1998 NRL season
1998 National Rugby League | |
---|---|
Duration | March 13 – September 27, 1998 |
Teams | 20 |
Premiers | ![]() |
Minor premiers | ![]() |
Matches played | 253 |
Points scored | 10131 |
Attendance | 2937741 |
Top points scorer(s) | ![]() |
Player of the year | ![]() |
Top try-scorer(s) | ![]() |
The 1998 NRL season was the 91st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the inaugural season of the newly formed National Rugby League (NRL). After the 1997 season, in which the Australian Rugby League and Super League organisations ran separate competitions parallel to each other, they joined to create a reunited competition in the NRL. The first professional rugby league club to be based in Victoria, the Melbourne Storm was introduced into the League, and with the closure of the Hunter Mariners, Western Reds and South Queensland Crushers, twenty teams competed for the premiership, which culminated in the 1998 NRL grand final between the Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury Bulldogs.
Pre-season[]
The National Rugby League was formed after an agreement was reached between the two rivaling competitions from 1997, the Australian Rugby League and the Super League. In December 1997, the two parties formed a joint board to run the new Australian rugby league club competition. The vast majority of the 22 clubs that contested in 1997 across the split competitions also contested the first season of the National Rugby League, with the exception of the Hunter Mariners, the Western Reds and South Queensland.
The National Rugby League imposed a $3M salary cap on each of the clubs.[1]
Advertising[]
Super League's ad agency VCD in Sydney successfully kept the account post-reunification. The 1998 ad featured the song "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba with its theme of rising against adversity:
- I get knocked down! But I get up again; you're never gonna keep me down.
There was no visual performance of the song in the ad which returned to the standard rugby league imagery of big hits and crunching tackles to accompany the track.
Teams[]
The closure of the Hunter Mariners, Western Reds and South Queensland Crushers, and the introduction of the Melbourne Storm meant that a total of twenty clubs contested the 1998 Premiership. Eleven of these clubs were from Sydney, but an agreement between the Australian Rugby League and Super League meant that many of these clubs were in danger of being cut from the competition by the 2000 season when, it was decided, only 14 clubs would be invited to contest the premiership.
Adelaide Rams![]() 2nd season |
Auckland Warriors![]() 4th season |
Balmain Tigers![]() 91st season |
Brisbane Broncos![]() 11th season |
Canberra Raiders![]()
|
Canterbury Bulldogs![]() 64th season |
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks![]() 32nd season |
Gold Coast Chargers![]() 11th season |
Illawarra Steelers![]() 17th season |
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles![]()
|
Melbourne Storm![]() 1st season |
Newcastle Knights![]()
|
North Queensland Cowboys![]() 4th season |
North Sydney Bears![]() 91st season |
Parramatta Eels![]() 52nd season |
Penrith Panthers![]()
|
Sydney City Roosters![]()
|
South Sydney Rabbitohs![]()
|
St. George Dragons![]() 78th season |
Western Suburbs Magpies![]() 91st season |
![1998 NRL season is located in National Rugby League](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/NRL_Teams_blank.png/800px-NRL_Teams_blank.png)
![Adelaide Rams Adelaide Rams](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Auckland Warriors Auckland Warriors](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Balmain Tigers Balmain Tigers](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Brisbane Broncos Brisbane Broncos](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Canberra Raiders Canberra Raiders](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Canterbury Bulldogs Canterbury Bulldogs](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Illawarra Steelers Illawarra Steelers](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Manly Warringah Sea Eagles](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Melbourne Storm Melbourne Storm](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Newcastle Knights Newcastle Knights](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![North Queensland Cowboys North Queensland Cowboys](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![North Sydney Bears North Sydney Bears](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Penrith Panthers Penrith Panthers](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![South Sydney Rabbitohs South Sydney Rabbitohs](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![St. George Dragons St. George Dragons](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Western Suburbs Magpies Western Suburbs Magpies](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
Regular season[]
Rounds 5 and 7: Brisbane Broncos set a new record for their biggest win, firstly 58-4 against North Queensland Cowboys, then 60-6 against North Sydney Bears, both games being played at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre.
Round 8: 1997 ARL premiers, the Newcastle Knights played the 1997 Super League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane won 26-6 in Newcastle before a crowd of 27,119, cementing their position at the top of the ladder.
Round 12: The record for the biggest comeback in premiership history was re-set by the North Queensland Cowboys who trailed 26–0 at half-time and came back to beat the Penrith Panthers 36–28.
Round 24: Ivan Cleary's tally of 284 points set a new individual record for most points scored in a season in Australian club rugby league history; it has since been beaten.
Ladder[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 688 | 310 | +378 | 37 |
2 | ![]() |
24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 562 | 381 | +181 | 37 |
3 | ![]() |
24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 546 | 372 | +174 | 35 |
4 | ![]() |
24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 468 | 349 | +119 | 35 |
5 | ![]() |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 663 | 367 | +296 | 34 |
6 | ![]() |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 680 | 383 | +297 | 32 |
7 | ![]() |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 564 | 429 | +135 | 30 |
8 | ![]() |
24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 486 | 490 | -4 | 27 |
9 | ![]() |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 489 | 411 | +78 | 26 |
10 | ![]() |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 503 | 473 | +30 | 26 |
11 | ![]() |
24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 438 | 387 | +51 | 25 |
12 | ![]() |
24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 476 | 539 | -63 | 23 |
13 | ![]() |
24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 381 | 463 | -82 | 19 |
14 | ![]() |
24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 525 | 580 | -55 | 18 |
15 | ![]() |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 417 | 518 | -101 | 18 |
16 | ![]() |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 361 | 556 | -195 | 18 |
17 | ![]() |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 393 | 615 | -222 | 14 |
18 | ![]() |
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 339 | 560 | -221 | 10 |
19 | ![]() |
24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 289 | 654 | -365 | 8 |
20 | ![]() |
24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 371 | 802 | -431 | 8 |
Ladder progression[]
- Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 10.
- 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
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 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 37 |
2 | ![]() |
2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 37 |
3 | ![]() |
2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 35 |
4 | ![]() |
2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 35 |
5 | ![]() |
0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
6 | ![]() |
2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
7 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 30 |
8 | ![]() |
2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
9 | ![]() |
2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
10 | ![]() |
0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
11 | ![]() |
0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 |
12 | ![]() |
0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 23 |
13 | ![]() |
2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
14 | ![]() |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
15 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
16 | ![]() |
2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
17 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
18 | ![]() |
2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
19 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
20 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Finals series[]
The biggest surprise of the season was when the Melbourne Storm finished 3rd after the regular season in their first ever year, only to be knocked out by the Brisbane Broncos in the Semi Final. The Canterbury Bulldogs became the lowest placed team ever to make the Grand Final, after finishing 9th after the regular season. Canterbury-Bankstown did it tough though, coming from 16 points down twice in as many weeks. They came from 16-0 down to win 28-16 against the Newcastle Knights in the Semi Final, then 18-2 down with 11 minutes to go to make it 18-18 after regulation time, then going on to win 32-20 in extra time against arch-rivals the Parramatta Eels in the Preliminary Final.
Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
![]() |
17–4 | ![]() |
28 August 1998 | Bruce Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 15,953 | ||
![]() |
12–20 | ![]() |
29 August 1998 | Jubilee Oval | Steve Clark | 16,833 | ||
![]() |
25–12 | ![]() |
29 August 1998 | Parramatta Stadium | 16,033 | |||
![]() |
12–26 | ![]() |
30 August 1998 | Olympic Park | Paul McBlane | 18,247 | ||
Quarter Finals | ||||||||
![]() |
2–23 | ![]() |
4 September 1998 | North Sydney Oval | Bill Harrigan | 18,718 | ||
![]() |
24–10 | ![]() |
5 September 1998 | Olympic Park | Steve Clark | 12,592 | ||
![]() |
15–26 | ![]() |
5 September 1998 | Marathon Stadium | 26,482 | |||
![]() |
10–15 | ![]() |
6 September 1998 | ANZ Stadium | Paul McBlane | 21,172 | ||
Semi Finals | ||||||||
![]() |
16–28 | ![]() |
12 September 1998 | Sydney Football Stadium* | Steve Clark | 24,449 | ||
![]() |
30–6 | ![]() |
13 September 1998 | Sydney Football Stadium* | Bill Harrigan | 20,354 | ||
Preliminary Finals | ||||||||
![]() |
18–46 | ![]() |
19 September 1998 | ANZ Stadium | Steve Clark | 28,374 | ||
![]() |
20–32 | ![]() |
20 September 1998 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 36,841 |
- Due to an agreement held between the NRL and SFS that required a set number of finals games to be held at the SFS the Preliminary finals where both held at the SFS to meet the agreement despite neither "home" side being from Sydney.
Grand final[]
The 1998 NRL grand final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 1998 NRL season. It was the first grand final of the re-unified National Rugby League and featured minor premiers and the previous year's Super League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos against the Canterbury Bulldogs, who had finished the regular season 9th (out of 20) to make a top-ten play-off grouping.
It was to be the first grand final under the National Rugby League partnership's administration and the last to be played at the Sydney Football Stadium. It was also the first time these two sides had met in a grand final. Brisbane scored first but by half time trailed the Canterbury club 10–12. However, Brisbane scored 28 unanswered points in the second half, winning 12–38 and equaling the second highest score for a team in grand final history.
27 September
|
Brisbane Broncos | 38 - 12[2] | Canterbury Bulldogs |
---|---|---|
7 Tries: Michael De Vere, Kevin Campion, Tonie Carroll Wendell Sailor, Gorden Tallis, Phil Lee, Darren Smith |
2 Tries: Tony Grimaldi, Willie Talau 2 Goals: |
Post season[]
Brisbane's consistent dominance over other teams at this period of time contributed to the National Rugby League's plans to cut the number of teams down to 14 in order to ensure competitiveness and the long-term financial success of the game.[6]
Despite the inclusion of "national" in the new competition's name, both the Gold Coast and Adelaide clubs folded at the end of the 1998 season. A new Gold Coast side re-entered the competition nine years later in 2007.
1998 was the last season for the seventy-eight-year-old St. George Dragons and seventeen-year-old Illawarra Steelers clubs, which merged to form the NRL's first joint-venture team at the conclusion of the season, the St. George Illawarra Dragons, for inclusion in the 1999 Premiership.
References[]
- ^ Toby Miller; Geoffrey A. Lawrence; Jim McKay (2001). Globalization and sport: playing the world. SAGE. p. 82. ISBN 9780761959694.
- ^ Harms, John (2005). The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780702235368.
- ^ NRL 1998 - Grand Final at rugbyleagueproject.org
- ^ Brisbane 38 v Canterbury 12 - Grand Final, 1998 Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine at stats.rleague.com
- ^ 1998 National Rugby League Grand Final Archived 2012-06-20 at the Wayback Machine at rleague.com
- ^ "Broncos, Dragons: two fallen powerhouses". The Roar. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
External links[]
- Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1998 The World of Rugby League
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- 1998 - Broncos Take Inaugural NRL Competition RL1908
- 1998 NRL season