourne Storm | 23 – 16 | Parramatta Eels | 4 October, 5:00pm | ANZ Stadium | Tony Archer Shayne Hayne |
82,538 |
The Melbourne Storm were playing in their fourth consecutive Grand Final, with a team later deemed illegal due to massive over spending on the salary cap and were up against the Parramatta Eels who were playing in their first Grand Final since 2001. Parramatta were first team since the McIntyre Finals System was introduced in 1999 to make the Grand Final from 8th spot.
First Half: Melbourne's Ryan Hoffman broke the Eels' line to scored the first try of the game in the fifth minute to make the score 6–0. Parramatta was looking shaky in the first half, and Melbourne capitalised with a try to Adam Blair in the 24th minute, set up by a Cooper Cronk line-break, to make the score 10–0.
Second Half: Parramatta scored early in the second half, with Eric Grothe, Jr., scoring in the 45th minute to bring the scoreline to 10–6. Melbourne responded quickly, with tries to Greg Inglis off a bomb kick in the 49th minute and Billy Slater from a line break in the 56th minute, to open a handy 22–6 lead heading into the final quarter of the game. Parramatta attacked through the final quarter of the game, then broke through for two tries: one to Joel Reddy off a bomb kick in the 70th minute, then a barnstorming run from Fuifui Moimoi off an off-load in the 72nd minute; only the former of these tries was converted, bringing the score to 22–16. In the 76th minute, with Melbourne attacking from their own half, Billy Slater dropped the ball as he tried to play it, but referee Tony Archer ruled that Parramatta's Fuifui Moimoi had held Slater down in the tackle, and awarded a penalty to the Storm; Greg Inglis scored a field goal in the ensuing set-of-six, extending the margin to 23–16 in the 78th minute. Melbourne would hold on to win by that score.[6]
4 October 2009, 5:15pm
23 |
Melbourne Storm |
---|---|
Tries | 1 Hoffman (5') 1 Blair (24') 1 Inglis (49') 1 Slater (55') |
Goals | 3/4 C Smith (7', 50', 57') |
Field Goals | 1 Inglis (77') |
16 |
Parramatta Eels |
Tries | 1 Grothe (45') 1 Reddy (70') 1 Moimoi (72') |
Goals | 2/3 Burt (46', 70') |
Field Goals |
Half Time: Storm 10 – 0
Clive Churchill Medallist: Billy Slater
Referees: Tony Archer, Shayne Hayne
Venue: ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 82,538
5th: Storm 6 – 0 (Try: Hoffman, Goal: C Smith)
24th: Stom 10 – 0 (Try: Blair)
45th: Storm 10 – 6 (Try: Grothe, Goal: Burt)
49th: Storm 16 – 6 (Try: Inglis, Goal: C Smith)
55th: Storm 22 – 6 (Try: Slater, Goal: C Smith)
70th: Storm 22 – 12 (Try: Reddy, Goal: Burt)
72nd: Storm 22 – 16 (Try: Moimoi)
77th: Storm 23 – 16 (Field Goal: Inglis)
The following figures were collected from the completion of round 26 of the regular season and therefore do not represent any figures associated with the finals series or any representative matches for this year.
Top 5 point scorers
Pts | Player | Try | Gls | FG |
---|---|---|---|---|
234 | Hazem El Masri | 14 | 89 | 0 |
228 | Jamie Soward | 12 | 87 | 6 |
202 | Johnathan Thurston | 11 | 79 | 0 |
180 | Luke Burt | 13 | 63 | 2 |
172 | Scott Prince | 7 | 72 | 0 |
Top 5 try scorers
Try | Player |
---|---|
22 | Brett Morris |
21 | Taniela Tuiaki |
20 | Josh Morris |
19 | Nathan Merritt |
19 | Bryson Goodwin |
Most points in a match by an individual
Pts | Player | Try | Gls | FG | Opponent | Score | Venue | Round |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 | Luke Burt | 2 | 8/8 | 0 | Newcastle Knights | 40–8 | Parramatta Stadium | Round 22 |
24 | Luke Burt | 2 | 8/8 | 0 | Penrith Panthers | 48–6 | Parramatta Stadium | Round 25 |
24 | Benji Marshall | 2 | 8/10 | 0 | Cronulla Sharks | 56–10 | Toyota Stadium | Round 23 |
24 | Joseph Tomane | 3 | 6/9 | 0 | Brisbane Broncos | 48–4 | Olympic Park Stadium | Round 13 |
Most tries in a match by an individual
Tries | Player | Opponent | Score | Venue | Round |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | Israel Folau | Gold Coast Titans | 32–18 | Suncorp Stadium | Round 10 |
4 | Phil Graham | Brisbane Broncos | 56–0 | Canberra Stadium | Round 21 |
4 | Joel Moon | Penrith Panthers | 32–32 | CUA Stadium | Round 21 |
4 | Brett Morris | North Queensland | 20–24 | Dairy Farmers Stadium | Round 9 |
4 | Billy Slater | Manly Sea Eagles | 40–12 | Etihad Stadium | Qualifying Final |
Largest winning margin
Score | Victor | Opponent | Venue | Round |
---|---|---|---|---|
56 – 0 (56 pts) |
Canberra Raiders | Brisbane Broncos | Canberra Stadium | Round 21 |
56 – 10 (46 pts) |
Wests Tigers | Cronulla Sharks | Toyota Stadium | Round 23 |
48 – 4 (44 pts) |
Melbourne Storm | Brisbane Broncos | Olympic Park | Round 13 |
Most points in a match
Points | Victor | Opponent | Score | Venue | Round |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
82 | Brisbane Broncos | Penrith Panthers | 58–24 | Suncorp Stadium | Round 23 |
74 | Wests Tigers | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 54–20 | ANZ Stadium | Round 17 |
72 | Penrith Panthers | Parramatta Eels | 38–34 | CUA Stadium | Round 17 |
Fewest points in a match
Points | Victor | Opponent | Score | Venue | Round |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 | New Zealand Warriors | Newcastle Knights | 13–0 | Mt Smart Stadium | Round 14 |
14 | New Zealand Warriors | West Tigers | 14–0 | Mt Smart Stadium | Round 12 |
14 | Brisbane Broncos | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 12–2 | WIN Stadium | Round 24 |
16 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Cronulla Sharks | 10–6 | WIN Jubilee Oval | Round 3 |
Most points scored in a match by an individual team
Pts | Team | Opponent | Score | Venue | Round |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
58 | Brisbane Broncos | Penrith Panthers | 58–24 | Suncorp Stadium | Round 23 |
56 | Wests Tigers | Cronulla Sharks | 56–10 | Toyota Stadium | Round 23 |
56 | Canberra Raiders | Brisbane Broncos | 56–0 | Canberra Stadium | Round 21 |
54 | Wests Tigers | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 54–20 | ANZ Stadium | Round 17 |
52 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Sydney Roosters | 52–12 | Sydney Football Stadium | Round 1 |
2009's regular season attendance figures were the highest recorded in Australian rugby league history, with a total of 3,081,849. This figure bettered the previous record set by the 1995 Winfield Cup's regular season (3,061,338 in a 20 team competition) and also beat the Telstra Premiership's previous best of 3,024,149 set in 2007.[7]
The 2009 season also saw the second highest average crowd figure of a regular season, with a crowd average of 16,051, behind the best of 16,466 set in the 2005 NRL season.
The 20 highest regular season match attendances:
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