2000 NRL season

2000 National Rugby League
Teams 14
Premiers Brisbane (4th title)
Minor premiers Brisbane (3rd title)
Matches played 191
Points scored 8050 (total)
42.147 (per match)
Attendance 2,959,390 (total)
15,494 (per match)
Top point scorer(s) Joel Caine (224)
Top try scorer(s) Nathan Blacklock (25)
Player of the year Trent Barrett (Dally M Medal)

The 2000 NRL season was the 93rd season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the third to be run by the National Rugby League. Fourteen teams competed from February till August for the NRL Premiership, culminating in the 2000 NRL Grand final between the Brisbane Broncos and the Sydney Roosters.

Season summary

The 2000 National Rugby League season started with a new CEO in rugby union's David Moffett who replaced Neil Whittaker in late 1999.[1]

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.

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.

Melbourne Storm players Stephen Kearney and Marcus Bai ended the career of Wests Tigers captain Jarrod McCracken with a spear tackle. Kearney was suspended for 8 matches and Bai for 2 matches. The two men were also sued by McCraken, who won a six-figure damages bill.

The Canberra Raiders and the Wests Tigers became the first teams to play a premiership game in the snow. It occurred at Bruce Stadium on 18 May and it is the only premiership game played in these conditions.

Teams

The season saw the debut of the Wests Tigers (formed by the merging of the Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies) and Northern Eagles (formed by the merging of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and North Sydney Bears) in the National Rugby League. In addition, the South Sydney Rabbitohs were excluded from the competition, thereby completing the NRL's rationalisation process from 20 teams in 1998 to 14 in 2000.

For the 2000 season, the Canterbury Bulldogs changed their name again, this time to the geographically indistinct "Bulldogs" and the Auckland Warriors were re-branded the New Zealand Warriors at the end of the season.

Auckland Warriors
6th season
Ground: Ericsson Stadium
Coach: Mark Graham
Captain: John Simon		 Brisbane Broncos
13th season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Kevin Walters		 Bulldogs
66th season
Ground: Stadium Australia
Coach: Steve Folkes
Captain: Darren Britt		 Canberra Raiders
19th season
Ground: Bruce Stadium
Coach: Mal Meninga
Captain: Laurie Daley
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
34th season
Ground: Shark Park
Coach: John Lang
Captain: Andrew Ettinghausen		 Melbourne Storm
3rd season
Ground: Olympic Park Stadium & Melbourne Cricket Ground
Coach: Chris Anderson
Captain: Robbie Kearns		 Newcastle Knights
13th season
Ground: Marathon Stadium
Coach: Warren Ryan
Captain: Tony Butterfield		 North Queensland Cowboys
6th season

Ground: Dairy Farmers Stadium
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Noel Goldthorpe / Tim Brasher
Northern Eagles
1st season
Ground: Brookvale Oval & NorthPower Stadium
Coach: Peter Sharp
Captain: Geoff Toovey		 Parramatta Eels
54th season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Nathan Cayless		 Penrith Panthers
34th season
Ground: Penrith Stadium
Coach: Royce Simmons
Captain: Steve Carter		 Sydney Roosters
93rd season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Graham Murray
Captain: Brad Fittler
St. George Illawarra Dragons
2nd season
Ground: WIN Stadium & Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: David Waite & Andrew Farrar
Captain: Craig Smith		 Wests Tigers
1st season
Ground: Campbelltown Stadium & Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Wayne Pearce
Captain: Jarrod McCracken

Advertising

For the first time since farewelling Tina Turner in 1995 the NRL used a major recording star in its promotional campaign and accessed a media budget that saw the launch ad shown regularly throughout the season. Sydney advertising agency VCD in the last of their four-year tenure on the NRL account shot an ad with Tom Jones performing on stage alongside hi-kicking female dancers,[2] the 1993 Salt-N-Pepa hit Whatta Man with lyrics re-worked as "What A Game".

Records and statistics

Ladder

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Brisbane Broncos (P) 261826696388+30838
2 Sydney Roosters 2616010601520+8132
3 Newcastle Knights 2615110686532+15431
4 Canberra Raiders 2615011506479+2730
5 Penrith Panthers 2615011573562+1130
6 Melbourne Storm 2614111672529+14329
7 Parramatta Eels 2614111476456+2029
8 Sharks 2613013570463+10726
9 St George Illawarra Dragons 2612014576656-8024
10 Wests Tigers 2611213519642-12324
11 Bulldogs 2610115469553-8421
12 Northern Eagles 269017476628-15218
13 Auckland Warriors 268216426662-23618
14 North Queensland Cowboys 267019436612-17612

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 Brisbane 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 15 16 18 18 20 20 22 22 24 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 38
2 Sydney 2 2 4 4 6 6 8 8 10 10 12 14 16 16 16 18 18 20 22 24 26 26 26 28 30 32
3 Newcastle 0 2 4 5 5 7 9 9 9 11 11 13 13 13 15 17 19 21 21 23 23 25 25 27 29 31
4 Canberra 2 4 6 6 8 8 8 10 10 12 12 12 12 14 16 16 18 20 22 24 24 24 26 26 28 30
5 Penrith 2 4 4 6 6 8 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 22 24 24 26 26 28 30
6 Melbourne 0 0 0 0 2 4 6 6 8 9 11 13 15 15 17 18 19 19 19 21 23 25 25 27 27 29
7 Parramatta 0 0 2 2 2 4 4 5 7 9 11 11 11 13 15 15 17 19 21 21 21 23 25 27 27 29
8 Cronulla 2 4 4 4 6 8 8 10 10 10 12 12 12 14 14 16 16 18 20 22 22 22 24 24 26 26
9 St. George Illawarra 0 2 2 2 2 2 4 6 8 10 10 12 12 14 14 14 14 16 18 18 20 22 22 22 24 24
10 Wests Tigers 1 3 3 5 7 9 9 10 12 14 14 14 16 18 18 20 20 20 20 20 22 24 24 24 24 24
11 Bulldogs 0 0 2 4 6 6 6 6 8 9 11 11 13 15 15 15 17 17 17 17 17 17 19 21 21 21
12 Northern Eagles 2 2 4 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 10 12 12 12 12 14 14 14 14 16 18 18 18 18 18
13 Auckland 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 5 5 6 8 10 10 10 12 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 16 16 18
14 North Queensland 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 4 4 4 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 12 12 12 12

Finals series

The biggest upset of the 2000 Finals series was in the 3rd Qualifying Final when 7th placed Parramatta Eels beat 2nd placed Sydney Roosters 32-8 at the SFS. It was nearly a similar story for Minor Premiers' the Brisbane Broncos when they came from 20-6 down at halftime to win 34-20 against 8th placed Cronulla Sharks in the 4th Qualifying Final at QSAC. Sydney also made a famous comeback when they came from 16-2 down at halftime to win 26-20 against the Newcastle Knights in the 1st Preliminary Final at the SFS to earn a spot in the Grand Final against Brisbane.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Qualifying Finals
Canberra Raiders 34–16 Penrith Panthers 4 August 2000 Bruce Stadium Steve Clark 18,479
Newcastle Knights 30–16 Melbourne Storm 5 August 2000 Marathon Stadium Tim Mander 20,597
Sydney Roosters 8–32 Parramatta Eels 5 August 2000 Sydney Football Stadium Bill Harrigan 21,377
Brisbane Broncos 34–20 Cronulla Sharks 6 August 2000 ANZ Stadium Paul Simpkins 25,831
Semi Finals
Parramatta Eels 28–10 Penrith Panthers 12 August 2000 Sydney Football Stadium Bill Harrigan 25,746
Canberra Raiders 10–38 Sydney Roosters 13 August 2000 Sydney Football Stadium Tim Mander 16,441
Preliminary Finals
Newcastle Knights 20–26 Sydney Roosters 19 August 2000 Sydney Football Stadium Bill Harrigan 33,727
Brisbane Broncos 16–10 Parramatta Eels 20 August 2000 Stadium Australia Tim Mander 31,087

Chart

  Qualifying Finals Semi Finals Preliminary Finals Grand Final
                                     
1   Brisbane 34
8   Cronulla 20
  1W   Brisbane 16  
2   Sydney 8   4W   Parramatta 28       Parramatta 10    
7   Parramatta 32   2L   Penrith 10           Brisbane 14
        Sydney 6
3   Newcastle 30         2W   Newcastle 20    
6   Melbourne 16   3W   Canberra 10       Sydney 26  
  1L   Sydney 38  
4   Canberra 34
5   Penrith 16

Grand final

Main article: 2000 NRL Grand final
Sunday, 27 August
Brisbane Broncos 14 -6 Sydney Roosters
2 Tries:
Wendell Sailor
Lote Tuqiri

3 Goals:
Michael De Vere (3/5)		 Report 1 Try:
Craig Fitzgibbon


1 Goal
Luke Phillips (1/1)
Stadium Australia, Sydney
Attendance: 94,277[4]
Referee/s: Bill Harrigan
Man of the Match: Darren Lockyer

References

  1. ↑ Hadfield, Dave (30 November 1999). "Moffett insists conversion is no miracle". The Independent. UK: Independent News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  2. ↑ Mealey, Rachel (2000-01-29). "Tom Jones the new voice of NRL". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  3. ↑ Proszenko, Adrian (6 May 2012). "Gallen set to smash record". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  4. ↑ D'Souza, Miguel. "Grand Final History". wwos.ninemsn.com.au. AAP. Retrieved 8 September 2013.

External links

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