2008 NRL season

2008 National Rugby League
Teams	16
Matches played	136
Points scored	5819
Attendance	2176880
Top try-scorer(s)	Denan Kemp (13 tries) Shaun Kenny-Dowall (13 tries)

The 2008 National Rugby League premiership (known as the Telstra premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the one hundred and first season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the eleventh run by the National Rugby League. The first matches of the season were played on 14 March 2008 with the season ending in the Grand Final to be played on 5 October 2008.

The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with sixteen teams contesting the premiership. 2008 also marks the launch of the National Youth Competition, an under 20 competition that is running parallel to the senior competition under the sponsorship name, the Toyota Cup.

History

Rugby league was first introduced into Australia in 1908, with a meeting in Sydney on 8 August 1908 effectively forming a new breakaway league from the New South Wales Rugby Union. The new body was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League, and became the first professional sporting code in Australia. In the following months, eight Sydney-based teams were formed and signed up to play in the New South Wales Rugby Football League's premiership, with another club joining a week into competition.

The New South Wales Rugby League continued to run the competition up until and including 1994 when it passed on responsibility to the Australian Rugby League, the national authority for rugby league in Australia. In 1997 a rival Super League competition run by News Limited was started and signed up several existing teams from the Australian Rugby League. After both bodies lost a lot of money that year, a truce was signed and a new competition was formed for the 1998 season, under the brand name "National Rugby League."

The National Rugby League, on behalf of the numerous rugby league bodies in Australia, has decided to hold a number of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the sport in the country. This will include the opening match of the 2008 season being held between the remaining two "foundation clubs" from 1908, the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. As well as this, a special rivalries round will take place which will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the first round of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League, whereby teams will face opponents that entered the competition in similar time frames, such as The Brisbane Broncos and The Gold Coast Titans, The Parramatta Eels and The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, The North Queensland Cowboys and The New Zealand Warriors, The Bulldogs and The St George Illawarra Dragons, The Penrith Panthers and The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, The Sydney Roosters and The Newcastle Knights, The Wests Tigers and The South Sydney Rabbitohs and The Melbourne Storm and The Canberra Raiders.

Several events will also take place to celebrate the 100th anniversary of landmark moments in rugby league in Australia. These events began in August 2007 with a re-enactment of the meeting which led to the formation of the New South Wales Rugby League, essentially the beginning of rugby league in Australia. In January and February 2008, several of the foundation clubs, the Newtown Jets, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Balmain Tigers Sydney Roosters, North Sydney Bears and Western Suburbs Magpies, will host special functions at the places they were officially formed.

Season summary

Schedule

The 2008 season is set to be one week longer than the 2007 competition, allowing an extra bye on top of the existing one allocated to each club. In addition, the scheduling of the earlier representative fixtures has been changed, including the removal of Monday Night Football on weekends prior to the City vs Country match and the ANZAC Test. The City vs Country fixture is also being pushed back to Friday night where it had been prior to the 2007 season. Many of these initiatives were announced mid-way through the 2007 season by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Rugby League, David Gallop, in an attempt to help reduce player fatigue after several complaints of player injuries caused by the short turnaround between some matches.

2008 also saw a change in how the draw is devised, with teams nominating their preferred home opponents in order of preference. The NRL consulted these requests when structuring the season's fixtures. This change is intended to maximise attendances by allowing local derbies and other high-interest matches to be played twice a year. It is a departure from previous methods, which focused on trying to produce an equally difficult playing schedule for each club. The draw was released on October 19, 2007.

On the back of increasing public pressure, the National Rugby League decided to move the Grand Final back from the later timeslot of 7:00pm to the new time of 5:00pm. The Grand Final had traditionally been held on a Sunday afternoon up until 2000, after which it was relocated to the evening in order to accommodate the Channel 9's wish of making the event more suitable for primetime television. Whilst the late night scheduling was not considered as much an issue for New South Wales audiences because of the Labour Day public holiday the following day, it was argued by many Queenslanders that such a time was unsuitable for families on the eve of a weekday. Many individuals in the general public and the media pushed for a full return back to a 3:00pm kickoff time where it had been for many decades, whilst Channel 9 continued to insist on 7:00pm. As a comprimise, the National Rugby League decided for a comprimise "twilight" match starting at 5:00pm. This will be the first time since the 2000 season that the Grand Final will be played in daylight hours, largely due to a change in the starting day of Daylight Savings Time in New South Wales, ACT and Victoria in 2008.

Participants

Of the sixteen teams participating in the regular season, ten are from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. Of the ten from New South Wales, eight and a half (St. George Illawarra are both from Sydney and Wollongong) are from Sydney's metropolitan area. Just two foundation clubs from New South Wales Rugby League season 1908 are playing in this competition: the Sydney Roosters (formerly known as Eastern Suburbs) and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Melbourne Storm are the defending premiers.

For the first time since the 1988 introduction of teams outside of New South Wales, an under-20 competition running incorporates sides fielded by each of the sixteen premiership clubs. The National Youth Competition, known as the Toyota Cup for sponsorship purposes is solely for under-20 players.

The home jerseys of the 16 teams for the 2008 season are shown below.

Season Results

Main article: 2008 NRL season results

Records set in 2008

• Gold Coast Titans winger Jordan Atkins matched the standing record for most tries in a first grade debut set by Canterbury Bankstown's Tony Nash in season 1942 when he scored four tries in round 1 of 2008.
• Brisbane Broncos standing club record for most goals in a match was set by Corey Parker in round 1 of 2008 when he kicked 10 goals.
• Brisbane Broncos set a new club home attendance record when 50,612 spectators attended their round 3 clash against the North Queensland Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium
• The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles got their biggest ever win over the New Zealand Warriors in round 3 with a 52-6 victory over them at Brookvale Oval. This was also the biggest win in terms of margin (46 points) in any game of the season.
• Brisbane Broncos' Denan Kemp equalled the club record for most tries in a match with 4 tries against the Parramatta Eels at Suncorp Stadium in round 12
• The Canberra Raiders recorded their biggest ever win against the Canterbury Bulldogs, winning 58-18 with winger Colin Best crossing for 4 tries.
• Ruben Wiki became only the 10th player in history to play 300 first grade games, and is the first New Zealander to pass this milestone
• The South Sydney Rabbitohs equalled the 2nd biggest comeback in NRL history in Round 16 against the North Queensland Cowboys, coming back from 28-4 down 10 minutes into the second half to win 29-28.
• Craig Fitzgibbon became just the 4th player (behind Luke Ricketson, Kevin Hastings and Brad Fittler) to play 200 games for the Sydney Roosters when he started against the Cowboys in round 21 at Dairy Farmers Stadium
• The North Queensland Cowboys has recorded their longest losing streak in the club's history with 13 matches, the streak still continues (round 7 - present).

Sponsorship

For the eighth straight season the National Rugby League's naming rights sponsor Telstra continues, with the competition again known as the Telstra Premiership. In addition to the Telstra Premiership logo appearing over the right upper chest on each team's playing jersey, the "Centenary of Rugby League in Australia" logo is displayed just above to commemorate the competition's centenary.

Following their successful sponsorship of "Friday Night Football" in 2007, the Foster's Group, parent company of both Carlton Draught and Victoria Bitter, has decided to change the specific brand sponsorship from the Carlton branding to now represent Victoria Bitter. Harvey Norman will continue to sponsor Rugby League State of Origin while AAMI has continued its association with the annual City vs Country Origin clash.

Premiership ladder

2008 NRL season
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Melbourne Storm	24	17	0	7	2	584	282	+302	38
2	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P)	24	17	0	7	2	645	355	+290	38
3	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	17	0	7	2	451	384	+67	38
4	Sydney Roosters	24	15	0	9	2	511	446	+65	34
5	Brisbane Broncos	24	14	1	9	2	560	452	+108	33
6	Canberra Raiders	24	13	0	11	2	640	527	+113	30
7	St George Illawarra Dragons	24	13	0	11	2	489	378	+111	30
8	New Zealand Warriors	24	13	0	11	2	502	567	-65	30
9	Newcastle Knights	24	12	0	12	2	516	486	+30	28
10	Wests Tigers	24	11	0	13	2	528	560	-32	26
11	Parramatta Eels	24	11	0	13	2	501	547	-46	26
12	Penrith Panthers	24	10	1	13	2	504	611	-107	25
13	Gold Coast Titans	24	10	0	14	2	476	586	-110	24
14	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	8	0	16	2	453	666	-213	20
15	North Queensland Cowboys	24	5	0	19	2	474	638	-164	14
16	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	5	0	19	2	433	782	-349	14

Ladder Progression

Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.

	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	Manly	0	0	2	4	4	6	8	10	12	14	14	16	18	20	22	24	26	28	30	30	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	Melbourne	2	2	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	14	16	18	18	20	22	22	24	26	28	28	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Sydney	2	2	4	6	8	8	8	10	12	14	16	18	18	20	22	24	26	26	26	28	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Cronulla	2	4	4	6	8	8	8	10	12	14	14	16	18	20	22	24	26	26	28	28	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Brisbane	2	4	6	6	8	8	10	12	12	12	14	16	16	16	18	19	21	21	23	25	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	St. George Illawarra	0	2	2	2	2	2	4	6	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	22	22	24	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	Penrith	0	0	2	4	4	6	8	8	10	12	14	16	16	16	16	17	19	19	21	23	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	Canberra	0	2	4	4	6	6	8	8	8	10	12	12	12	14	16	16	16	18	20	22	-	-	-	-	-	-
9	Gold Coast	2	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	14	16	16	16	18	20	20	20	20	22	22	22	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	New Zealand	0	2	2	4	6	6	6	8	10	10	10	12	12	12	12	14	16	18	20	22	-	-	-	-	-	-
11	Newcastle	2	4	4	4	4	6	8	10	10	10	12	12	14	16	16	16	16	18	18	20	-	-	-	-	-	-
12	Wests Tigers	2	4	4	4	4	6	8	8	10	12	14	14	16	16	16	16	18	18	20	20	-	-	-	-	-	-
13	Parramatta	2	2	4	4	4	4	6	8	10	10	12	12	14	16	16	18	18	18	18	20	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	South Sydney	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	4	4	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	16	16	-	-	-	-	-	-
15	Bulldogs	0	2	4	4	4	6	6	8	8	8	10	10	10	12	12	12	12	14	14	14	-	-	-	-	-	-
16	North Queensland	0	0	0	2	4	6	6	6	6	6	8	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	-	-	-	-	-	-

2008 NRL Finals series

The NRL employs the McIntyre Final Eight System.

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Qualifying Finals
4th		5th	12 September 2008, 7:35pm	4th place Home Ground
3rd		6th	13 September 2008, 5:30pm	3rd place Home Ground
2nd		7th	13 September 2008, 7:30pm	2nd place Home Ground
1st		8th	14 September 2008, 3:00pm	1st place Home Ground
Semi Finals
3rd Highest Ranked Winner		Highest Ranked Loser	19 September 2008, 7:30pm	3rd Highest Ranked Winner's Home Region
4th Highest Ranked Winner		2nd Highest Ranked Loser	20 September 2008, 7:30pm	4th Highest Ranked Winner's Home Region
Preliminary Finals
Highest Ranked Winner		Winner First Semi Final	26 September 2008, 7:30pm	Highest Ranked Winner's Home City
2nd Highest Ranked Winner		Winner Second Semi Final	27 September 2008, 7:30pm	Highest Ranked Winner's Home City
Grand Final
Winner First Preliminary Final		Winner Second Preliminary Final	5 October 2008, 5.00 pm	ANZ Stadium

Statistics

Points

	Player	Team	P	T	G	FG	Pts
1	Luke Burt	Parramatta	17	8	55	1	143
2	Luke Covell	Cronulla	17	9	50	0	136
3	Brett Hodgson	Wests Tigers	17	7	51	0	130
4	Matt Orford	Manly	17	2	57	1	123
5	Jamie Soward	St. George Illawarra	17	5	49	1	119
6	Michael Ennis	Brisbane	15	6	44	0	112
7	Todd Carney	Canberra	17	4	46	2	110
8	Kurt Gidley	Newcastle	14	8	38	0	108
9	Cameron Smith	Melbourne	15	1	51	0	106
10	Hazem El Masri	Bulldogs	15	6	40	0	104

Tries

	Player	Team	P	T
1	Denan Kemp	Brisbane	16	13
1	Shaun Kenny-Dowall	Sydney	18	13
3	Jason Nightingale	St. George Illawarra	17	12
4	Brett Stewart	Manly-Warringah	15	11
4	Adrian Purtell	Canberra	15	11
5	Greg Inglis	Melbourne	12	10
5	Billy Slater	Melbourne	14	10
5	Joel Reddy	Parramatta	18	10
5	Michael Robertson	Manly-Warringah	18	10
9	9 players			9

References

3. "Club Season Crowds". NRLStats. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
4. National Rugby League. Centenary - The revolution of rugby National Rugby League. 8 August, 2007. Retrieved on 13 August 2007.
5. National Rugby League. Centenary grass roots celebrations National Rugby League. 8 August, 2007. Retrieved on 13 August 2007.
6. Australian Associated Press. Quayle back for momentous day in league National Rugby League. 8 August, 2007. Retrieved on 13 August 2007.
7. Australian Associated Press. Rugby League exhibit at National Museum National Rugby League. 8 August, 2007. Retrieved on 13 August 2007.
8. Australian Associated Press. Kangaroos to meet NZ in centenary test National Rugby League. 8 August, 2007. Retrieved on 13 August 2007.
9. National Rugby League. League Still Making History 100 Years On National Rugby League. 8 August, 2007. Retrieved on 13 August 2007.

External links

• 2008 trial games, RubaiSport
• Rugby League Centenary Exhibit at nma.gov.au