2007 NRL season
 | This article documents a current sporting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports, scores, or statistics may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
| 2007 National Rugby League | |
|---|---|
| File:Nrltelstra.PNG Logo of the NRL Telstra Premiership | |
| Teams | 16 |
| Matches played | 84 |
| Points scored | 3368 |
| Attendance | 1418998 |
| Top try-scorer(s) |  Israel Folau (12 tries) |
The 2007 National Rugby League (NRL) premiership is the current and one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the NRL. Sixteen teams are contesting the premiership, and with the inclusion of new team the Gold Coast Titans, the competition is the largest run since 1999.
Participants
From the sixteen teams that are participating in the regular season, ten teams come from New South Wales (nine from Sydney's metropolitan area), three from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the ACT and New Zealand.
Just two foundation clubs from New South Wales Rugby League season 1908 are playing in this, the 100th season of the competition: the Sydney Roosters (formerly known as Eastern Suburbs) and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Of these two clubs, only the Sydney Roosters will be playing their 100th full season, as the South Sydney Rabbitohs were a defunct premiership club for seasons 2000 and 2001 due to their expulsion from the competition following the 1999 premiership. It should also be noted that the two foundation clubs Balmain Tigers & Western Suburbs Magpies had played in every year since 1908, but the two sides merged to create the Wests Tigers who have also competed every year since the merger in 2000.
Competing Teams
Schedule
The 2007 NRL Season kicked off on Friday 16 March 2007 with eight games each round. Monday night football returns during the 2007 season, the first match in which we will see the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs clash on 19 March 2007. The opening round also saw two matches at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, the first featuring reigning champions Brisbane against fellow Queensland side the Cowboys, while the second match featured the new club, the Gold Coast Titans. The finals series will be contested over a period of four weeks, culminating with the NRL Grand Final being held on Sunday 30 September 2007.
Another change from the previous season includes a reduction in the number of byes per team in the season. With an odd number of teams contesting between 2002 and 2006, the draw meant that at least one team would have to have a bye each weekend. With the inclusion of the 16th team for the 2007 season, the National Rugby League had the option of reverting to back to the system used between 2000 and 2001 where every team played each round. This system will not be used however, but rather teams will be given just a single bye during the year, grouped in periods that will assist clubs around representative fixtures.
Sponsorship
Telecommunications giant Telstra once again hold the naming rights to the premiership season and for the seventh season the competition will be known as the "Telstra Premiership". For the second time however, a change has been made to the Telstra Premiership Logo, to coincide with the tel-co's own new logo. The logo is now much more similar to the original NRL logo in style.
Spirit producers Bundaberg Rum are sponsoring Monday night football - to be known as Bundaberg Monday Night Football. Electronics wholesaler Harvey Norman is expected to continue their support of the State of Origin Series, as is AAMI and their association with City vs Country Origin.
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Melbourne Storm
|
24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 627 | 277 | +350 | 44 |
| 2 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
|
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 597 | 377 | +220 | 38 |
| 3 |  North Queensland Cowboys
|
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 547 | 618 | −71 | 32 |
| 4 |  New Zealand Warriors
|
24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 593 | 434 | +159 | 29 |
| 5 |  Parramatta Eels
|
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 573 | 481 | +92 | 28 |
| 6 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
|
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 575 | 528 | +47 | 26 |
| 7 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs
|
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 408 | 399 | +9 | 26 |
| 8 |  Brisbane Broncos
|
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 511 | 476 | +35 | 24 |
| 9 |  Wests Tigers
|
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 541 | 561 | −20 | 24 |
| 10 |  Sydney Roosters
|
24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 445 | 610 | −165 | 23 |
| 11 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
|
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 463 | 403 | +60 | 22 |
| 12 |  Gold Coast Titans
|
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 409 | 559 | −150 | 22 |
| 13 |  St George Illawarra Dragons
|
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 431 | 509 | −78 | 20 |
| 14 |  Canberra Raiders
|
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 522 | 652 | −130 | 20 |
| 15 |  Newcastle Knights
|
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 418 | 708 | −290 | 20 |
| 16 |  Penrith Panthers
|
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 539 | 607 | −68 | 18 |
Fixtures
Round 1
- Bulldogs' forward Sonny Bill Williams was sent off in the fourth minute of his 2007 season in the match against Newcastle, having made a hit on Newcastle captain Andrew Johns which was deemed to be a reckless high tackle. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary, and received a two-week suspension.
- South Sydney, who only won three games in the entire 2006 season, started season 2007 in a much more positive light, winning the first Monday Night Football match of the year.
- A number of high-profile players were injured in this round, including Newcastle's Andrew Johns, Manly's Steve Menzies, Matt Orford and Steve Matai, and Brisbane's Darren Lockyer.
- Penrith were held scoreless for the first time since Round 18, 1999.
- A total 185,051 people witnessed these eight matches, making this the round with the highest total attendance in the history of the competition (previous record was 171,526 for Round 22, 1995).
Round 2
- South Sydney recorded two victories to open the season - the first time they have done so since being reinstated into the competition earlier in the decade.
- The New Zealand Warriors defeated the premiers from season 2006, Brisbane. This victory marks the first time in the club's history that the Warriors have won the first two games of a season.
- The Gold Coast Titans recorded their maiden victory, defeating the Cronulla Sharks.
Round 3
- Both Friday night games went into golden point extra time, with Penrith winning by one point and Parramata winning by two points.
- The Roosters lost their third match in as many rounds, marking the club's worst start to a season since 1994.
- Broncos player, Justin Hodges, found himself in the rare situation of scoring 4 tries (equal club record) for a losing side.
- The Broncos also recorded their worst start to a season since 1999, and the worst start to a season by a defending premier since 2000.
- Contrastingly, Souths continued with their third straight win, which is currently the Rabbitohs' best start to a season since 1972.
- The Canberra Raiders, who were listed as wooden spoon favourites by numerous betting organisations, pulled out a 30 point trashing of Newcastle with young back, William Zillman scoring a hat-trick of tries.
Round 4
- Australia's Channel 9's televised game of South Sydney vs Bulldogs was the first time Souths had a prime-time televised Friday night match since 2002. The 34,315 crowd was a record at Telstra Stadium, and the highest for a regular season game in Sydney since Round 1, 2002 (when South Sydney were readmitted into the competition).
- Cronulla's winning margin of 36 over the St George Illawarra was the biggest against that club in the Sharks' history, even including victories against the St. George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers.
- South Sydney co-captain and kiwi international David Kidwell tore ligaments in his knee during the weekend at a family BBQ, an injury which has ended Kidwell's season.
Round 5
- On Tuesday 10 April, Newcastle halfback, Andrew Johns announced his retirement from rugby league because of a bulging disc in his neck.
- Bulldogs winger, Hazem El Masri played in his 250th first-grade match for the club.
- The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles remained undefeated after their win over the Bulldogs and marked the best start to a season by the club since 1997.
- A penalty try was awarded to the Cronulla Sharks in the club's golden-point loss to the Wests Tigers, the first time a penalty try had been awarded since Round 26 in the 2005 season.
- The Wests Tigers' win left the Sydney Roosters as the only club yet to manage a win in 2007. It was the club's eighth consecutive loss and left the Roosters sitting on 999 club victories since Round 23, 2006.
- New Zealand captain Roy Asotasi became the first South Sydney Rabbitohs' player to captain a test side since 1973, and the first to do so for New Zealand.
- In a shock selection, 20 year old Parramatta Eels fullback, Krisnan Inu made his international debut for New Zealand after only making his NRL debut vs. Canberra Raiders (Round 4, 2007) in the same month.
- Brisbane Broncos & Australian fullback Karmichael Hunt was awarded the man-of-the-match award.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
 Australian Kangaroos
|
30 - 6 |  New Zealand Kiwis
|
20 April 2007, 7:30pm | Suncorp Stadium | Steve Ganson | 35,241 | ||
Round 6
- Newcastle held special farewall celebrations for Andrew Johns in the home game against Brisbane, re-naming the East grandstand of EnergyAustralia Stadium the "Andrew Johns Stand". In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with half back Jarred Mullen wearing number 18.
- The Gold Coast Titans were fined $5,000 after coach John Cartwright and football manager Scott Sattler approached the video referee during the team's loss to Manly.
Round 7
- After their worst start to a season since 1994 the Sydney Roosters became the last team to win a game in the 2007 season, beating the St George Illawarra Dragons on the traditional ANZAC day match on Wednesday. This milestone win will be recorded in rugby league history, as the Roosters became the first Australian club to reach 1,000 wins (The Roosters began playing in 1908).
- North Queensland halfback Johnathan Thurston played in his 50th match for the Cowboys when they beat Manly, ending the Sea Eagles' undefeated start to the season.
- In a re-match between the two teams of the 2006 grand final, the Melbourne Storm defeated the Brisbane Broncos, leaving the Storm as the only remaining undefeated team in 2007.
- Prop forward Mark O'Meley played his 100th game for the Bulldogs in his side's loss to the Wests Tigers.
- Two South Sydney players reached significant career milestones as David Peachey played his 250th first grade game, while captain Peter Cusack turned out for his 150th as Souths took on the Warriors.
- Daniel Wagon played his 200th game for the Parramatta Eels in his side's loss to the Gold Coast Titans.
City vs Country Origin
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| City Origin | 12 - 6 | Country Origin | 3 May 2007, 7:30pm | BCU International Stadium, Coffs Harbour | Shayne Hayne | 8,149 | ||
Round 8
- Melbourne became the last club to lose a match in 2007 when they were defeated by the Wests Tigers. It was the Storm's first loss since the previous year's Grand Final.
- Bulldogs' goal-kicker Hazem El Masri reached the career total of 1,900 points for his team in the win over Newcastle, becoming only the sixth player in rugby league history to do so.
- Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall succumbs to a shoulder injury, and is ruled out for 3 months.
- Broncos and Kangaroos prop Petero Civoniceva played his 200th NRL match (all of which have been for Brisbane).
Round 9
Round 10
- After losing their first four matches of the season the Wests Tigers defeated the New Zealand Warriors in an unbeaten run of five wins.
- Eels fullback Luke Burt scored a personal tally of 24 points against the Cowboys to notch up his 900th career point, and a record of 500 points at Parramatta Stadium, the first player to reach this milestone.
State of Origin I
For details, see State of Origin I
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
 Queensland Maroons
|
25 - 18 |  New South Wales Blues
|
23 May 2007, 7:30pm | Suncorp Stadium | Paul Simpkins | 52,498 | ||
Round 11
- The Sydney Roosters' win against the Cronulla Sharks was their first golden point match since the format was introduced in 2003, making the Gold Coast Titans the only remaining team who have not played such a match. Anthony Minichiello kicked the first field goal in his career to win the match for the Roosters after 84 minutes.
- The Brisbane Broncos recorded their highest score and largest win in their history after thrashing the Newcastle Knights 71-6. This match was Newcastle's biggest loss and set a club record for the most points conceded, surpassing a 64-14 loss against the Cronulla Sharks in 2002. Brisbane had been sitting last on the ladder on the day of the match.
- The five matches across Saturday and Sunday all featured a field goal.
- At the end of the round, the five teams equal last on eight points (Sydney Roosters, St. George Illawarra, Bulldogs, Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos) were coincidentally the same teams that finished in the top five in the 2004 season.
Round 12
Round 13
- The Warriors play their 300th premiership match ever when they host the Melbourne Storm this round.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| File:South Sydney colours.png South Sydney Rabbitohs | File:Penrith colours.png Penrith Panthers | Fri 8 June, 7:30pm | Telstra Stadium | |||||
| File:Canberra colours.png Canberra Raiders | File:Parramatta colours.png Parramatta Eels | Sat 9 June, 5:30pm | Canberra Stadium | |||||
| File:Eastern Suburbs colours.png Sydney Roosters |  North Queensland Cowboys
|
Sat 9 June, 7:30pm | Aussie Stadium | |||||
| File:Newcastle colours.png Newcastle Knights | File:Wests Tigers colours.png Wests Tigers | Sun 10 June, 3:00pm | Energy Australia Stadium | |||||
| File:New Zealand colours.png New Zealand Warriors | Melbourne Storm
|
Sun 10 June, 6:00pm AEST | Mt Smart Stadium | |||||
| File:St. George Illawarra colours.png St George Illawarra Dragons | File:Cronulla colours.png Cronulla Sharks | Mon 11 June, 7:30pm | Oki Jubilee Stadium | |||||
| File:Brisbane colours.png Brisbane Broncos | Bye | |||||||
| File:Canterbury colours.png Bulldogs | Bye | |||||||
| File:Manly colours.png Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Bye | |||||||
 Gold Coast Titans
|
Bye | |||||||
State of Origin II
For details, see State of Origin II
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| New South Wales Blues
|
Queensland Maroons
|
13 June 2007, 7:30pm | Telstra Stadium | |||||
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
(29 June - 2 July)
State of Origin III
For details, see State of Origin III
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Queensland Maroons
|
New South Wales Blues
|
4 July 2007, 6:30pm | Suncorp Stadium | |||||
Round 17
(6-9 July)
Round 18
(13-16 July)
Round 19
(20-23 July)
Round 20
(27-30 July)
Round 21
(3-6 August)
Round 22
(10-13 August)
Round 23
(17-20 August)
Round 24
(24-27 August)
Round 25
(31 August - 3 September)
- The Wests Tigers play their 200th premiership match ever against the Newcastle Knights.
Finals Series
The 2007 NRL Finals Series is expected to again be modelled on the McIntyre System.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
| 4th Qualifier | 5th Qualifier | 7 September 2007 | ||||||
| 3rd Qualifier | 6th Qualifier | 8 September 2007 | ||||||
| 2nd Qualifier | 7th Qualifier | 8 September 2007 | ||||||
| 1st Qualifier | 8th Qualifier | 9 September 2007 | ||||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| 4th Highest Ranking Winner | 2nd Highest Ranking Loser | 14 September 2007 | ||||||
| 3rd Highest Ranking Winner | Highest Ranking Loser | 15 September 2007 | ||||||
| Preliminary Finals | ||||||||
| 2nd Highest Ranking Winner | Winner Semi Final 2 | 21 September 2007 | ||||||
| Top Ranking Winner | Winner Semi Final 1 | 22 September 2007 | ||||||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Winner Preliminary Final 2 | Winner Preliminary Final 1 | 30 September 2007 7:00pm | Telstra Stadium | |||||
External links
- NRL official website
- Rugby League Tables and Statistics 2007
- Rugby League at FOXSPORTS.com.au
- Sports Australia League
- ABC 2007 NRL season
- LeagueUnlimited
See also
- National Rugby League
- Brisbane Broncos 2007
- Bulldogs 2007
- Gold Coast Titans 2007
- North Queensland Cowboys 2007
- Sydney Roosters 2007
- 2007 Rugby League State of Origin series
- 2007 Australian football code crowds
References