2002 NRL season
| 2002 National Rugby League | |
|---|---|
| File:National Rugby League 2001.jpg | |
| Teams | 15 |
| Premiers |  Sydney (12th title) |
| Minor premiers |  New Zealand (1st title) |
| Matches played | 189 |
| Points scored | 9083 |
| Attendance | 2656198 |
| Top try-scorer(s) |  Nigel Vagana (23) |
The year 2002 saw the fifth National Rugby League (NRL) season, the 95th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. The New Zealand Warriors won their first minor premiership and made it to the grand final for the first time, playing against foundation club the Sydney Roosters who won the match and collected their first premiership in 27 years.
Season Summary
Pre-season
In February, 2002, the National Rugby League's Director of Legal and Business Affairs, David Gallop, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the NRL, succeeding David Moffett.
The legendary Broncos and Maroons halfback, Allan Langer, returned from England to play his final season of professional football with the Brisbane club.
The return of South Sydney
Following the club's departure from the NRL after the 1999 season, there was a continuing push from both fans and the wider rugby league community to reinstate the South Sydney Rabbitohs into the NRL competition. After two unsuccessful years of lobbying, South Sydney finally received a court ruling in their favour in 2001. On 15 March 2002, the Rabbitohs opened the NRL season with a home match against long-time rivals, the Sydney Roosters.
It turned out to be a tough year for the Rabbitohs, winning only 5 matches from 24 played, but they evaded the wooden spoon after the stripping of 37 competition points from premiership frontrunners the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Teams
The salary cap breach
In mid-2002, the Bulldogs were found guilty of serious and systemic breaches of the salary cap. NRL Chief Executive David Gallop described the violation as "exceptional in both its size and its deliberate and ongoing nature". The club received a $500,000 fine, and was stripped of all 37 competition points. The latter action was particularly harmful, as the club were poised to take the Minor Premiership and had won 17 consecutive matches (the second highest in Australian club rugby league history at the time).
The stripping of the Bulldogs' points also enabled the Canberra Raiders to make the finals with a points differential of -170, the poorest such record of any finalist in the competition's history. It also enabled the New Zealand Warriors to secure their very first minor premiership in the club's history.
Advertising
In 2002, as in 2001, the NRL's advertising was handled by Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney.
As in the previous season, there was no big budget season launch advertising campaign. The NRL focussed on stretching its marketing spending throughout the season with newspaper ads promoting individual rounds and clubs, and with simple TV ads to promote key games.
Records set in 2002
- Canterbury Bulldogs won 17 games in a row and had unbeaten run of 18 games, the most in the club's history.
- Canterbury Bulldogs were stripped of 37 competition points for a systematic salary cap breach, the most points stripped in premiership history.
- New Zealand Warriors won the club's first Minor Premiership in its 8-year history, also making it to their first Grand Final.
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand
|
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 688 | 454 | +234 | 38 |
| 2 |  Newcastle
|
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 724 | 498 | +226 | 38 |
| 3 |  Brisbane
|
24 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 672 | 425 | +247 | 37 |
| 4 | Sydney
|
24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 621 | 405 | +216 | 35 |
| 5 |  Cronulla
|
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 653 | 597 | +56 | 34 |
| 6 |  Parramatta
|
24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 531 | 440 | +91 | 26 |
| 7 |  St George Illawarra
|
24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 632 | 546 | +86 | 25 |
| 8 |  Canberra
|
24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 471 | 641 | -170 | 25 |
| 9 |  Northern Eagles
|
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 503 | 740 | -237 | 24 |
| 10 |  Melbourne
|
24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 556 | 586 | -30 | 23 |
| 11 |  North Queensland
|
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 496 | 803 | -307 | 20 |
| 12 |  Penrith
|
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 546 | 654 | -108 | 18 |
| 13 |  Wests Tigers
|
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 498 | 642 | -144 | 18 |
| 14 |  South Sydney
|
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 385 | 817 | -432 | 14 |
| 15 | Canterbury
|
24 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 707 | 435 | +272 | 8 |
- Canterbury Bulldogs were stripped of 37 competition points due to the salary cap breach.
Finals series
Coincidentally, the finalists for 2002 were almost the same as the previous season, with the exception of Bulldogs being replaced by Canberra. Had the Bulldogs not been stripped of 37 competition points, they would have become the minor premiers and completed the replication, with Canberra moving down to 9th.
Grand Final
For the 2002 Grand Final, Billy Idol was set to perform on-field at Stadium Australia before the match but was prevented from doing so due to an embarrassing power failure.
The match, controlled by Bill Harrigan, was close for the first quarter. The deadlock was broken in the 23rd minute, when the Roosters completed a successful phase of play which had begun in New Zealand's half. An overlap allowed Brett Mullins to sprint down the left side of the field uncontested before offloading to Shannon Hegarty who ran the remaining 30 metres to score the opening try. Craig Fitzgibbon's conversion gave the Roosters a 6–0 lead until New Zealand brought the scoreline back to 6–2 with a penalty kick.
Less than two minutes from half-time, Warriors halfback and captain Stacey Jones kicked the ball downfield from just inside his own half early in the tackle count. Roosters fullback Luke Phillips was the only player behind the defensive line and had to sprint across field to prevent New Zealand winger Francis Meli getting to the ball first. Only a bad last bounce for Meli prevented him getting to the ball with Phillips knocking the ball dead right on his own line. The score-line remained 6-2 at half-time.
New Zealand took the lead for the first time in the match six minutes after the break when Stacey Jones scored after stepping past five Sydney Roosters defenders and accelerated to cross the line in a spectacular solo try. The subsequent conversion gave New Zealand an 8–6 lead.
Approaching the 60th minute, commentator Paul Vautin stated that the Roosters would require "something special" from captain Brad Fittler to come back into the match. That very set of six, Fittler drove a kick downfield to capture a 40/20, allowing the Roosters possession well within New Zealand's half. A minute later, Fittler linked up with halfback Craig Wing to score and get the Roosters back in the lead 12-8.
After the subsequent kick-off and a few phases of play, Fittler put in a clearing kick downfield but was then struck down by a Warriors defender attempting to charge down the ball. As Fittler fell on the ground, Richard Villasanti pulled off what appeared to be a deliberate head clash, forcing Fittler to lose the ball. However, referee Bill Harrigan thought otherwise and rewarded a scrum feed to New Zealand. Some reporters later wrote that the incident had fired up the Roosters and ultimately turned the game around.
During the next set, Villasanti and his teammates were hit hard by Roosters forwards Michael Crocker and Adrian Morley. Craig Fitzgibbon, Chris Flannery and Bryan Fletcher then all scored in the last 15 minutes to make the final scoreline 30–8. The win secured the Sydney Roosters their twelfth premiership, their first since the 1975 season. Fitzgibbon was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal with one try and a perfect conversion rate of 5/5.
For the second year in a row the premiership was won by a newly appointed coach. Ricky Stuart was appointed Roosters coach at the beginning of the season and eventually dismissed in 2006. The Roosters were also able to carry their premiership-winning form into the 2003 World Club Challenge, claiming victory over England's premiers.
Sydney Roosters 30 (Tries: Hegarty, Wing, Fitzgibbon, Flannery, Fletcher; Goals: Fitzgibbon 5/5)
New Zealand Warriors 8 (Tries: Jones ; Goals: Cleary 2/2)