National Rugby League season 2000

Infobox rugby league season
year = 2000
competition = National Rugby League


imagesize = 125px
caption =
teams = 14
premiers =
count = 5th
minor premiers =
mpcount = 4th
matches = 191
points = 8050
attendance = 2902227
top points scorer = (224)
top try scorer = (25)The year 2000 saw the third season of the National Rugby League competition, the 93rd season of professional rugby league football in Australia. The Brisbane Broncos claimed their fifth premiership in nine seasons, defeating the Sydney Roosters in the last grand final played during the afternoon. It was the Roosters' first grand final appearance since 1980.

eason summary

The season began in early February to accommodate the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games which were to be held during September and required the use of Stadium Australia, the grand final venue. The grand final was scheduled for late August, the first grand final in that month since 1963. The capacity of Stadium Australia for the grand final was limited due to preparations for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, which would take place just nineteen days later.

The season saw the debut of the Wests Tigers (formerly the Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies) and Northern Eagles (formerly Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and North Sydney Bears) in the National Rugby League, thereby completing the rationalisation process from 20 teams in 1998 to 14 in 2000. The Auckland Warriors were re-branded the New Zealand Warriors at the end of the season and the South Sydney Rabbitohs were excluded from the competition.

Throughout the month of February, mandatory breaks in play at the 20th and 60th minute of the game were implemented to allow players to rehydrate themselves. Due to concerns over the summer heat, the Brisbane and North Queensland clubs played their first four games away from home.

The Cowboys were stripped of two competition points after it was later revealed that they unwittingly used a fourteenth player for three minutes in their 26-18 win against the Parramatta Eels, due to an error in interchanging players.

Teams

For the 2000 season, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs changed their name once again, this time to the geographically indistinct "Bulldogs".

Grand Final

The Brisbane Broncos were favourites heading into the match with the Sydney Roosters as underdogs. The Broncos were competiton favourites for most of the season after leading the competiton every round since round 4. It was the fifth Grand Final in nine years for the Broncos while it was the first Grand Final appearance for the Roosters in twenty years.

The Sydney club started the game with a flurry but it was an ominous sign when Shannon Hegarty lost the ball over the Broncos tryline in the third minute. Lote Tuqiri crossed first after 16 minutes to help Brisbane to a 10-2 half-time lead.

Sydney were unlucky not to have an early lead only 3 minutes in when Shannon Hegarty got over the line but good cover defence by Brisbane fullback Darren Lockyer stopped them from scoring. The Broncos opened the scoring with a penalty goal to make it 2-0 at the 12th minute. Four minutes later, Lote Tuqiri scored the first try of the Grand Final which was converted to make it 8-0 in Brisbane's favour. Michael De Vere extended his side's lead out to 10-0 in the 27th minute. The Roosters opened their scoring in the 35th minute with a penaltry goal to make it 10-2 and it remained that scoreline until halftime.

In the first minute of play after the break, Broncos five-eighth Ben Ikin got hit late with a high shot and went to the bench missing twenty minutes of the second half. Brisbane had a chance to go ten in front with a penalty goal but missed marginally. However the Broncos extended their lead to 14-2 when Wendell Sailor scored in the 55th but the conversion was unsuccessful. Craig Fitzgibbon got Sydney's first try of the match in the 70th minute to give the Roosters a glimmer of hope but the conversion was unsuccessful.

Michael Hancock and Kevin Walters became the only two Broncos to appear in all of Brisbane's first five premiership victories.

Brisbane 14 (Tries: Tuqiri, Sailor; Goals: De Vere 3/5)

Sydney 6 (Tries: Fitzgibbon; Goals: Phillips 1/1, Fitzgibbon 0/1)

Clive Churchill Medal: Darren Lockyer (Brisbane)

External links & references

* [http://www.nrl.com NRL official website]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s96345.htm NRL CEO David Moffat discusses the Tom Jones ad]