2005 NRL season results

Main article: National Rugby League season 2005

The 2005 National Rugby League season consisted of 25 weekly regular season rounds starting in March, followed by four weeks of play-offs that culminated in a grand final on 2 October.

Finals series

The National Rugby League's 2005 finals series ran from 9 September to 2 October 2005, as eight teams vied to win the NRL Premiership in the Grand Final after the 2005 season. The final placings and first-week match-ups were decided only after all the matches in the final week were completed. The Grand Final, played on 2 October, was won by the Wests Tigers who claimed their first-ever NRL premiership. The runners up were the North Queensland Cowboys.

The Finals System

The system used for the NRL is the McIntyre Final Eight System, which is designed by Ken McIntyre in addition to the McIntyre Four, Five and Six systems to determine which two teams will play for the Premiership. In each of the three weeks of the competition, two teams are eliminated until only two teams are left. The better a team finishes in the home-and-away season ladder, the easier their route through to the Grand Final.

In the first week, twos are paired off as such by rank (games are played at the home ground of the higher seed):

• Team 4 vs. Team 5 (1st Qualifying Final)
• Team 3 vs. Team 6 (2nd Qualifying Final)
• Team 2 vs. Team 7 (3rd Qualifying Final)
• Team 1 vs. Team 8 (4th Qualifying Final)

Once all four games ave been played, teams are grouped into winners and losers, and then ranked based on their home-and-away season standings, for example:

Rank	Winners	Losers
1	Team 1	Team 2
2	Team 3	Team 5
3	Team 4	Team 6
4	Team 7	Team 8

...Losers #3 and #4 are immediately eliminated, while Winners #3 and #4 will face Losers #1 and #2 (in other words, a "double chance" for the two highest-ranked losers). Winners #1 and #2 receive a bye to week three, to await the winners of the two semi-finals.

The winners of the two preliminary finals will then face off for the premiership in the Grand Final.

Week One

First Qualifying Final

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
(4) Wests Tigers	14	36	50
(5) Nth QLD	6	0	6

Date	Friday, 9 September 2005 8 pm AEST
Tries (Wests)	3: B Hodgson 1: D Fitzhenry, L Fulton, P Richards, P Whatuira, S Elford
Tries (NQLD)	1: M Sing
Goals (Wests)	9: B Hodgson
Goals (NQLD)	1: J Hannay
Injuries	None
Reports	None
Venue	Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Attendance	26,463
Referee	Paul Simpkins

Second Qualifying Final

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
(3) Brisbane	4	14	18
(6) Melbourne	18	6	24

Date	Saturday, 10 September 2005 6:30 pm AEST
Tries (Bris)	1: D Smith, S Minto, B Seymour
Tries (Melb)	1: B Slater, G Inglis, J Webster, M King
Goals (Bris)	3: B Seymour
Goals (Melb)	2: M Orford, C Smith
Injuries	Melb: Kearns (dislocated shoulder), Slater (ankle)
Reports	None
Venue	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance	25,193
Referee	Steve Clark
This was the second successive year the Broncos and the Storm have met at this stage, with Melbourne winning 31–14 in 2004. In what looked to be a case of déjà vu, the Storm won this match 24–18. In 2006, they would meet again in a final, but this time in a Grand Final, the Broncos winning 15–8.

Third Qualifying Final

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
(2) St George Illawarra	4	24	28
(7) Cronulla	12	10	22

Date	Saturday, 10 September 2005 8:30 pm AEST
Tries (StGI)	2: C Best 1: D Young, T Barrett, W Naiqama
Tries (Cro)	1: B Scott, D Simmons, N Vagana, P Gallen
Goals (StGI)	4: M Ennis
Goals (Cro)	3: L Covell
Injuries	None
Reports	None
Venue	WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Attendance	19,608
Referee	Tony Archer

Fourth Qualifying Final

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
(1) Parramatta	28	18	46
(8) Manly	0	22	22

Date	Sunday, 11 September 2005 4 pm AEST
Tries (Par)	2: T Tahu 1: C Robinson, M Riddell, E Grothe, L Burt, D Wagon, A Peek
Tries (Man)	2: B Kennedy 1: A Watmough, M Witt
Goals (Par)	7: L Burt
Goals (Man)	2: L Williamson 1: M Monaghan
Injuries	None
Reports	None
Venue	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney
Attendance	19,710
Referee	Tim Mander

Week Two

First Semi Final

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
(6) Melbourne	0	16	16
(5) Nth QLD	16	8	24

Date	Saturday, 17 September 2005 7:45 pm AEST
Tries (Melb)	1: S Bell, M King, M Orford
Tries (NQLD)	2: T Williams 1: M Bowen, D Faiumu
Goals (Melb	1: C Smith, M Orford
Goals (NQLD)	2: J Thurston, J Hannay
Injuries	None
Reports	None
Venue	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance	16,810
Referee	Paul Simpkins

Second Semi Final

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
(4) Wests Tigers	10	24	34
(3) Brisbane	0	6	6

Date	Sunday, 18 September 2005 4 pm AEST
Tries (Wests)	2: D Fitzhenry 1: B Hodgson, M. O'Neill, B Marshall, S Prince
Tries (Bris)	1: D Lockyer
Goals (Wests)	5: B Hodgson
Goals (Bris)	1: B Seymour
Injuries	None
Reports	None
Venue	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance	36,563
Referee	Tim Mander

Week Three

First Preliminary Final

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
(2) St George Illawarra	6	6	12
(4) Wests Tigers	16	4	20

Date	Saturday, 24 September 2005 7;45pm AEST
Tries (StG)	1: W Naiqama, T Barrett
Tries (WES)	2: D Halatau 1: C Heighington, B Marshall
Goals (StG)	2: M Ennis
Goals (WES)	2: B Hodgson
F.Goals (StG)	None
F.Goals (WES)	None
Injuries	None
Reports	None
Venue	Auusie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance	41,260
Referee	Tim Mander

Second Preliminary Final

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
(1) Parramatta	0	0	0
(5) Nth QLD	18	11	29

Date	Sunday, 25 September 2005 4 pm AEST
Tries (Par)	None
Tries (NQLD)	1: M Bowen, R Jensen, B Firman, T Williams, J Hannay
Goals (Par)	None
Goals (NQLD)	4: J Hannay
F.Goals (Par)	None
F.Goals (NQLD)	1: J Thurston
Injuries	Par: T Smith (head) NQLD: Norton (back)
Reports	NQLD: O'Donnell for high shot on T Smith
Venue	Telstra Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Attendance	44,327
Referee	Steve Clark
Brett Firman scores in the 2005 Preliminary Final

2005 NRL Grand Final

For more details on this topic, see National Rugby League season 2005#Grand final.

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
(4) Wests Tigers	12	18	30
(5) North Queensland Cowboys	6	10	16

Date	Sunday, 2 October 2005 7 pm AEST
Tries (Wests Tigers)	1: Bryce Gibbs, Pat Richards, Anthony Laffranchi, Daniel Fitzhenry, Todd Payten
Tries (North Queensland Cowboys)	1: Matt Bowen, Travis Norton, Matt Sing
Goals (Wests Tigers)	5/6: Brett Hodgson
Goals (North Queensland Cowboys)	2/3: Josh Hannay
Field Goals (Wests Tigers)	None
Field Goals (North Queensland Cowboys)	None
Injuries	None
Reports	None
Churchill Medal	Scott Prince (Wests Tigers)
Venue	Telstra Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
Attendance	82,453
Referee	Tim Mander