2010 NRL season

2010 National Rugby League
Teams	16
Top try-scorer(s)	Lachlan Coote (17)

The 2010 National Rugby League season is the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the NRL. The season commenced on March 12th with concurrent matches in Sydney and Brisbane in which the Parramatta Eels played St. George-Illawarra Dragons at Parramatta Stadium while the Brisbane Broncos played North Queensland Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium. The season will end with the Grand Final, played on October 3 at ANZ Stadium.

For the fourth consecutive year, sixteen teams compete for the Telstra Premiership. The third season of the Toyota Cup will also take place.

The season was marred by the Melbourne Storm's admission in April of systematically breaching the salary cap. As part of the NRL's imposed penalties, the Storm were deducted all 8 competition points earned at the time of the announcement, and were barred from receiving points for the rest of the season, guaranteeing them the wooden spoon. As a result, they have been stripped of their 2007 and 2009 premierships, as well as their 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships; however, they will be allowed to keep their 2010 World Club Challenge Cup that they won in February 2010. Storm players will still be eligible to play any Test/Origin matches and will still be eligible for the Dally M Award.

Season summary

See also: 2010 NRL season results

During the pre-season the Melbourne Storm defeated the Leeds Rhinos 18-10 in the 2010 World Club Challenge. The inaugural All Stars match took place on the 13th of February at Skilled Park, Gold Coast, where the Indigenous All Stars team won 16–12.

Significant dates throughout the season include the annual ANZAC Test and City vs Country Origin weekend, resulting in a shortened round in early May. Byes take place throughout the State of Origin period between Rounds 11 and 18 (during June and July). The annual heritage round takes place again in Round 10, a round celebrating Women in League has been earmarked for Round 16, and later in the season a round has been set aside to celebrate Indigenous Australians. The finals series will again be based on the McIntyre System, commencing on the second weekend of September and concluding with the 2010 Grand Final at ANZ Stadium on Sunday, October 3.

A rule change was introduced in the 2010 season whereby the halfback can now choose which side of scrum he feeds the ball to will be trialled.

Melbourne Storm salary cap breach

Main article: Melbourne Storm's Salary Cap Breach

On April 22, Melbourne Storm officials confessed to the NRL that the club had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap for the last five years by running a well-organized dual contract and bookkeeping system which left the NRL unable to know of $3.17 million in payments made to players outside of the salary cap, including $550,000 in 2007, $965,000 in 2009 and $1.03 million in 2010.

As a result of this confession, the following penalties were imposed by the NRL:

• The Storm were stripped of their 2007 and 2009 premierships and their 2006–2008 minor premierships; these titles will be withheld, rather than be awarded to the respective grand finalists (Manly & Parramatta) and runners-up. The Storm however have been allowed to keep the 2010 World Club Challenge title that they won two months earlier.
• The NRL fined the Storm a record $1.689 million: $1.1 million in prize money which will be re-distributed equally between the remaining 15 clubs, $89,000 in prize money from the World Club Challenge which will be re-distributed to the Leeds Rhinos, and the maximum of $500,000 for breaching the salary cap.
• The Storm were deducted all eight competition points received during the 2010 season and barred from receiving premiership points for the remainder of the season, meaning that the club will win the 2010 wooden spoon.

The Storm accepted this decision without question;, however, the directors of the club took legal action which later collapsed. The matter has been referred to ASIC and the Victoria Police. The matter has also been referred to the Australian Tax Office and the Victorian State Revenue Office.

Season advertising

A new approach was taken in 2010 following the controversies of 2009 wherein marquee players Greg Inglis (who had featured in the season launch ad) and Brett Stewart (who had been the face of a season launch event) were changed with assault thus disempowering the message behind the ad. The NRL and their advertising agency MJW Hakuhodo set about presenting the acceptable face of Australian rugby league to the world and interspersed some sparse action shots with a gallery of characters to assure viewers that league is a family-friendly sport watched by everyman.

The tag line was "Feel Alive" and the proposition that "this season, many of you will....see/ feel/ experience/ dream/ hurt/ believe". The fans highlighted ticked all the boxes of a diverse but wholesome audience demographic. . Veteran Kangaroo captain Darren Lockyer is the only player to appear with a speaking part.

Teams

The number of teams in the NRL remains unchanged since the previous season, with sixteen participating in the regular season: ten from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. Of the ten from New South Wales, eight are from Sydney's metropolitan area, with St. George-Illawarra being a Sydney and Wollongong joint venture. Just two foundation clubs from New South Wales Rugby League season 1908 played in this competition: the Sydney Roosters (formerly known as Eastern Suburbs) and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Ladder

2010 NRL season
Pos.	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	St. George Illawarra Dragons (P)	24	17	0	7	2	518	299	+219	38
2	Penrith Panthers	24	15	0	9	2	645	489	+156	34
3	Wests Tigers	24	15	0	9	2	537	503	+34	34
4	Gold Coast Titans	24	15	0	9	2	520	498	+22	34
5	New Zealand Warriors	24	14	0	10	2	539	486	+53	32
6	Sydney Roosters	24	14	0	10	2	559	510	+49	32
7	Canberra Raiders	24	13	0	11	2	499	493	+6	30
8	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	24	12	0	12	2	545	510	+35	28
9	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	11	0	13	2	584	567	+17	26
10	Brisbane Broncos	24	11	0	13	2	508	535	−27	26
11	Newcastle Knights	24	10	0	14	2	499	569	−70	24
12	Parramatta Eels	24	10	0	14	2	413	491	−78	24
13	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	9	0	15	2	494	539	−45	22
14	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	7	0	17	2	354	609	−255	18
15	North Queensland Cowboys	24	5	0	19	2	425	667	−242	14
16	Melbourne Storm	24	14	0	10	2	489	363	+126	01

¹ Melbourne were deducted eight premiership points and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season due to gross long-term salary cap breaches.

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 last place on the ladder in that round.
• Underlined numbers indicate that the team had a bye during 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	St. George Illawarra	2	4	6	6	8	10	12	14	14	16	16	18	20	22	24	26	26	28	30	30	30	32	34	34	36	38
2	Penrith	2	2	2	4	6	8	10	10	12	14	16	16	18	20	22	24	26	26	26	26	28	28	28	30	32	34
3	Wests	2	2	4	6	8	8	8	8	10	10	12	14	16	18	20	20	22	24	26	26	28	28	30	32	34	34
4	Gold Coast	2	4	6	6	8	8	10	12	14	14	16	16	16	18	20	20	22	22	22	24	26	28	30	32	32	34
5	New Zealand	0	2	4	4	6	6	6	6	8	10	12	12	12	14	16	18	20	22	24	24	24	26	28	28	30	32
6	Sydney	2	4	4	6	6	8	8	10	10	10	12	14	14	16	18	18	20	22	24	26	28	28	28	28	30	32
7	Canberra	0	2	2	2	4	4	4	6	8	8	10	12	14	14	14	14	14	16	18	20	20	22	24	26	28	30
8	Manly Warringah	0	0	2	4	6	8	8	10	12	12	14	16	16	16	18	18	20	20	22	24	24	26	26	28	28	28
9	South Sydney	0	0	2	4	6	6	8	8	10	12	12	14	16	16	16	18	20	20	20	22	22	24	24	24	26	26
10	Brisbane	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	16	18	18	20	22	22	24	26	26	26	26	26
11	Newcastle	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	6	6	8	8	10	10	10	12	14	16	18	18	18	20	22	22	24	24	24
12	Parramatta	0	2	2	2	2	4	6	8	10	12	12	12	14	16	16	16	16	18	20	22	22	22	24	24	24	24
13	Canterbury-Bankstown	0	0	2	2	2	4	6	6	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	12	14	16	16	16	18	18	18	20	20	22
14	Cronulla-Sutherland	0	0	0	2	2	2	4	4	6	6	8	8	10	12	12	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	16	16	18	18
15	North Queensland	0	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	6	6	8	8	8	10	10	10	12	12	12	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
16	Melbourne	2	4	6	8	8	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Transfers

Players

Player	2009 Club	2010 Club
Karmichael Hunt	Brisbane Broncos	French Rugby Union (Biarritz Olympique)/AFL (Gold Coast Football Club)
Dave Taylor	Brisbane Broncos	South Sydney Rabbitohs
Tonie Carroll	Brisbane Broncos (mid-season retirement)	Retirement
PJ Marsh	Brisbane Broncos	Brisbane Broncos (retired during off season)3
Aaron Gorrell	Brisbane Broncos	Country Rugby League (Queanbeyan Kangaroos)
Isaak Ah Mau	Brisbane Broncos	North Queensland Cowboys
Will Tupou	Brisbane Broncos	North Queensland Cowboys
Joel Clinton	Brisbane Broncos	Super League (Hull Kingston Rovers)
Reece Robinson	Brisbane Broncos	Canberra Raiders
Adrian Purtell	Canberra Raiders	Penrith Panthers
Nigel Plum	Canberra Raiders	Penrith Panthers
Phil Graham	Canberra Raiders	Sydney Roosters
Stuart Flanagan	Canberra Raiders	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Glen Turner	Canberra Raiders	Retirement
Hazem El Masri	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Retirement
Greg Eastwood	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Super League (Leeds Rhinos)
Daryl Millard	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Super League (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats)
John Kite	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Melbourne Storm
Blake Green	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Corey Hughes	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Retirement
Ben Ross	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	South Sydney Rabbitohs
Brett Seymour	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	New Zealand Warriors
Brett Kearney	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Super League (Bradford Bulls)
Mitch Brown	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Wests Tigers
Brett Delaney	Gold Coast Titans	Super League (Leeds Rhinos)
Chris Walker	Gold Coast Titans	Super League (Catalans Dragons)
Daniel Conn	Gold Coast Titans	Sydney Roosters
Matt Orford	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Super League (Bradford Bulls)
Glenn Hall	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Super League (Bradford Bulls)
Heath L'Estrange	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Super League (Bradford Bulls)
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Sydney Roosters
Adam Cuthbertson	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Ryan Tandy	Melbourne Storm	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Steve Turner	Melbourne Storm	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Will Chambers	Melbourne Storm	Super 14 Rugby (QLD Reds)
Wairangi Koopu	Melbourne Storm	Retirement
Joseph Tomane	Melbourne Storm	Gold Coast Titans
James Maloney	Melbourne Storm	New Zealand Warriors
Matt Cross	Melbourne Storm	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Scott Anderson	Melbourne Storm	Brisbane Broncos
Luke MacDougall	Newcastle Knights	Melbourne Storm
Stacy Jones	New Zealand Warriors	Retirement
Denan Kemp	New Zealand Warriors	Brisbane Broncos
Wade McKinnon	New Zealand Warriors	Wests Tigers
Evarn Tuimavave	New Zealand Warriors	Newcastle Knights
Shane Tronc	North Queensland Cowboys	Brisbane Broncos2
Manase Manuokafoa	North Queensland Cowboys	Parramatta Eels
Joe Galuvao	Parramatta Eels	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Todd Lowrie	Parramatta Eels	Melbourne Storm
Kevin Kingston	Parramatta Eels	Penrith Panthers
Jeremy Latimore	Parramatta Eels	New Zealand Warriors
Broderick Wright	Parramatta Eels	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Paul Aiton	Penrith Panthers	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Geoff Daniela	Penrith Panthers	Wests Tigers
Junior Moors	Penrith Panthers	Wests Tigers
Adam Woolnough	Penrith Panthers	Retirement
Junior Tia-Kilifi	Penrith Panthers	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Keith Peters	Penrith Panthers	Released
Jarrod Sammut	Penrith Panthers	Super League (Crusaders RL)
Joel Romelo	Penrith Panthers	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Craig Wing	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Japanese Rugby (NTT Comunnications)
David Fa'alogo	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Super League (Huddersfield Giants)
David Kidwell	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Retirement
Michael Greenfield	South Sydney Rabbitohs	St George Illawarra Dragons
Justin Poore	St George Illawarra Dragons	Parramatta Eels
Wendell Sailor	St George Illawarra Dragons	Retirement
Chase Stanley	St George Illawarra Dragons	Melbourne Storm
Craig Fitzgibbon	Sydney Roosters	Super League (Hull FC)
Mark O'Meley	Sydney Roosters	Super League (Hull FC)
Willie Mason	Sydney Roosters	North Queensland Cowboys
Iosia Soliola	Sydney Roosters	Super League (St Helens RLFC)
Shane Shackleton	Sydney Roosters	Parramatta Eels
Dean Collis	Wests Tigers	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
John Morris	Wests Tigers	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Dene Halatau	Wests Tigers	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Daine Laurie	Wests Tigers	Penrith Panthers
Danny Galea	Wests Tigers	Canberra Raiders
Timana Tahu	Super 14 Rugby (NSW Waratahs)	Parramatta Eels
Sam Burgess	Super League (Bradford Bulls)	South Sydney Rabbitohs
Jason Ryles	Super League (Catalans Dragons)	Sydney Roosters
Adam Mogg	Super League (Catalans Dragons)	Canberra Raiders
Jason Cayless	Super League (St Helens RLFC)	Wests Tigers
Mark Flanagan	Super League (Wigan Warriors)	Wests Tigers
Tim Smith	Super League (Wigan Warriors)	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks1
Lote Tuqiri	English Rugby (Leicester Tigers)	Wests Tigers
Craig Stapleton	Salford City Reds	South Sydney Rabbitohs
Mark Gasnier	French Rugby Union (Stade Français)	St. George Illawarra Dragons

¹ Smith signed with the Brisbane Broncos but he later signed with Cronulla-Sutherland.

² Tronc signed with the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, where he played 3 games, but he later signed with Brisbane Broncos.

³ Marsh retired during the off season because of a serious injury.

Coaches

Coach	2009 Club	2010 Club
Brian Smith	Newcastle Knights	Sydney Roosters
Jason Taylor	South Sydney Rabbitohs1	Wests Tigers (Kicking Coach)
John Lang	South Sydney Rabbitohs (Club Consultant)	South Sydney Rabbitohs (Head Coach)

¹ Taylor was sacked after the 2009 season.

Leading Scorers

The following statistics are correct as of the conclusion of Round 19.

Top 5 Point Scorers
Pos	Name	Points	Team
1	Michael Gordon	162	Penrith
2	Todd Carney	159	Sydney
3	Benji Marshall	129	Wests Tigers
4	Jamie Soward	127	St. George Illawarra
5=	Issac Luke	120	South Sydney
5=	Bryson Goodwin	120	Canterbury-Bankstown

Top 5 Goal Scorers
Pos	Name	Goals	Team
1	Michael Gordon	65	Penrith
2	Todd Carney	55	Sydney
3	Jamie Soward	54	St. George Illawarra
4=	Corey Parker	52	Brisbane
4=	Bryson Goodwin	52	Canterbury-Bankstown

Top 5 Try Scorers
Pos	Name	Tries	Team
1	Lachlan Coote	17	Penrith
2=	Brett Morris	15	St. George Illawarra
2=	Akuila Uate	15	Newcastle
3=	Israel Folau	14	Brisbane
3=	Beau Champion	14	South Sydney

Finals Series

The NRL finals series adopts the McIntyre Final Eight System. The top eight teams from the minor premiership rounds qualify for the finals, with one week of qualifying finals played. The two lowest ranked losing teams are eliminated, the two highest ranked teams proceed to the third week of preliminary finals. The remaining four teams swap opponents and play for the right to meet the preliminary finalists. All matches from the second week onwards are sudden death.

Grand Final

The 2010 Grand Final is scheduled to take place at ANZ Stadium on Sunday October 3.

See also

• 2010 NRL All Stars Game
• 2010 State of Origin series
• 2010 NRL season results
• 2010 NYC season
• 2010 in rugby league
• 2010 World Club Challenge

External links

• NRL.com – Official site of the NRL, National Rugby League