National Rugby League season 2005
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| 2005 National Rugby League season | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the NRL |
|
| Teams | 15 |
| Premiers |  Wests Tigers (1st title) |
| Minor Premiers |  Parramatta (5th title) |
| Matches played | 189 |
| Points scored | 8861 (average 46.884 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,276,675 (average 17,337 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Brett Hodgson (308 points) |
15 clubs contested the eighth NRL season, with the Wests Tigers winning their historic first premiership against the North Queensland Cowboys at the end of the finals.
Contents |
[edit] Season Summary
The 2005 NRL season was statistically the closest season ever, with just sixteen points separating the Parramatta Eels (first) and Newcastle Knights (fifteenth). Another interesting to note is the fact that the previous four premiers failed to qualify for the finals (Bulldogs, Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters and Newcastle Knights). During the season, the National Rugby League announced a six-year $500 million television deal with Channel Nine and Fox Sports, to take effect in 2007.
The Gold Coast Titans were admitted into the competition as the NRL's sixteenth team scheduled to begin playing in 2007. The Titans would announce John Cartwright as their inaugural coach and Preston Campbell as their first signing.
Johnathan Thurston won the 2005 Dally M medal by one point from Newcastle's Andrew Johns, who had previously won the award in 1998, 1999 and 2002.
The Wests Tigers claimed their first premiership after beating the North Queensland Cowboys 30-16 in the grand final at Telstra Stadium on October 2. The Tigers were formed in 2000 as a joint venture between the Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies, both foundation members of the original NSWRL in 1908. Wests won twelve of their last fourteen games, including impressive victories against the Cowboys, Broncos and Dragons in the finals.
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parramatta |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 704 | 456 | +248 | 36 |
| 2 |  St George Illawarra |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 655 | 510 | +145 | 36 |
| 3 |  Brisbane |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 597 | 484 | +113 | 34 |
| 4 | Wests Tigers |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 676 | 575 | +101 | 32 |
| 5 |  North Queensland |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 639 | 563 | +76 | 32 |
| 6 |  Melbourne |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 640 | 462 | +178 | 30 |
| 7 |  Cronulla |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 550 | 564 | -14 | 28 |
| 8 |  Manly |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 554 | 632 | -78 | 28 |
| 9 |  Sydney |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 488 | 487 | +1 | 26 |
| 10 |  Penrith |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 554 | 554 | 0 | 26 |
| 11 |  New Zealand |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 515 | 528 | -13 | 24 |
| 12 |  Bulldogs |
24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 472 | 670 | -198 | 23 |
| 13 |  South Sydney |
24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 482 | 700 | -218 | 23 |
| 14 |  Canberra |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 465 | 606 | -141 | 22 |
| 15 |  Newcastle |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 467 | 667 | -200 | 20 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
 Wests Tigers |
50-6 |  North Queensland Cowboys |
9 September 2005 | Telstra Stadium | P. Simpkins | 26,463 | ||
 Brisbane Broncos |
18-24 |  Melbourne Storm |
10 September 2005 | Suncorp Stadium | S. Clark | 25,193 | ||
 St George Illawarra Dragons |
28-22 |  Cronulla Sharks |
10 September 2005 | WIN Stadium | T. Archer | 19,608 | ||
 Parramatta Eels |
46-22 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
11 September 2005 | Parramatta Stadium | T. Mander | 19,710 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Melbourne Storm |
16-24 | North Queensland Cowboys |
17 September 2005 | Aussie Stadium | P. Simpkins | 16,810 | ||
| Wests Tigers |
34-6 | Brisbane Broncos |
18 September 2005 | Aussie Stadium | T. Mander | 36,563 | ||
| Preliminary Finals | ||||||||
| St George Illawarra Dragons |
12-20 | Wests Tigers |
24 September 2005 | Aussie Stadium | T. Mander | 41,260 | ||
| Parramatta Eels |
0-29 | North Queensland Cowboys |
25 September 2005 | Telstra Stadium | S. Clark | 44,327 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| North Queensland Cowboys |
16-30 | Wests Tigers |
2 October 2005 | Telstra Stadium | T. Mander | 82,453 | ||
[edit] Statistics
[edit] Leading point scorers
| Rank | Points | Player | Team | Matches | Tries | Gls | Fld Gls | Pts Ave. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 308 | Brett Hodgson | Wests Tigers | 28 | 15 | 124 | - | 11.00 |
| 2 | 214 | Luke Burt | Parramatta Eels | 23 | 11 | 85 | - | 9.30 |
| 3 | 190 | Preston Campbell | Penrith Panthers | 23 | 11 | 73 | - | 8.26 |
| 4 | 186 | Luke Covell | Cronulla Sharks | 22 | 9 | 75 | - | 8.45 |
| 5 | 180 | Hazem El Masri | Bulldogs | 18 | 11 | 68 | - | 10.00 |
| 6 | 172 | Matt Orford | Melbourne Storm | 26 | 11 | 63 | 2 | 6.62 |
| 7 | 152 | Josh Hannay | North Queensland Cowboys | 21 | 7 | 62 | - | 7.24 |
| 8 | 147 | Stacey Jones | New Zealand Warriors | 23 | 5 | 63 | 1 | 6.39 |
| 9 | 142 | Clinton Schifcofske | Canberra Raiders | 19 | 6 | 58 | 2 | 7.47 |
| 10 | 140 | Michael Witt | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 19 | 5 | 60 | - | 7.37 |
[edit] Leading try scorers
| Rank | Tries | Player | Team | Matches | Try Ave. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Billy Slater | Melbourne Storm | 21 | 0.95 |
| 1 | 20 | Matt Bowen | North Queensland Cowboys | 25 | 0.80 |
| 1 | 20 | Colin Best | St George Illawarra Dragons | 26 | 0.77 |
| 1 | 20 | Pat Richards | Wests Tigers | 28 | 0.71 |
| 5 | 19 | Shaun Berrigan | Brisbane Broncos | 23 | 0.83 |
| 6 | 18 | Ty Williams | North Queensland Cowboys | 23 | 0.78 |
| 7 | 17 | Amos Roberts | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 0.71 |
| 7 | 17 | Paul Whatuira | Wests Tigers | 28 | 0.61 |
| 9 | 16 | Brett Stewart | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 0.67 |
| 9 | 16 | David Simmons | Cronulla Sharks | 25 | 0.64 |
| 9 | 16 | Matt Sing | North Queensland Cowboys | 25 | 0.64 |
[edit] See also
- National Rugby League
- 2005 NRL Finals Series
- Rugby league in 2005
[edit] External Links
- NRL official website
- LeagueUnlimited
- Rugby League Tables and Statistics 2005
- Sports Australia League
