2009 NRL season

2009 National Rugby League
Teams 16
Premiers Melbourne Storm[1]
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 Grand Final 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.

Season summary

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 first game saw St George Illawarra come away with a 37-0 win in front of 17,974, while the next weeks Qualifying final saw Parramatta reverse the result with a 25-12 win in front of 18,174.

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. Their Grand Final opponents, the Melbourne Storm, were playing in their fourth straight Grand Final and were looking for their third premiership having previously won in 1999 and 2007.

In 2009, NRL games on New Zealand's Sky network drew average audiences of 46,221.[5]

Records set in 2009

Advertising

Keen to speak to its grass roots following in light of the AFL's aggressive expansion in rugby league's suburban heartland the NRL and its agency MJW Hakuhodo created a TVC which tells the story of junior rugby league players enjoying the game and perhaps becoming stars of the future. The commercial featured two young boys playing league in a suburban park. As they contest the game, they morph into stars of the League as a packed stadium emerges around them. Seven-year-old Penrith junior Cameron Lloyd and 14-year-old La Perouse junior Alex Johnston play the main roles in the campaign with Johnson morphing into Melbourne's Greg Inglis scoring a try in corner in a big match. Announcing the 2009 launch TVC

The ad's strapline was "Feel It" and the soundtrack a re-worked version of 2008 Australian Idol winner Wes Carr's "Feels Like Whoa."

Teams

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.

Brisbane Broncos
22nd season
Ground: Suncorp Stadium
Coach: Ivan Henjak
Captain: Darren Lockyer
Bulldogs
75th season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: Kevin Moore
Captain: Andrew Ryan		 Canberra Raiders
28th season
Ground: Canberra Stadium
Coach: David Furner
Captain: Alan Tongue		 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
43rd season
Ground: Toyota Stadium
Coach: Ricky Stuart
Captain: Paul Gallen → Trent Barrett
Gold Coast Titans
3rd season
Ground: Skilled Park
Coach: John Cartwright
Captain: Scott Prince & Luke Bailey		 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
60th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Des Hasler
Captain: Matt Orford		 Melbourne Storm
12th season
Ground Olympic Park Stadium
Coach: Craig Bellamy
Captain: Cameron Smith
Newcastle Knights
22nd season
Ground: EnergyAustralia Stadium
Coach: Brian Smith → Rick Stone
Captain: Kurt Gidley
New Zealand Warriors
15th season
Ground: Mt Smart Stadium
Coach: Ivan Cleary
Captain: Steve Price		 North Queensland Cowboys
15th season
Ground: Dairy Farmers Stadium
Coach: Neil Henry
Captain: Johnathan Thurston		 Parramatta Eels
63rd season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Daniel Anderson
Captain: Nathan Cayless
Penrith Panthers
43rd season
Ground: CUA Stadium
Coach: Matthew Elliott
Captain: Petero Civoniceva
South Sydney Rabbitohs
100th season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: Jason Taylor
Captain: Roy Asotasi		 Sydney Roosters
102nd season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Brad Fittler
Captain: Braith Anasta
St. George Illawarra Dragons
11th season
Ground: WIN Jubilee Oval & WIN Stadium
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Ben Hornby		 Wests Tigers
10th season
Grounds: Campbelltown Stadium
& Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Robbie Farah

Ladder

Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 St. George Illawarra 2417072548329+21938
2 Bulldogs 2418062575428+14738*
3 Gold Coast 2416082514467+4736
4 Melbourne (P) *stripped 2414192505348+15733
5 Manly-Warringah 24140102549439+9032
6 Brisbane 24140102511566−5532
7 Newcastle 24130112508491+1730
8 Parramatta 24121112476473+329
9 Wests Tigers 24120122558483+7528
10 South Sydney 24111122566549+1727
11 Penrith 24111122515589−7427
12 North Queensland 24110132558474+8426
13 Canberra 2490152489510−3122
14 New Zealand 2472152377545−18820
15 Cronulla-Sutherland 2450192359568−20914
16 Sydney Roosters 2450192382681−29914

* Bulldogs stripped of 2 competition points after an interchange breach in round 2

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 St. George Illawarra 02 4 6 88 10 12 12 14 16 18 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 36 36 36 38
2 Bulldogs 22 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 22 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 00 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 00 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 00 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

Finals series

The NRL finals series adopted 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
  Qualifying Finals Semi Finals Preliminary Finals Grand Final
                                     
1   St. George Illawarra 12
8   Parramatta 25
  1W   Canterbury 12  
2   Canterbury 26   4W   Parramatta 27         Parramatta 22    
7   Newcastle 12   2L   Gold Coast 2             Parramatta 16
          Melbourne 23
3   Gold Coast 32         2W   Melbourne 40    
6   Brisbane 40   3W   Brisbane 24         Brisbane 10  
  1L   St. George Illawarra 10  
4   Melbourne 40
5   Manly 12

Grand final

Main article: 2009 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 4 October
17:00
Melbourne Storm 23 – 16 Parramatta Eels
Tries:
Adam Blair
Ryan Hoffman
Greg Inglis
Billy Slater
Goals:
Cameron Smith (3/4)
Field goals:
Greg Inglis (1/1)		 Report Tries:
Eric Grothe, Jr.
Fuifui Moimoi
Joel Reddy

Goals:
Luke Burt (2/3)
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 82,538
Referee/s: Tony Archer & Shayne Hayne
Man of the Match: Billy Slater

Club and Player records

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 Joe 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 Wests 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

Jarryd Hayne ran 4,429 metres with the ball in 2009, more than any other player in the competition.[7]

Attendance

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.[8]

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:

Crowd Venue Home Team Opponent Round
50,109 Suncorp Stadium
(Double Header)		 Brisbane Broncos
Bulldogs RLFC		 South Sydney Rabbitohs
Gold Coast Titans		 Round 19
45,022 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos North Queensland Cowboys Round 1
43,079 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Gold Coast Titans Round 10
42,435 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos St George Illawarra Dragons Round 4
41,835 ANZ Stadium Bulldogs RLFC New Zealand Warriors Round 25
36,647 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Melbourne Storm Round 2
35,112 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Canberra Raiders Round 26
34,272 Sydney Football Stadium Wests Tigers Parramatta Eels Round 24
32,456 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos New Zealand Warriors Round 17
31,664 ANZ Stadium Bulldogs RLFC Parramatta Eels Round 20
30,887 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Parramatta Eels Round 7
29,970 Sydney Cricket Ground Wests Tigers South Sydney Rabbitohs Round 10
28,926 Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Roosters St George Illawarra Dragons Round 7
27,527 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Round 9
26,353 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Bulldogs RLFC Round 14
26,336 Skilled Park Gold Coast Titans Brisbane Broncos Round 20
25,622 ANZ Stadium Bulldogs RLFC Wests Tigers Round 8
25,305 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Penrith Panthers Round 23
24,538 Mt Smart Stadium New Zealand Warriors Brisbane Broncos Round 3
24,486 Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Roosters South Sydney Rabbitohs Round 1
24,332 Dairy Farmers Stadium North Queensland Cowboys Brisbane Broncos Round 25

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stuart Honeysett and Brent Read (23 April 2010) Shocking end to the Melbourne Storm era The Australian
  2. ↑ "Melbourne Storm breach NRL Salary Cap". National Rugby League. 22 April 2010. Archived from the original on 25 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  3. ↑ McDonald, Margie (22 April 2010). "Melbourne Storm stripped of two rugby league titles over salary cap fraud". The Australian. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  4. ↑ Nicolussi, Christian (29 January 2009). "NRL coaches briefed on dual refereee system, content with concept". Fox Sports News (Australia). Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  5. ↑ Kilgallon, Steve (10 April 2011). "Kiwi TV viewers go cold on rugby codes". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Magnay, Jaquelin (5 September 2009). "Dragons finish on top with a gallop". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  7. ↑ Proszenko, Adrian (6 May 2012). "Gallen set to smash record". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  8. ↑ 2009 sees largest crowd figures in history.

External links

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