1999 NRL season

1999 National Rugby League
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. With the exclusion of the Adelaide Rams and Gold Coast Chargers, and the merger of the St. George Dragons and Illawarra Steelers, seventeen teams competed for the NRL Premiership during the 1999 season, which culminated in the first grand final to be played at Stadium Australia. The St George Illawarra Dragons, the first joint-venture club to appear in the grand final, played 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.

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.

Teams

The exclusion of the Adelaide Rams and Gold Coast Chargers, and the merger of the St. George Dragons and Illawarra Steelers, saw a reduction in the League's teams from twenty to seventeen: the largest reduction in the number of teams in premiership history and the first reduction since the exclusion of Sydney's Newtown Jets at the end of the 1983 season.

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 longtime 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

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	18	0	6	2	586	332	+254	40
2	Parramatta Eels	24	17	0	7	2	500	294	+206	38
3	Melbourne Storm (P)	24	16	0	8	2	639	392	+247	36
4	Sydney City Roosters	24	16	0	8	2	592	377	+215	36
5	Canterbury Bulldogs	24	15	1	8	2	520	462	+58	35
6	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24	15	0	9	2	588	416	+172	34
7	Newcastle Knights	24	14	1	9	2	575	484	+91	33
8	Brisbane Broncos	24	13	2	9	2	510	368	+142	32
9	Canberra Raiders	24	13	1	10	2	618	439	+179	31
10	Penrith Panthers	24	11	1	12	2	492	428	+64	27
11	Auckland Warriors	24	10	0	14	2	538	498	+40	24
12	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	10	0	14	2	349	556	-207	24
13	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24	9	1	14	2	454	623	-169	23
14	North Sydney Bears	24	8	0	16	2	490	642	-152	20
15	Balmain Tigers	24	8	0	16	2	345	636	-291	20
16	16x16px North Queensland Cowboys	24	4	1	19	2	398	588	-190	13
17	Western Suburbs Magpies	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	File:North Queensland colours.svg 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 series

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

Chart

	Qualifying Finals					Semi Finals					Preliminary Finals					Grand Final
	1	Cronulla	42
	8	Brisbane	20
											1W	Cronulla	8
	2	Parramatta	30			4W	St. George Illawarra	28				St. George Illawarra	24
	7	Newcastle	16			2L	Sydney City	18									St. George Illawarra	18
																	Melbourne	20
	3	Melbourne	10								2W	Parramatta	16
	6	St. George Illawarra	34			3W	Canterbury	22				Melbourne	18
						1L	Melbourne	24
	4	Sydney City	8
	5	Canterbury	12

Grand Final

Main article: 1999 NRL Grand Final

Sunday, 26 September

Melbourne Storm	20 - 18	St. George-Illawarra Dragons
Tries: Tony Martin, Ben Roarty, Craig Smith Goals: Craig Smith (3/4), Matt Geyer (1/1)	Report	Tries: Nathan Blacklock, Craig Fitzgibbon, Paul McGregor Goals: Wayne Bartrim (2/3), Craig Fitzgibbon (1/1)

Telstra Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 107,999 Referee/s: Bill Harrigan Man of the Match: Brett Kimmorley

References & links

• 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