1999 NRL season

1999 NRL season
Teams	17
Premiers	Melbourne (1st title)
Minor premiers	Cronulla-Sutherland (2nd title)
Matches played	213
Points scored	8857 (total) 41.582 (per match)
Attendance	3,273,372 (total) 15,368 (per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Matt Geyer (242)
Top try scorer(s)	Nathan Blacklock (24)

The 1999 NRL season was the 92nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be run by the National Rugby League. Seventeen teams competed for the NRL Premiership during the season which culminated in a grand final between the first grand final played at Stadium Australia. The St George Illawarra Dragons became the first joint-venture club to appear in the grand final, which was against the Melbourne Storm, who won the premiership in only their second season.

Season summary

The 1999 National Rugby League season was historic for many reasons. The St George Illawarra Dragons played their inaugural game after forming the League's first joint venture, losing 10-20 to the Parramatta Eels. That game was the second of a double header, which was the first event to be held at Sydney's Stadium Australia, the central venue for the Olympic Games the following year. That game attracted a rugby league world record of 104,583 spectators.

During the season, the members of the Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies voted to form another joint venture, to be named the Wests Tigers. After the conclusion of the season, the South Sydney Rabbitohs and North Sydney Bears were excluded from the premiership. The Bears would later form the game's third joint venture with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, whilst South Sydney would fight a two-year legal battle for reinclusion.

In August the NRL's CEO Neil Whittaker announced that he would resign at the end of the season. ^[1]

The defending premiers, Brisbane endured their worst ever start to a season, with just one win and a draw from their first ten games, however they would miracuously recover and record 10 wins in a row before hitting a few hurdles along the way, including a draw against Manly in round 24 and a loss against then-bogey team Parramatta at home in round 25. Their champion halfback and captain Allan Langer retired mid-season as a result. The Newcastle Knights also lost an iconic player when 1997 premiership captain Paul Harragon retired mid-season due to a chronic knee injury. The Melbourne Storm's premiership victory saw their captain Glenn Lazarus become the only player to ever win grand finals for three different clubs.

Cliff Lyons, making a comeback from retirement for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, was the oldest player in the NRL in 1999.^[2]

Teams

Auckland Warriors 5th season Ground: Ericsson Stadium Coach: Mark Graham Captain: Matthew Ridge → John Simon			Balmain Tigers 92nd season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Wayne Pearce Captain: Darren Senter			Brisbane Broncos 12th season Ground: ANZ Stadium Coach: Wayne Bennett Captain: Allan Langer → Kevin Walters			Canberra Raiders 18th season Ground: Bruce Stadium Coach: Mal Meninga Captain: Laurie Daley
Canterbury Bulldogs 65th season Ground: Stadium Australia Coach: Steve Folkes Captain: Darren Britt			Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 33rd season Ground: Shark Park Coach: John Lang Captain: Andrew Ettinghausen			Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 53rd season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Peter Sharp Captain: Geoff Toovey			Melbourne Storm 2nd season Ground: Olympic Park Stadium Coach: Chris Anderson Captain: Glenn Lazarus
Newcastle Knights 12th season Ground: Marathon Stadium Coach: Warren Ryan Captain: Paul Harragon → Tony Butterfield			North Queensland Cowboys 5th season Ground: Malanda Stadium Coach: Tim Sheens Captain: Noel Goldthorpe			North Sydney Bears 92nd season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Peter Louis → Keiran Dempsey Captain: Jason Taylor			Parramatta Eels 53rd season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Brian Smith Captain: Jarrod McCracken & Nathan Cayless
Penrith Panthers 33rd season Ground: Penrith Stadium Coach: Royce Simmons Captain: Steve Carter				Sydney City Roosters 92nd season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Phil Gould Captain: Brad Fittler				South Sydney Rabbitohs 92nd season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Craig Coleman Captain: Sean Garlick
	St. George Illawarra Dragons 1st season Ground: Kogarah Oval & WIN Stadium Coach: David Waite & Andrew Farrar Captain: Paul McGregor					Western Suburbs Magpies 92nd season Ground: Campbelltown Stadium Coach: Tommy Raudonikis Captain: Steve Georgallis

Advertising

In a move that polarised some fans, the NRL in its 1999 promotional campaign focussed on the game's grass roots supporters who perhaps had been overlooked and pained in the trauma of the Super League war. Sydney advertising agency VCD, in the third year of their four-year tenure with the NRL, produced an advertisement featuring Thomas Keneally reading his poem, "Ode to Rugby League", which had been commissioned by the NRL. It speaks of the innocent excitement that begins each season. The ad was used at season launch and there was minimal media budget to support it throughout the year. Keneally is a long time supporter of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

“	We go to the cupboard, we take out club colours. And the air sings. The season's close. Our boys are running up sandhills, their legs pump. This season, this season, this is our season. This year we all start equal. Kids paint signs, and I am seven again. I know I will see heroes soon. I feel the excitement. I have hope in March, and I might share in the glory of September. Blow that whistle, ref. Send that ball soaring. Blow that whistle, ref.	”
—Thomas Kenneally [3]

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Cronulla-Sutherland	24	18	0	6	2	586	332	+254	40
2	Parramatta	24	17	0	7	2	500	294	+206	38
3	Melbourne	24	16	0	8	2	639	392	+247	36
4	Sydney City	24	16	0	8	2	592	377	+215	36
5	Canterbury	24	15	1	8	2	520	462	+58	35
6	St. George Illawarra	24	15	0	9	2	588	416	+172	34
7	Newcastle	24	14	1	9	2	575	484	+91	33
8	Brisbane	24	13	2	9	2	510	368	+142	32
9	Canberra	24	13	1	10	2	618	439	+179	31
10	Penrith	24	11	1	12	2	492	428	+64	27
11	Auckland	24	10	0	14	2	538	498	+40	24
12	South Sydney	24	10	0	14	2	349	556	-207	24
13	Manly-Warringah	24	9	1	14	2	454	623	-169	23
14	North Sydney	24	8	0	16	2	490	642	-152	20
15	Balmain	24	8	0	16	2	345	636	-291	20
16	North Queensland	24	4	1	19	2	398	588	-190	13
17	Western Suburbs	24	3	0	21	2	285	944	-659	10

Ladder progression

• Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.
• Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
• Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round
• Numbers underlined indicate the team had a bye in that round

	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	Cronulla-Sutherland	2	4	6	8	10	12	12	14	16	18	20	22	22	24	24	26	26	26	28	30	30	32	34	36	38	40
2	Parramatta	2	4	4	6	6	6	8	8	10	12	14	14	16	18	18	20	22	24	26	28	30	32	34	34	36	38
3	Melbourne	2	2	4	6	6	8	8	10	12	14	16	18	18	18	18	20	22	22	24	26	28	30	32	34	34	36
4	Sydney City	0	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	14	16	18	20	22	22	24	24	24	26	28	30	30	32	32	34	34	36
5	Canterbury	0	2	4	4	6	6	8	10	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	22	22	24	24	26	28	30	32	33	35	35
6	St. George Illawarra	0	0	2	2	4	6	8	8	10	10	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	24	26	28	28	30	30	30	32	34
7	Newcastle	2	2	2	4	6	6	8	9	9	11	13	13	15	17	19	21	23	25	27	29	29	29	31	33	33	33
8	Brisbane	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	3	3	3	5	7	9	11	13	15	17	19	21	23	25	27	29	30	30	32
9	Canberra	2	2	2	4	6	8	8	9	11	11	11	13	13	15	17	17	19	21	21	21	23	25	27	29	29	31
10	Penrith	0	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	14	16	16	16	18	18	20	20	20	20	20	20	22	24	24	25	27	27
11	Auckland	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	6	6	6	8	8	8	10	10	12	14	14	14	14	16	16	18	20	22	24
12	South Sydney	2	4	4	6	8	8	8	8	10	10	12	14	16	16	18	18	20	22	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24
13	Manly-Warringah	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	6	6	8	8	10	10	10	10	12	14	16	18	18	20	21	23	23
14	North Sydney	2	4	6	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	12	14	14	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	18	20
15	Balmain	0	2	4	4	6	6	8	10	10	12	12	12	12	12	14	16	16	16	16	16	18	18	18	20	20	20
16	North Queensland	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	5	7	7	7	9	9	9	9	9	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	13	13
17	Western Suburbs	0	2	2	2	2	4	6	6	6	6	6	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

Finals

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Qualifying Finals
Sydney City Roosters	8–12	Canterbury Bulldogs	3 September 1999	Sydney Football Stadium	Sean Hampstead	23,478
Melbourne Storm	10–34	St George Illawarra Dragons	4 September 1999	Olympic Park	Steve Clark	22,053
Parramatta Eels	30–16	Newcastle Knights	4 September 1999	Parramatta Stadium	Bill Harrigan	15,653
Cronulla Sharks	42–20	Brisbane Broncos	5 September 1999	Shark Park	Tim Mander	13,713
Semi Finals
St George Illawarra Dragons	28–18	Sydney City Roosters	11 September 1999	Sydney Football Stadium	Bill Harrigan	31,506
Canterbury Bulldogs	22–24	Melbourne Storm	12 September 1999	Sydney Football Stadium	Steve Clark	20,075
Preliminary Finals
Parramatta Eels	16–18	Melbourne Storm	18 September 1999	Sydney Football Stadium	Bill Harrigan	27,555
Cronulla Sharks	8–24	St George Illawarra Dragons	19 September 1999	Stadium Australia	Steve Clark	51,827
Grand Final
St George Illawarra Dragons	18–20	Melbourne Storm	26 September 1999	Stadium Australia	Bill Harrigan	107,999

Grand Final

Melbourne Storm	Position	St. George Illawarra
Robbie Ross	FB	Luke Patten
Craig Smith	WG	Jamie Ainscough
Aaron Moule	CE	Paul McGregor (c)
Tony Martin	CE	Shaun Timmins
Marcus Bai	WG	Nathan Blacklock
Matt Geyer	FE	Anthony Mundine
Brett Kimmorley	HB	Trent Barrett
Glenn Lazarus (c)	PR	Craig Smith
Richard Swain	HK	Nathan Brown
Rodney Howe	PR	Chris Leikvoll
Stephen Kearney	SR	Lance Thompson
Paul Marquet	SR	Darren Treacy
Tawera Nikau	LK	Wayne Bartrim
Matt Rua	Bench	Craig Fitzgibbon
Russell Bawden	Bench	Rod Wishart
Ben Roarty	Bench	Brad Mackay
Danny Williams	Bench	Colin Ward
Chris Anderson	Coach	David Waite Andrew Farrar

A new rugby league world record crowd of 107,999 was at Stadium Australia for the Grand Final. Pre-match entertainment featured Hugh Jackman's rendition of the national anthem.

The Dragons were up 14-0 at half time, with a converted try and penalty goal to Craig Fitzgibbon (who would later eventually play in four grand finals for the Roosters, winning in his second of four attempts at the club and also winning the Clive Churchill Medal in 2002), and a converted try to Nathan Blacklock. However, an Anthony Mundine knock-on over the try line early in the second half proved to be a major turning point in the match, with Melbourne running in tries through Tony Martin and Ben Roarty and winger Craig Smith kicking two penalty goals. An unconverted try to Dragons captain Paul McGregor couldn't stem Melbourne's momentum, with Craig Smith kicking the Storm to within four points of the Dragons at 18-14.

In the 77th minute the Storm forced the Dragons to a goal line dropout. Melbourne's halfback Brett Kimmorley then bombed to Craig Smith's wing. Dragons centre Jamie Ainscough, anticipating a Melbourne try, caught Smith in a head-high tackle over the try-line, resulting in Smith knocking on. Referee Bill Harrigan requested video referee Chris Ward adjudicate on the decision. In one of the most controversial grand final incidents,^[4] the Melbourne Storm were granted a penalty try, drawing them level with the Dragons. Being a penalty try, the subsequent conversion was taken from directly in front of the posts. Matt Geyer was successful in the conversion and the Storm, for the first time in the match, pulled ahead of the Dragons and took out their first grand final 20-18.

The Storm thus became the quickest expansion team to win a premiership, eclipsing the Canterbury side who won the 1938 premiership in just their fourth season. It was the last game of champion prop and captain Glenn Lazarus, who retired after a remarkable fifth grand final victory (having won premierships with the Canberra Raiders in 1989 and 1990 and with the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 and 1993). The Storm would subsequently win two more Grand Finals before a salary cap breach revealed in 2010 rendered those two Grand Final wins invalid.

For traditional St George fans the loss was hard to take. The Dragons were unsuccessful in their four previous visits to the grand final (1985, 1992, 1993 and 1996) and had not won a premiership since 1979. It wouldn't be until another eleven years that the Dragons would again return to the big dance, when they defeated the Sydney Roosters by 32-8.

20	Melbourne Storm
Tries	1 Martin 1 Roarty 1 Smith (pen.)
Goals	3/4 Smith 1/1 Geyer
Field Goals
18	St George Illawarra Dragons
Tries	1 Fitzgibbon 1 Blacklock 1 McGregor
Goals	2/3 Bartrim 1/1 Fitzgibbon
Field Goals

Clive Churchill Medal: Brett Kimmorley

The grand final attracted a television viewership of over 600,000 in Melbourne.^[5]

To date this also remains Melbourne's only premiership, after their 2007 and 2009 titles were stripped following mass salary cap breaches disclosed in 2010.

References & links

1. ^ sportsillustrated.cnn.com (1999-08-13). "NRL boss Neil Whittaker quits". CNN Sports Illustrated (Australia: Reuters). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/rugby/news/1999/08/13/nrl_boss_quits/. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
2. ^ Toohey, Barry (2 February 2011). "Still some bite in old Mad Dog". The Daily Telegraph (Australia: News Limited). http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/still-some-bite-in-old-mad-dog/story-e6frfgbo-1225998290314. Retrieved 2 February 2011. 
3. ^ Mahoney, Blair (2009). Poetry Reloaded. Australia: Cambridge University Press. pp. 72. ISBN 0521746612, 9780521746618. http://books.google.com/books?id=Qpt7nNPK8FUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
4. ^ ANZ Stadium - Event Highlights at anzstadium.com.au
5. ^ Cockerill, Ian (1999-10-03). "Eye of the Storm". The Sunday Age: pp. 4. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=smh&docID=news991004_0014_7918. Retrieved 2009-10-06. 

• Rugby League Tables - Notes
• 1999 NRL season at Rugby League Tables
• Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
• Interview NRL Marketing Director Mark Wallace Thomas Kenneally poem