Home of the NRL - 100 plus years and still going strong

The 2009 season of the National Rugby League will mark the one hundred and second year of professional rugby league in Australia.

There will be 16 teams competing in the competition. The first match of the regular season starts on 13 March, 2009.



Brisbane Broncos

Bulldogs RLFC (formerly known as Canterbury Bulldogs)

Canberra Raiders

Cronulla Sharks (also known as Cronulla - Sutherland)

Gold Coast Titans

Manly Sea Eagles (also known as Manly - Warringah)

Melbourne Storm

Newcastle Knights

New Zealand Warriors (formerly known as Auckland Warriors)

North Queensland Cowboys

Parramatta Eels

Penrith Panthers

St. George Illawarra Dragons (amalgam of St. George Dragons & Illawarra Steelers)

South Sydney Rabbitohs (now joint-owned by Russell Crowe & Peter Holmes à Court)

Sydney Roosters (alternately styled East's after original name East Sydney Roosters)

Wests Tigers (amalgam of Western Suburbs Magpies & Balmain Tigers)



Go to: Toyota NRL Dream Team 2009



The game is played by 13 men per side, who take the field and contest their skill and strength against that of the opposing side for a period of 80 minutes, consisting of two 40 minute halves. There are an additional four men per side who make up the interchange bench, (or reserves), who can take the field at the coach's discretion, (usually to rest a tired player, or to break a deadlock)



Unlike some football codes, the numbers worn on the backs of the player guernseys actually indicate the place on the field at which the player starts the game...

Number & positions are as follows:

1. Fullback
2. Wing
3. Centre
4. Centre
5. Wing
6. Five-eighth
7. Half-back

These 7 are your BACKS. They consist of quick and athletic blokes, with the 5/8 and Half-back being your key men. They are the ‘first’ and ‘second’ receivers and control the teams offensive pattern.

8. Prop
9. Hooker
10. Prop
11. Second rower
12. Second rower
13. Lock

These 6 are your FORWARDS. Players of a taller, heavier, more muscular build, they form the primary defence against the opposing team.

Numbers 14 ~17 are reserved for those players starting off the bench. As mentioned before, they take the field at the coaches discretion, (a team is allowed 12 ‘interchanges’ a game). There can only be 13 players on a side at any time, if more than 13 are seen on the pitch, a penalty will be awarded to the other side, during play.




Scoring points consists of 4 methods:

TRY – act of planting the ball over the oppositions goal line. Results in 4 points being awarded.

TRY CONVERSION – after a try is scored, team is given a ‘bonus’ chance of gaining a further 2 points by kicking the ball (which is relative to where the try was scored) between the goal posts.

PENALTY GOAL – a penalty is given by the referee to a team, and the team chooses to ‘kick for goal’ which is also worth 2 points if successful

DROP GOAL – during a play, a player ‘drops’ the ball deliberately, that must make contact with the ground first, and then is kicked over the opposition goal posts. Worth 1 point.



Rugby League is a game of intricacies, a fine balance between running the ball and kicking. League is all about tactics and thus, kicking plays a huge role in our game.

There are basically 4 different types of kicks:

LINE DROP-OUTS which occur when the attacking team traps and tackles a defensive team in their own ingoal area. The following results in a ‘Goal Line Drop Out Kick’

KICKING FOR TOUCH (Sideline) resulting after a penalty

FIELD POSITION KICKS which include kicking for field position (usually on the 4th~5th tackle) and kicking for sidelines which result in a scrum where the ball goes over the sideline (the ball must bounce INSIDE the line, else a scrum will take place from where the kicker KICKED the ball), kicking for 40/20 (where if a kicker can kick the ball inside his own 40m line, and find the sidelines inside his opponents 20m sideline, scrum feed will go to the kicker’s team. Essentially, this is to reward the kicker for good play

ATTACKING KICKS which deserve a special section of its own, but basically a kick (usually when close to your opponents goal line) that is aimed so that your team scores a TRY.



26 players, or 13 players a side take the field.

Game is played in two 40minute halves. There is NO injury time or extra time given (except if scores are tied at the end of the game, but we’ll get to that). If the hooter goes at half or fulltime, the current play will be the final play until the player is tackled or you get a dead ball situation.

Play starts by one team kicking off from half way, to the opposition (and in the 2nd half, they swap ends and the other team kicks off instead).

SIX tackles per offensive run (barring a tackle count restart), a Tackle Count Restart is when the tackle count is RESTARTED from ZERO).

A tackle is completed when the player with the ball is HELD, basically, if the guy is swarmed by the defence and can’t move, or is taken to ground, he’s tackled. You’ll hear the ref shout ‘Hold/Surrender’.

Once a player is ‘HELD’/Tackled, he must stand up and play the ball. How does he do that you ask? We’ll, he simply stands up and places the ball on the ground, and rolls the ball with one leg behind him.

On defence, those who made the tackle must now get up and run back to their defensive line before the play of the ball is completed EXCEPT for TWO players, who can stand in front of the tackled player. They are referred to as MARKERS. They must stand directly in front of the person playing the ball, until the person playing at dummy half picks up the ball.

Lastly on defence, the remaining players must retire 10 metres BEFORE the PLAY of the BALL is complete (ie. Dummy half touches the ball), otherwise a penalty, favouring the attacking team could ensue.

As mentioned, an attacking team is allowed SIX tackles. If they can’t score or haven’t got rid of the ball before the 6th tackle is complete, a TURNOVER results.. which is exactly that – you TURN the ball OVER to the defensive side. CONVENTION is to kick the ball on the 5th (or LAST) tackle, thus to maximise field position gain. Attacking teams can kick the ball at ANY time.

Basically, there are a couple of rulings regarding In-Goal action, (btw: In Goal refers to the goal area of each team….)

TOUCH IN-GOAL In this instance Touch refers to the sideline/backline. Touch in-goal refers to the ball going over the sidelines in the goal area. The LAST person to deliberately TOUCH the ball determines what actions following.

If it is an attacking player who is deemed to have ‘touched’ the ball last, then the following play is a 20m restart (the ball is brought back out to the defensive teams 20m line), and possession is award to the defensive team.

If a defensive player is last to touch the ball, then a LINE DROP OUT results.

TURNOVERS Turnovers in the in-goal field are twofold:

If the attacking team makes a mistake in the oppositions in-goal, a 20m restart ensues.

If the defensive team makes a mistake in their own in-goal, the ball is deemed IN PLAY until the a result is forced (whether it be the defensive team making the ball DEAD, or the attacking team scoring a TRY).

GROUND THE BALL A defensive team can force the ball dead in their own in-goal by ‘GROUNDING’ the ball with downward force with any part of the body above the waist and below the neck. Results in a LINE DROP OUT.

However, grounding the ball also refers to an attacking team scoring a TRY and whether they have ‘GROUNDED’ the ball correctly. This can only be achieved by using the hand, and exerting downward force on the ball, whilst the ball is in contact with the ground.


Scrum: A silly convention, which comes into play, when an error or a sideline kick is committed. Basically, all the forwards gather around, forming a 3-2-1 configuration. They come together to form a ‘scrum’, and the ball is fed (depending on who’s entitled to the ‘feed’ – usually, goes against the team who committed the error, or the team who kicked for touch) to the loosehead prop (forward nearest you..but for the last decade or so, goes straight to the 2nd rower), and play restarts once the ball comes out of the scrum.

Essentially, the scrum is an old habit from Rugby Union, which a lot of League fans believe should be gotten rid of as it simply slows the game down.

In today’s game, a win ‘against the feed’ (the person who rolls the ball in), is very rare…so it’s basically there for forwards to get their breath back

....Waiting 2 start........

Glad to hear it mate, I hope I can convince you to follow my side, (Melbourne Storm)

Former Cronulla Sharks five-eighth Greg Bird, sacked midway through the 2008 season following an alleged assault upon his girlfriend Kate Milligan, (case will be heard April 2009), has been handed a lifeline by French Rugby League side Catalan Dragons

Sacked from Cronulla and the NRL after the incident, (wherein Kate Milligan had a broken beer glass pushed into her face, narrowly avoiding being blinded), Greg Bird has wandered in football limbo for the past six months.. Refused entry to any other NRL side, he attempted to obtain a start with second tier NSW Cup team Newtown Jets, only to have negotiations fall through. Likewise his attempts to play park rugby through Southern Districts came to nought...

English Super-league side Bradford Bulls showed some interest, but he was subsequently refused a UK visa...

Catalans represents Greg Birds' last hope of playing professional football, barring a possible change of codes to Rugby Union, however, this change is unlikely to occur unless he is acquitted of all assault charges when his case comes before the Magistrates Court in April 2009.

NRL chief executive David Gallop has suspended the judiciary members who are suing the Melbourne Storm for defamation.

In a stunning development, chairman Greg Woods and panel members Darrell Williams and Royce Ayliffe were ordered this week to stand down indefinitely after the trio launched legal proceedings in the Supreme Court.

They are suing Storm coach Craig Bellamy and chief executive Brian Waldron for comments made during last year's finals series when they questioned the judiciary's integrity for rubbing out captain Cameron Smith for the remainder of the season.

Canberra legend Brad Clyde and former South Sydney captain Sean Garlick have been spirited on to the panel, while Judge Paul Conlon will replace Woods as chairman.

Gallop said the trio were removed as soon as he learned they had launched official proceedings against Bellamy and Waldron last week.

"The NRL has done all that it can in its power to resolve the matter," Gallop said. "If the matter can be resolved, the judiciary members will be able to come back on board.

Hopefully, once the matter is resolved they will be able to return to their duties."

Ayliffe and Williams did not return calls, while Waldron, (CEO Melbourne Storm) said it would be inappropriate for him to comment.

Bellamy, (coach of Melbourne Storm) and Waldron had attacked the judiciary for suspending Smith for two weeks for a grapple tackle on Sam Thaiday in week two of the finals. The Storm paid over $50,000 in fines for their comments but no apology nor retraction regarding the initial comments were made.

Storm re-sign Slater until 2012
AAP

Melbourne Storm believes the long-term signing of star fullback Billy Slater means they have now secured the core of their side at well below market value.

Slater signed until the end of 2012, Storm chief executive Brian Waldron saying he had followed a string of the club's other stars in agreeing to less money than they could have made elsewhere.

"It completes a fairly easy but a long process for the club in re-signing its core of players," Waldron said on Thursday.

"We had Cameron Smith our captain, another winner of the Golden Boot the previous year.

"Certainly our halfback Cooper Cronk started the process midway through last year, Greg Inglis re-signed, the likes of Dallas Johnson, Ryan Hoffman, Jeff Lima, Adam Blair and others.

"It really puts to bed, for this season anyway, the mix of players the we see as moving us into the future."

The club has also suffered some significant losses, most notably young gun Israel Folau to the Brisbane Broncos and Jeremy Smith to St George-Illawarra, who the Storm meet at Olympic Park on Friday night.

But Waldron said locking in Slater, the world's best player last year, was a thrill given the great interest in him from within Australia and overseas.

"I've said this each time we've presented with Greg or Billy or Cooper, that each of these boys can earn money far greater outside of Melbourne if they chose to go to a rival code or chose to go to a rival club," he said.

"It's a tribute to Craig (Bellamy) and the coaching staff and the culture we have here that they've all been prepared to sacrifice to remain here."

Slater said he and his family were happy in Melbourne, but the key attraction was wanting to achieve more with a team of close friends and great players.

"You've got to weigh up a lot more than money, you've got to weigh up being happy," he said.

Melbourne Storm defeated St. George Dragons 17 to 16

Brisbane Broncos defeated North Queensland Cowboys 19 to 18

New Zealand Warriors defeated Parramatta Eels 26 to 18

Canterbury Bulldogs defeated Manly Sea Eagles 34 to 12

Cronulla Sharks defeated Penrith Panthers 18 to 10

Bulldogs winger Hazem El Masri became top-flight rugby league's greatest ever point-scorer as his 2008 wooden-spooners completed a horror week for premiers Manly with a stunning 34-12 NRL victory at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.

El Masri's penalty goal in the 33rd minute took him two points past Newcastle great Andrew Johns' 2,176 points.

Slotting over from 11m out adjacent to the left upright, El Masri was mobbed by teammates and greeted by a fireworks display and a roar from the 19,791-strong crowd.

He went on to kick seven from seven in a masterful display which continued league's on-field good news after a week of off-field drama.

Playing his 292nd game, the 32-year-old has now scored 145 tries and kicked 802 goals for 2,184 points in total.

The record-breaking penalty goal, El Masri's fourth kick of the night, came after a brawl, which resulted in Manly hooker Matt Ballin's sin-binning, in a dramatic first half played in a wild storm which hit Homebush in the sixth minute.

El Masri's efforts overshadowed two-try efforts from strapping teenage centre Jamal Idris and winger Bryson Goodwin and the rebuilt Dogs' domination of the premiers, who are still reeling from star fullback Brett Stewart being charged with sexual assault.

The Bulldogs led 22-0 at halftime after handling the appalling conditions better and showing more desire as new coach Kevin Moore, the son of iconic club administrator Peter "Bullfrog" Moore, took the reins for his first match.

Their new resolve was on display early when Idris crashed his way through three would-be defenders, adding his second in the 27th minute after gun buy Brett Kimmorley had handled twice.

Former Cronulla player Goodwin crossed three minutes before the break and added a second 10 minutes after halftime.

But the killer blow had come seven minutes after the break.

After Manly had scored first in the second half through Ballin to make it 22-6, new Dogs hooker Michael Ennis scooped up a wayward Matt Orford grubber and sent another new buy, Josh Morris, on an 80m run to the tryline.

At 28-6, the Bulldogs virtually had both hands on the new Arko-Bullfrog Cup, while Manly's week from hell only got worse with video referee Steve Clark denying Jamie Lyon and Michael Bani within three minutes of each other.

Lyon managed a 78th-minute consolation try after grabbing an intercept from a Kimmorley pass.

Presented with the game ball by NRL chief executive David Gallop after fulltime, El Masri wise-cracked, in reference to the Dogs being stripped of all their competition points for a salary cap scandal in 2002: "Any chance of getting those points back?"

"It would have been a terrible night if I'd missed a few goals," he said later.

"I'm just ecstatic, the way the boys got together ... the win obviously is a big factor as well.

"The emphasis on the record was there all through the week but I tried not to think about it.

Gold Coast Titans defeated Newcastle Knights 34 to 20

South Sydney Rabbitohs defeated Sydney Roosters 52 to 12