1998 NRL season

1998 National Rugby League
Teams 20
Premiers Brisbane (4th title)
Minor premiers Brisbane (3rd title)
Matches played 253
Points scored 10131
Attendance 2937741
Top points scorer(s) Ivan Cleary (284)
Player of the year Andrew Johns (Dally M Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Darren Smith (23)

The 1998 NRL season was the 91st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the inaugural season of the newly formed National Rugby League (NRL). After the 1997 season, in which the Australian Rugby League and Super League organisations ran separate competitions parallel to each other, they joined to create a reunited competition in the NRL. The first professional rugby league club to be based in Victoria, the Melbourne Storm was introduced into the League, and with the closure of the Hunter Mariners, Western Reds and South Queensland Crushers, twenty teams competed for the premiership, which culminated in the 1998 NRL grand final between the Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury Bulldogs.

Pre-season

The National Rugby League was formed after an agreement was reached between the two rivaling competitions from 1997, the Australian Rugby League and the Super League. In December 1997, the two parties formed a joint board to run the new Australian rugby league club competition. The vast majority of the 22 clubs that contested in 1997 across the split competitions also contested the first season of the National Rugby League, with the exception of the Hunter Mariners, the Western Reds and South Queensland.

The National Rugby League imposed a $3M salary cap on each of the clubs.[1]

Advertising

Super League's ad agency VCD in Sydney successfully kept the account post-reunification. The 1998 ad featured the song "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba with its theme of rising against adversity:

I get knocked down! But I get up again; you're never gonna keep me down.

There was no visual performance of the song in the ad which returned to the standard rugby league imagery of big hits and crunching tackles to accompany the track.

Teams

The closure of the Hunter Mariners, Western Reds and South Queensland Crushers, and the introduction of the Melbourne Storm meant that a total of twenty clubs contested the 1998 Premiership. Eleven of these clubs were from Sydney, the traditional home of the competition, but an agreement between the Australian Rugby League and Super League meant that many of these clubs were in danger of being cut from the competition by the 2000 season when, it was decided, only 14 clubs would be invited to contest the premiership.

Adelaide Rams
2nd season
Ground: Adelaide Oval → Hindmarsh Stadium
Coach: Rod Reddy → Dean Lance
Captain: Kerrod Walters		 Auckland Warriors
4th season
Ground: Ericsson Stadium
Coach: Frank Endacott
Captain: Matthew Ridge		 Balmain Tigers
91st season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Wayne Pearce
Captain: Darren Senter		 Brisbane Broncos
11th season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Allan Langer		 Canberra Raiders
17th season
Ground: Bruce Stadium
Coach: Mal Meninga
Captain: Laurie Daley
Canterbury Bulldogs
64th season
Ground: Belmore Oval
Coach: Steve Folkes
Captain: Simon Gillies→Darren Britt		 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
32nd season
Ground: Shark Park
Coach: John Lang
Captain: Andrew Ettinghausen		 Gold Coast Chargers
11th season
Ground: Carrara Stadium
Coach: Phil Economidis
Captain: Jamie Goddard		 Illawarra Steelers
17th season
Ground: WIN Stadium
Coach: Andrew Farrar
Captain: Paul McGregor		 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
52nd season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Bob Fulton
Captain: Geoff Toovey
Melbourne Storm
1st season
Ground: Olympic Park Stadium
Coach: Chris Anderson
Captain: Glenn Lazarus		 Newcastle Knights
11th season
Ground: Marathon Stadium
Coach: Mal Reilly
Captain: Paul Harragon		 North Queensland Cowboys
4th season
Ground: Stockland Stadium
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Ian Roberts & John Lomax		 North Sydney Bears
91st season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Peter Louis
Captain: Jason Taylor		 Parramatta Eels
52nd season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Dean Pay
Penrith Panthers
32nd season
Ground: Penrith Stadium
Coach: Royce Simmons
Captain: Steve Carter		 Sydney City Roosters
91st season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Phil Gould
Captain: Brad Fittler		 South Sydney Rabbitohs
91st season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Steve Martin → Craig Coleman
Captain: Sean Garlick		 St. George Dragons
78th season
Ground: Kogarah Oval
Coach: David Waite
Captain: Mark Coyne		 Western Suburbs Magpies
91st season
Ground: Campbelltown Stadium
Coach: Tommy Raudonikis
Captain: Paul Langmack

Regular season

Rounds 5 and 7: Brisbane Broncos set a new record for their biggest win, firstly 58-4 against North Queensland Cowboys, then 60-6 against North Sydney Bears, both games being played at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre.
Round 8: 1997 ARL premiers, the Newcastle Knights played the 1997 Super League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane won 26-6 in Newcastle before a crowd of 27,119, cementing their position at the top of the ladder.
Round 12: The record for the biggest comeback in premiership history was re-set by the North Queensland Cowboys who trailed 26–0 at half-time and came back to beat the Penrith Panthers 36–28.
Round 24: Ivan Cleary's tally of 284 points set a new individual record for most points scored in a season in Australian club rugby league history; it has since been beaten.

Ladder

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Brisbane Broncos (P) 241815688310+37837
2 Newcastle Knights 241815562381+18137
3 Melbourne Storm 241716546372+17435
4 Parramatta Eels 241716468349+11935
5 North Sydney Bears 241707663367+29634
6 Sydney City Roosters 241608680383+29732
7 Canberra Raiders 241509564429+13530
8 St. George Dragons 2413110486490-427
9 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2413011489411+7826
10 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2413011503473+3026
11 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2412111438387+5125
12 Illawarra Steelers 2411112476539-6323
13 Balmain Tigers 249114381463-8219
14 Penrith Panthers 248214525580-5518
15 Auckland Warriors 249015417518-10118
16 North Queensland Cowboys 249015361556-19518
17 Adelaide Rams 247017393615-22214
18 South Sydney Rabbitohs 245019339560-22110
19 Gold Coast Chargers 244020289654-3658
20 Western Suburbs Magpies 244020371802-4318

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
1 Brisbane Broncos 2 4 6 8 10 10 12 14 14 14 16 16 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 29 31 33 35 37
2 Newcastle Knights 2 4 6 8 10 10 12 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 24 26 27 29 31 31 31 33 35 37
3 Melbourne Storm 2 4 6 8 8 10 12 14 14 16 17 19 21 23 25 25 25 27 27 29 31 33 33 35
4 Parramatta Eels 2 4 4 6 8 8 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 24 24 26 28 28 30 32 34 35
5 North Sydney Bears 0 2 4 4 6 8 8 10 12 12 14 14 16 18 18 20 22 22 24 26 28 30 32 34
6 Sydney City Roosters 2 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 16 16 18 20 20 22 24 24 26 26 26 28 30 32
7 Canberra Raiders 0 0 2 2 4 4 6 8 10 12 12 14 16 16 18 18 20 20 22 24 26 28 30 30
8 St George Dragons 2 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 20 22 22 22 22 24 24 26 26 26 26 27
9 Canterbury Bulldogs 2 2 2 2 2 4 6 8 10 10 10 12 12 12 14 14 16 18 18 18 20 22 24 26
10 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 0 2 2 2 2 4 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 10 12 14 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
11 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 0 2 2 2 4 4 6 8 10 10 12 14 14 14 16 18 18 18 19 21 23 23 23 25
12 Illawarra Steelers 0 2 2 2 2 4 6 6 8 8 9 11 13 13 15 17 19 19 19 19 21 21 23 23
13 Balmain Tigers 2 2 4 6 8 10 10 10 10 10 12 12 12 14 16 16 16 18 18 19 19 19 19 19
14 Penrith Panthers 0 2 2 4 4 4 4 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 11 12 14 14 14 16 18
15 Auckland Warriors 0 0 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 8 8 10 10 12 14 14 14 16 16 18 18 18 18
16 North Queensland Cowboys 2 4 6 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 12 14 14 14 14 16 16 18 18 18 18 18 18
17 Adelaide Rams 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 6 6 6 8 10 12 12 14 14 14 14 14
18 South Sydney Rabbitohs 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 8 8 10 10 10
19 Gold Coast Chargers 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
20 Western Suburbs Magpies 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Finals series

The biggest surprise of the season was when the Melbourne Storm finished 3rd after the regular season in their first ever year, only to be knocked out by the Brisbane Broncos in the Semi Final. The Canterbury Bulldogs became the lowest placed team ever to make the Grand Final, after finishing 9th after the regular season. The Bulldogs did it tough though, coming from 16 points down twice in as many weeks. They came from 16-0 down to win 28-16 against the Newcastle Knights in the Semi Final, then 18-2 down with 11 minutes to go to make it 18-18 after regulation time, then going on to win 32-20 in extra time against the Parramatta Eels in the Preliminary Final.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Qualifying Finals
Canberra Raiders 17–4 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 28 August 1998 Bruce Stadium Bill Harrigan 15,953
St. George Dragons 12–20 Canterbury Bulldogs 29 August 1998 Jubilee Oval Steve Clark 16,833
Parramatta Eels 25–12 North Sydney Bears 29 August 1998 Parramatta Stadium Kelvin Jeffes 16,033
Melbourne Storm 12–26 Sydney City Roosters 30 August 1998 Olympic Park Paul McBlane 18,247
Semi Finals
North Sydney Bears 2–23 Canterbury Bulldogs 4 September 1998 North Sydney Oval Bill Harrigan 18,718
Melbourne Storm 24–10 Canberra Raiders 5 September 1998 Olympic Park Steve Clark 12,592
Newcastle Knights 15–26 Sydney City Roosters 5 September 1998 Marathon Stadium Kelvin Jeffes 26,482
Brisbane Broncos 10–15 Parramatta Eels 6 September 1998 ANZ Stadium Paul McBlane 21,172
Preliminary Finals
Newcastle Knights 16–28 Canterbury Bulldogs 12 September 1998 Sydney Football Stadium* Steve Clark 24,449
Brisbane Broncos 30–6 Melbourne Storm 13 September 1998 Sydney Football Stadium* Bill Harrigan 20,354
Finals
Sydney City Roosters 18–46 Brisbane Broncos 19 September 1998 ANZ Stadium Steve Clark 28,374
Parramatta Eels 20–32 Canterbury Bulldogs 20 September 1998 Sydney Football Stadium Bill Harrigan 36,841

Grand final

Post season

Brisbane's consistent dominance over other teams at this period of time contributed to the National Rugby League's plans to cut the number of teams down to 14 in order to ensure competitiveness and the long-term financial success of the game.[6]

Despite the inclusion of "national" in the new competition's name, both the Gold Coast and Adelaide clubs folded at the end of the 1998 season. A new Gold Coast side re-entered the competition nine years later in 2007.

1998 was the last season for the seventy-eight-year-old St. George Dragons and seventeen-year-old Illawarra Steelers clubs, which merged to form the NRL's first joint-venture team at the conclusion of the season, the St George Illawarra Dragons, for inclusion in the 1999 Premiership.

References

  1. ↑ Toby Miller; Geoffrey A. Lawrence; Jim McKay (2001). Globalization and sport: playing the world. SAGE. p. 82. ISBN 9780761959694.
  2. ↑ Harms, John (2005). The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780702235368.
  3. ↑ NRL 1998 - Grand Final at rugbyleagueproject.org
  4. ↑ Brisbane 38 v Canterbury 12 - Grand Final, 1998 at stats.rleague.com
  5. ↑ 1998 National Rugby League Grand Final at rleague.com
  6. ↑ "Broncos, Dragons: two fallen powerhouses". The Roar. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
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