2001 National Rugby League
DurationFebruary 17 – September 30, 2001
Teams14
Premiers Newcastle (2nd title)
Minor premiers Parramatta (4th title)
Matches played191
Points scored9,333
Average attendance14,043
Attendance2,682,210
Top points scorer(s) Andrew Johns (279)
Ben Walker (279)
Player of the year Preston Campbell (Dally M Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Nathan Blacklock (27)

The 2001 NRL season was the 94th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fourth run by the National Rugby League. Also called the 2001 Telstra Premiership (due to sponsorship from Telstra Corporation) it was contested by thirteen Australia-based clubs plus one New Zealand-based club. The Newcastle Knights claimed their second premiership in five seasons, defeating minor premiers Parramatta Eels in the NRL's first ever night-time grand final.

Season summary

Early in the season NRL matches involving the Bulldogs were marred by off-field violence from the club's supporters.[1]

The Parramatta Eels looked set to break their fifteen-year premiership drought as they compiled one of the most dominant season records in rugby league history, losing just four of their 26 regular season games with the League's best attack and defensive record. In 2001 they established the standing record for most points by a club in a season with 943, blitzing the Brisbane Broncos' previous record tally of 871 set in 1998. The Eels tally was significantly contributed to by Jason Taylor, who that year surpassed Daryl Halligan's mark of 2,034 to become the greatest point-scorer in the history of club competition in Australia.[2]

The Warriors made the finals for the first time in their seven-year history under rookie coach Daniel Anderson, but were hammered 56-12 by the aforementioned minor premiers.

After Warren Ryan retired in 2000, the Newcastle Knights appointed former player Michael Hagan to the coaching position. Hagan proceeded to become the first coach since Phil Gould in 1988 to win a premiership in his first season as coach. Ricky Stuart would follow suit with the Roosters the following season. Tim Sheens was sacked as the coach of the North Queensland Cowboys during the season and was replaced by Murray Hurst. Mal Meninga resigned as Canberra coach following the club's disappointing season and in turn was replaced by Matthew Elliott.

Preston Campbell was a deserved winner of the Dally M medal after being an instrumental player in the Sharks' rise to fourth position on the table. Newcastle's Andrew Johns would have been clear winner but was not in contention due to missing two matches through suspension. Brian Smith was recognised as Coach of the Year whilst Braith Anasta won Rookie of the Year.

It was during the 2001 finals series that the new NRL Telstra Premiership logo was used, first seen on the field in the first qualifying final between the Sharks and the Broncos. That logo was to be used until the end of the 2006 season. Coincidentally, the Brisbane Broncos were also involved in the last match to use that logo, albeit in a modified finals version seen on the ground in the 2006 NRL Grand Final.

At the end of the season a squad of players from the NRL premiership went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour.

Every team except Penrith played at least one drawn match during the course of the season. The Bulldogs had three drawn matches, the most of any team during the season.

Teams

Auckland were renamed the New Zealand Warriors for the 2001 season.

Brisbane Broncos
14th season
Ground: QSAC
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Gorden Tallis
Bulldogs
67th season
Ground: Sydney Showground
Coach: Steve Folkes
Captain: Darren Britt
Canberra Raiders
20th season
Ground: Canberra Stadium
Coach: Mal Meninga
Captain: Simon Woolford
Melbourne Storm
4th season
Ground Docklands Stadium
Coach: Chris AndersonMark Murray
Captain: Robbie Kearns & Rodney Howe
New Zealand Warriors
7th season
Ground: Ericsson Stadium
Coach: Daniel Anderson
Captain: Stacey Jones & Kevin Campion
Newcastle Knights
14th season
Ground: EnergyAustralia Stadium
Coach: Michael Hagan
Captain: Andrew Johns
North Queensland Cowboys
7th season
Ground: Dairy Farmers Stadium
Coach: Tim SheensMurray Hurst
Captain: Paul Bowman
Northern Eagles
2nd season
Ground: Brookvale Oval & Grahame Park
Coach: Peter Sharp
Captain: Geoff Toovey
Parramatta Eels
55th season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Nathan Cayless
Penrith Panthers
35th season
Ground: CUA Stadium
Coach: Royce Simmons
Captain: Craig Gower
Sharks
37th season
Ground: Shark Park
Coach: John Lang
Captain: Jason Stevens
St. George Illawarra Dragons
3rd season
Ground: Kogarah Oval & WIN Stadium
Coach: Andrew Farrar
Captain: Craig Smith
Sydney Roosters
94th season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Graham Murray
Captain: Brad Fittler
Wests Tigers
2nd season
Ground: Campbelltown Stadium & Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Terry Lamb
Captain: Darren Senter

Advertising

With a new CEO in David Moffat from 2000 the NRL late that year moved their account to a new advertising agency in Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney.

There was no umbrella campaign in 2001, no season launch gala ad. NRL Marketing Director, Mark Wallace insisted that the League's marketing budget remained the same as in prior years but that the focus was to be on promoting individual games and complementing the clubs' own marketing activities.[3]

An ad was produced to promote certain key games. The scene is a deserted, eerie CBD street. The sound of a squeaky wheel gets louder until a clown rides into the middle of shot on a tricycle and turns to camera pouting and frowning. The voice over comes up: "This Easter long weekend the Dragons v Roosters at Sydney Football Stadium. You'd be a clown to miss it".

Regular season

Records and statistics

  • Parramatta Eels scored the most points in a season by any club in history scoring 839 points in total.
  • Wendell Sailor ran 4,452 metres with the ball in 2001, more than any other player in the competition.[4]
  • On July 5, the Melbourne Storm beat the Wests Tigers 64-0, which is the Storm's biggest ever win and Tigers biggest ever loss. The very next day the Newcastle Knights beat the Brisbane Broncos 44-0, which was set at the time, the Broncos biggest ever loss at the time.
  • In round 23, Wests Tigers recorded their biggest comeback when they came from a 24-0 down after 30 minutes of play to win 36-32 against the Newcastle Knights which is the Knights worst collapse. Also equalled the second biggest ever comeback.

Ladder

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Parramatta Eels 262024839406+43342
2 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 261736617568+4937
3 Newcastle Knights (P) 261619782639+14333
4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 261529594513+8132
5 Brisbane Broncos 2614111696511+18529
6 Sydney Roosters 2613112647589+5827
7 St. George Illawarra Dragons 2612212661573+8826
8 New Zealand Warriors 2612212638629+926
9 Melbourne Storm 2611114704725-2123
10 Northern Eagles 2611114603750-14723
11 Canberra Raiders 269116600623-2319
12 Wests Tigers 269116474746-27219
13 North Queensland Cowboys 266218514771-25714
14 Penrith Panthers 267019521847-32614

Ladder progression

  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round
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 Parramatta 22446689111214161820222426262830323436384042
2 Bulldogs 245799910121315171719192123252729293131333537
3 Newcastle 023557911131517192121212121232527292929293133
4 Sharks 0244681010101212121314141618202224262828303032
5 Brisbane 2446881012121416171921232325252727272727272729
6 Sydney 224668810121414151517192121212121212325252727
7 St George Illawarra 2222246888891112141416182020222224262626
8 New Zealand 022446679911111113151515171717192123252626
9 Melbourne 00244444668101212141616181818202020222323
10 Northern Eagles 2244666881012121214141616181818182021232323
11 Canberra 22224666888999111113131313131515151719
12 Wests 0244668888889991111111315171719191919
13 North Queensland 022224455555777799911111112121214
14 Penrith 000222444668888888810101012121414

Finals series

To decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams, the NRL adopted the McIntyre final eight system.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Qualifying Finals
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 22 6 Brisbane Broncos 7 September 2001 Shark Park Steve Clark 15,508
Newcastle Knights 40 6 Sydney Roosters 8 September 2001 Marathon Stadium Bill Harrigan 22,061
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 22 23 St. George Illawarra Dragons 8 September 2001 Sydney Showground Paul Simpkins 17,975
Parramatta Eels 56 12 New Zealand Warriors 9 September 2001 Parramatta Stadium Tim Mander 17,336
Semi-finals
Brisbane Broncos 44 28 St. George Illawarra Dragons 15 September 2001 Sydney Football Stadium Paul Simpkins 19,259
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 10 52 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 16 September 2001 Sydney Football Stadium Bill Harrigan 21,507
Preliminary Finals
Newcastle Knights 18 10 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 22 September 2001 Sydney Football Stadium Paul Simpkins 31,438
Parramatta Eels 24 16 Brisbane Broncos 23 September 2001 Stadium Australia Bill Harrigan 34,184

Chart

Qualifying finalsSemifinalsPreliminary finalsFinal
1 Parramatta56
8 New Zealand121W Parramatta24
4W St. George Illawarra28 Brisbane16
2 Canterbury222L Brisbane44
Parramatta24
7 St. George Illawarra23
Newcastle30
3 Newcastle402W Newcastle18
6 Sydney63W Cronulla52 Cronulla10
1L Canterbury10
4 Cronulla22
5 Brisbane6

Grand Final

The 2001 NRL grand final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2001 NRL season. It was contested at Stadium Australia in Sydney by the Newcastle Knights (who had finished the regular season in third place), and the Parramatta Eels (who had finished the regular season in first place), after the other six teams that had competed in the top-eight finals series had been eliminated. The attendance of 90,414 was the third-highest ever seen at a rugby league match in Australia and it was the first nighttime grand final in the competition’s 103-year history. Domestically, live free-to-air television coverage was provided by Nine's Wide World of Sports. The match was also broadcast live in the United States by Fox Sports World.[5] Newcastle Knights won, with their captain Andrew Johns receiving the Clive Churchill Medal for man-of-the-match.[6]

2001 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 30 September
20:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Parramatta Eels 24 – 30 Newcastle Knights
Tries: 4
Lyon rugby ball 66', 73'
Hodgson rugby ball 58', 79'
Goals: 4
Luke Burt rugby goalposts icon 58', 67', 73', 80' (4/4)
1st: 0–24
2nd: 24–6
Report[7]
Tries: 5
Peden rugby ball 4', 21'
Simpson rugby ball 7'
Kennedy rugby ball 32'
Tahu rugby ball 63'
Goals: 5
Johns rugby goalposts icon 5', pen 13', 23', 32', pen 71' (5/7)
Field goals:
Johns (0/3)
Stadium Australia, Sydney
Attendance: 90,414[8]
Referee: Bill Harrigan
Touch judges: Steve Richards, Shayne Hayne
Clive Churchill Medal: Andrew Johns (Newcastle)

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 26.

2001 Transfers

Players

Player 2000 Club 2001 Club
Jason Bell Auckland Warriors Retirement
Joe Galuvao Auckland Warriors N/A
Terry Hermansson Auckland Warriors Retirement
Odell Manuel Auckland Warriors Canberra Raiders
Robert Mears Auckland Warriors Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Lee Oudenryn Auckland Warriors North Queensland Cowboys
Scott Pethybridge Auckland Warriors Northern Eagles
John Simon Auckland Warriors Wests Tigers
Matthew Spence Auckland Warriors Retirement
Tony Tuimavave Auckland Warriors Retirement
Joe Vagana Auckland Warriors Super League: Bradford Bulls
Nigel Vagana Auckland Warriors Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Kevin Campion Brisbane Broncos New Zealand Warriors
Tonie Carroll Brisbane Broncos Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Michael Hancock Brisbane Broncos Super League: Salford City Reds
Harvey Howard Brisbane Broncos Super League: Wigan Warriors
Brad Thorn Brisbane Broncos Canterbury (New Zealand rugby union)
Ben Walker Brisbane Broncos Northern Eagles
Kerrod Walters Brisbane Broncos Retirement
Nathan Barnes Canberra Raiders Retirement
Anthony Brann Canberra Raiders Retirement
Mark Corvo Canberra Raiders Brisbane Broncos
Brandon Costin Canberra Raiders Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Laurie Daley Canberra Raiders Retirement
David Furner Canberra Raiders Super League: Wigan Warriors
Damian Kennedy Canberra Raiders N/A
Justin Morgan Canberra Raiders New Zealand Warriors
Brett Mullins Canberra Raiders Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Bradley Clyde Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Daryl Halligan Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Retirement
Jason Hetherington Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Super League: London Broncos
Troy Stone Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Ricky Stuart Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Retirement
Andrew Ettingshausen Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Retirement
Mitch Healey Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Super League: Castleford Tigers
Brett Howland Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Tim Maddison Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks North Queensland Cowboys
Wayne Evans Melbourne Storm Northern Eagles
Brett Kimmorley Melbourne Storm Northern Eagles
Paul Marquet Melbourne Storm Newcastle Knights
Tony Martin Melbourne Storm Super League: London Broncos
Lenny Beckett Newcastle Knights Northern Eagles
Tony Butterfield Newcastle Knights Retirement
David Fairleigh Newcastle Knights Super League: St. Helens
Matthew Johns Newcastle Knights Super League: Wigan Warriors
Peter Shiels Newcastle Knights Super League: St. Helens
Jason Temu Newcastle Knights New Zealand Warriors
Graham Appo North Queensland Cowboys Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Greg Bourke North Queensland Cowboys Burleigh Bears (Queensland Cup)
Brett Boyd North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Des Clark North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Darrien Doherty North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Noel Goldthorpe North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Paul Green North Queensland Cowboys Sydney Roosters
Shane Kenward North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Martin Locke North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Scott Prince North Queensland Cowboys Brisbane Broncos
Jeremy Schloss North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Michael Buettner Northern Eagles Parramatta Eels
Owen Cunningham Northern Eagles Retirement
Damian Driscoll Northern Eagles Super League: Salford City Reds
Andrew Frew Northern Eagles Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Daniel Gartner Northern Eagles Super League: Bradford Bulls
Brett Grogan Northern Eagles Retirement
Nigel Roy Northern Eagles Super League: London Broncos
Jason Taylor Northern Eagles Parramatta Eels
Jim Dymock Parramatta Eels Super League: London Broncos
Stuart Kelly Parramatta Eels Brisbane Broncos
David Kidwell Parramatta Eels Super League: Warrington Wolves
Ben Kusto Parramatta Eels Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Gary Larson Parramatta Eels Retirement
David Penna Parramatta Eels Retirement
Clinton Schifcofske Parramatta Eels Canberra Raiders
Dean Schifilliti Parramatta Eels Retirement
Dallas Weston Parramatta Eels Retirement
Brad Drew Penrith Panthers Parramatta Eels
Nigel Gaffey Penrith Panthers Retirement
Mark Geyer Penrith Panthers Retirement
Nathan Brown St. George Illawarra Dragons Retirement
Anthony Mundine St. George Illawarra Dragons Retirement
Lee Murphy St. George Illawarra Dragons Wests Tigers
Luke Patten St. George Illawarra Dragons Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Wes Patten St. George Illawarra Dragons Retirement
Corey Pearson St. George Illawarra Dragons Wests Tigers
Julian Bailey Sydney Roosters Newcastle Knights
Richie Barnett Sydney Roosters Super League: London Broncos
Darren Burns Sydney Roosters Brisbane Broncos
Jack Elsegood Sydney Roosters Retirement
Brendan Hurst Sydney Roosters Retirement
Adrian Lam Sydney Roosters Super League: Wigan Warriors
Robert Miles Sydney Roosters Northern Eagles
Shane Rigon Sydney Roosters Super League: Bradford Bulls
Nathan Wood Sydney Roosters New Zealand Warriors
Ben Duckworth Wests Tigers Parramatta Eels
Shayne Dunley Wests Tigers Northern Eagles
Steve Georgallis Wests Tigers Super League: Warrington Wolves
Jarrod McCracken Wests Tigers Retirement
Adam Nable Wests Tigers North Queensland Cowboys
Karl Lovell Super League: Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants Northern Eagles
Matt Daylight Super League: Hull F.C. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Ben Sammut Super League: Hull F.C. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Richie Blackmore Super League: Leeds Rhinos New Zealand Warriors
Adrian Morley Super League: Leeds Rhinos Sydney Roosters
Danny Moore Super League: London Broncos North Queensland Cowboys
Darrell Trindall Super League: St. Helens Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Willie Peters Super League: Wigan Warriors St. George Illawarra Dragons

Footnotes

  1. Mercer, Phil (2001-04-25). "Australia's game of shame". BBC News. UK: BBC. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  2. Aubrey, Jane (10 October 2001). "2001: Bennett's Coup - 'Operation Alfie'". wwos.ninemsn.com.au. Archived from the original on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  3. Wallace interview B&T Magazine March2001
  4. Proszenko, Adrian (6 May 2012). "Gallen set to smash record". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  5. "National Rugby League Grand Final, Live on Fox Sports World This Sunday". Business Wire. Los Angeles. 2003-10-03. ProQuest 446309241.
  6. Keeble, Brett (1 October 2011). "Newcastle Knights recall 2001 grand final glory". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  7. Middleton, David. Rugby League 2002. Sydney: Harper Sports. pp. 191–192. ISBN 0732274664.
  8. "2001 NRL Grand Final". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
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