| 2014 National Rugby League | |
|---|---|
 James Maloney, the top goal scorer, in 2009 | |
| Duration | March 6 – October 5, 2014 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Premiers |  South Sydney Rabbitohs (21st title) |
| Minor premiers |  Sydney Roosters (18th title) |
| Matches played | 201 |
| Points scored | 8308 |
| Average attendance | 16,798 |
| Attendance | 3,376,409 |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Johnathan Thurston (208) |
| Wooden spoon | Cronulla Sharks (3rd spoon) |
| Dally M Medal | Johnathan Thurston & Jarryd Hayne |
| Top try-scorer(s) | Alex Johnston (21) |
← 2013 2015 → | |
The2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professionalrugby league in Australia and the 17th season of theNational Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started inNew Zealand, for theAuckland Nines, replacing theRugby League All Stars Match for the year, in the pre-season. After 26 rounds of the regular season, theSydney Roosters were again crowned minor premiers and the competition had been reduced to a top eight teams to contest the finals series. The grand final was won by theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs, ending a 43-year premiership drought, winning 30–6 against theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 8th consecutive year. The 2014 season also presents a record 7 teams naming co-captains. The NRL's salary cap for the clubs' top 25 players was $A6.3M for 2014.[1]
The 2014 pre-season featured the inauguralAuckland Nines competition, held over a weekend at Auckland'sEden Park. Hailed a success with its large attendances, the tournament was won byNorth Queensland Cowboys, claiming their first piece of silverware. The following weekend the2014 World Club Challenge was played in Sydney, the first time the match was held outside England since 1994, with theSydney Roosters defeating theWigan Warriors convincingly.
Unlike previous seasons' advertising campaigns that featured a pop song, in 2014 the NRL'sYou're the difference was a spoken-word piece that focused on the game's fans.[3] The NRL's official season launch was on 26 February at theSydney Exhibition Centre[4] and featured Roosters captainAnthony Minichiello speaking as the face of the game.[5]
In the annual pre-seasonCharity Shield match, the Dragons hosted the Rabbitohs but were beaten.
The regular season commenced on Thursday, 6 March in Sydney between theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs and theSydney Roosters. A number of themed rounds featured in the 2014 season, including Men of League Heritage Round (round 5), Women in League Round (round 10), and Indigenous Round (round 23). In addition, the NRL chose to designate round 19 as 'Rise for Alex' round in order to allow the rugby league community to show their support forNewcastle Knights playerAlex McKinnon, who suffered a severe neck injury in round 3. One dollar from each ticket sold across all eight games were donated to support McKinnon's recovery, where it raised over $147,000 in total.[6]
For the first time in the code's 106-year history, not one player wassent off from the field during the regular season.[7]
| 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 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane Broncos | CBY 6 | NQL 4 | SYD 4 | SGI 16 | PAR 7 | GCT 4 | NEW 26 | SOU 2 | NQL 13 | GCT 14 | WTI 2 | MAN 26 | CAN 24 | X | NZL 9 | CRO 2 | X | PEN 1 | NZL 6 | MEL 22 | MAN 12 | CBY 31 | SOU 26 | NEW 42 | SGI 8 | MEL 10 | NQL 12 | |||
| Canberra Raiders | NQL 6 | NEW 6 | GCT 12 | SOU 12 | PEN 6 | NEW 14 | MEL 2 | MAN 36 | NZL 42 | PEN 6 | NQL 30 | SYD 14 | BRI 24 | X | CBY 8 | WTI 1 | X | GCT 16 | MEL 14 | SOU 16 | NZL 36 | PAR 8 | SGI 18 | CRO 10 | WTI 15 | PAR 13 | ||||
| Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs | BRI 6 | CRO 38 | PEN 2 | MEL 28 | SYD 1 | NZL 1 | SOU 1 | NEW 4 | SGI 32 | NZL 4 | SYD 20 | X | MAN 22 | PAR 10 | CAN 8 | X | MAN 7 | MEL 2 | WTI 28 | NQL 8 | PEN 6 | BRI 31 | PAR 2 | WTI 20 | SOU 7 | GCT 1 | MEL 24 | MAN 1 | PEN 6 | SOU 24 |
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | GCT 6 | CBY 38 | SGI 2 | NEW 30 | NZL 31 | MAN 20 | SYD 6 | PEN 4 | PAR 18 | WTI 2 | SOU 18 | X | SGI 30 | X | MAN 26 | BRI 2 | SYD 2 | NEW 13 | NQL 18 | PEN 2 | PAR 20 | NZL 4 | MEL 42 | CAN 10 | NQL 1 | WTI 16 | ||||
| Gold Coast Titans | CRO 6 | WTI 30 | CAN 12 | NQL 1 | MEL 2 | BRI 4 | PEN 2 | WTI 16 | SOU 22 | BRI 14 | NZL 8 | X | PEN 22 | MEL 4 | SGI 1 | X | SOU 4 | CAN 16 | NEW 14 | PAR 6 | NQL 20 | SYD 8 | MAN 3 | SGI 28 | NZL 42 | CBY 1 | ||||
| Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | MEL 1 | SOU 2 | PAR 4 | SYD 8 | WTI 16 | CRO 20 | NQL 5 | CAN 36 | MEL 3 | NEW 1 | X | BRI 26 | CBY 22 | X | CRO 26 | SYD 8 | CBY 7 | WTI 32 | SGI 9 | NZL 10 | BRI 12 | SOU 19 | GCT 3 | PAR 10 | PEN 1 | NQL 14 | SOU 16 | CBY 1 | ||
| Melbourne Storm | MAN 1 | PEN 1 | NEW 8 | CBY 28 | GCT 2 | SGI 4 | CAN 2 | NZL 6 | MAN 3 | SOU 13 | X | NQL 22 | SYD 20 | GCT 4 | PAR 26 | SGI 12 | X | CBY 2 | CAN 14 | BRI 22 | WTI 22 | NEW 2 | CRO 42 | PEN 14 | SYD 12 | BRI 10 | CBY 24 | |||
| Newcastle Knights | PEN 22 | CAN 6 | MEL 8 | CRO 30 | NQL 26 | CAN 14 | BRI 26 | CBY 4 | PEN 22 | MAN 1 | X | NZL 20 | WTI 3 | SYD 17 | NQL 8 | PAR 6 | X | CRO 13 | GCT 14 | SYD 4 | SOU 40 | MEL 2 | NZL 6 | BRI 42 | PAR 30 | SGI 30 | ||||
| New Zealand Warriors | PAR 20 | SGI 19 | NQL 4 | WTI 24 | CRO 31 | CBY 1 | SGI 10 | MEL 6 | CAN 42 | CBY 4 | GCT 8 | NEW 20 | SOU 16 | X | BRI 9 | PEN 10 | X | PAR 48 | BRI 6 | MAN 10 | CAN 36 | CRO 4 | NEW 6 | SYD 34 | GCT 42 | PEN 16 | ||||
| North Queensland Cowboys | CAN 6 | BRI 4 | NZL 4 | GCT 1 | NEW 26 | WTI 12 | MAN 5 | PAR 28 | BRI 13 | SYD 32 | CAN 30 | MEL 22 | PAR 2 | X | NEW 8 | SOU 2 | SGI 3 | X | CRO 18 | CBY 8 | GCT 20 | WTI 58 | PEN 1 | SOU 12 | CRO 1 | MAN 14 | BRI 12 | SYD 1 | ||
| Parramatta Eels | NZL 20 | SYD 52 | MAN 4 | PEN 16 | BRI 7 | SYD 2 | WTI 3 | NQL 28 | CRO 18 | SGI 36 | X | PEN 26 | NQL 2 | CBY 10 | MEL 26 | NEW 6 | X | NZL 48 | SOU 20 | GCT 6 | CRO 20 | CAN 8 | CBY 2 | MAN 10 | NEW 30 | CAN 13 | ||||
| Penrith Panthers | NEW 22 | MEL 1 | CBY 2 | PAR 16 | CAN 6 | SOU 16 | GCT 2 | CRO 4 | NEW 22 | CAN 6 | X | PAR 26 | GCT 22 | SGI 4 | X | NZL 10 | WTI 16 | BRI 1 | SYD 20 | CRO 2 | CBY 6 | SGI 12 | NQL 1 | MEL 14 | MAN 1 | NZL 16 | SYD 1 | X | CBY 6 | |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | SYD 20 | MAN 2 | WTI 9 | CAN 12 | SGI 20 | PEN 16 | CBY 1 | BRI 2 | GCT 22 | MEL 13 | CRO 18 | SGI 19 | NZL 16 | WTI 22 | X | NQL 2 | GCT 4 | X | PAR 20 | CAN 16 | NEW 40 | MAN 19 | BRI 26 | NQL 12 | CBY 7 | SYD 4 | MAN 16 | X | SYD 10 | CBY 24 |
| St. George Illawarra Dragons | WTI 20 | NZL 19 | CRO 2 | BRI 16 | SOU 20 | MEL 4 | NZL 10 | SYD 20 | CBY 32 | PAR 36 | X | SOU 19 | CRO 30 | PEN 4 | GCT 1 | MEL 12 | NQL 3 | X | MAN 9 | WTI 16 | SYD 8 | PEN 12 | CAN 18 | GCT 28 | BRI 8 | NEW 30 | ||||
| Sydney Roosters | SOU 20 | PAR 52 | BRI 4 | MAN 8 | CBY 1 | PAR 2 | CRO 6 | SGI 20 | WTI 24 | NQL 32 | CBY 20 | CAN 14 | MEL 20 | NEW 17 | X | MAN 8 | CRO 2 | X | PEN 20 | NEW 4 | SGI 8 | GCT 8 | WTI 44 | NZL 34 | MEL 12 | SOU 4 | PEN 1 | NQL 1 | SOU 10 | |
| Wests Tigers | SGI 20 | GCT 30 | SOU 9 | NZL 24 | MAN 16 | NQL 12 | PAR 3 | GCT 16 | SYD 24 | CRO 2 | BRI 2 | X | NEW 3 | SOU 22 | X | CAN 1 | PEN 16 | MAN 32 | CBY 28 | SGI 16 | MEL 22 | NQL 58 | SYD 44 | CBY 20 | CAN 15 | CRO 16 | ||||
| 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 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF |
Bold – Opposition's Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 615 | 385 | +230 | 36 |
| 2 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 502 | 399 | +103 | 36 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs(P) | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 585 | 361 | +224 | 34 |
| 4 |  Penrith Panthers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 506 | 426 | +80 | 34 |
| 5 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 596 | 406 | +190 | 32 |
| 6 |  Melbourne Storm | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 536 | 460 | +76 | 32 |
| 7 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 446 | 439 | +7 | 30 |
| 8 |  Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 549 | 456 | +93 | 28 |
| 9 |  New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 571 | 491 | +80 | 28 |
| 10 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 477 | 580 | −103 | 28 |
| 11 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 469 | 528 | −59 | 26 |
| 12 |  Newcastle Knights | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 463 | 571 | −108 | 24 |
| 13 |  Wests Tigers | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 420 | 631 | −211 | 24 |
| 14 |  Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 372 | 538 | −166 | 22 |
| 15 |  Canberra Raiders | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 466 | 623 | −157 | 20 |
| 16 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 334 | 613 | −279 | 14 |
| 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 | Sydney | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 |
| 2 | Manly-Warringah | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 36 | 36 |
| 3 | South Sydney | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 34 | 34 |
| 4 | Penrith | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 34 |
| 5 | North Queensland | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
| 6 | Melbourne | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 32 |
| 7 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| 8 | Brisbane | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 |
| 9 | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 28 |
| 10 | Parramatta | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| 11 | St. George Illawarra | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 |
| 13 | Wests | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 |
| 14 | Gold Coast | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 |
| 15 | Canberra | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 |
| 16 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
For the third year the NRL uses the finals system previously implemented by the ARL competition from the 1990s (also used as theAFL finals system) to decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams. All but two teams retained a top-eight position to feature in this season's finals series. TheBrisbane Broncos made a return after finishing 12th in 2013, whilst thePenrith Panthers made their first finals appearance since 2010 and only the second time since 2004. By failing to qualify, theCanberra Raiders missed the finals in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1986.
By the time of the2014 NRL Grand final list-determining preliminary finals, the top four finishing teams remained except for the 2nd-placed Sea Eagles, who'd been replaced by the 7th-placed Bulldogs.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time (Local) | Venue | Referees | Crowd | |||||
| QUALIFYING & ELIMINATION FINALS | ||||||||
| Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 – 40 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 12 September 2014, 8:00 pm | Allianz Stadium | Shayne Hayne Gavin Badger | 25,733 | ||
| Sydney Roosters | 18 – 19 | Penrith Panthers | 13 September 2014, 5:55 pm | Allianz Stadium | Jared Maxwell Henry Perenara | 23,449 | ||
| North Queensland Cowboys | 32 – 20 | Brisbane Broncos | 13 September 2014, 7:55 pm | 1300SMILES Stadium | Gerard Sutton Ben Cummins | 25,120 | ||
| Melbourne Storm | 4 – 28 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 14 September 2014, 4:10 pm | AAMI Park | Matt Cecchin Gavin Morris | 19,230 | ||
| SEMI FINALS | ||||||||
| Sydney Roosters | 31 – 30 | North Queensland Cowboys | 19 September 2014, 8:00 pm | Allianz Stadium | Shayne Hayne Gavin Badger | 18,355 | ||
| Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 17 – 18 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs † | 20 September 2014, 7:50 pm | Allianz Stadium | Gerard Sutton Ben Cummins | 28,186 | ||
| PRELIMINARY FINALS | ||||||||
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | 32 – 22 | Sydney Roosters | 26 September 2014, 8:00 pm | ANZ Stadium | Gerard Sutton Ben Cummins | 52,592 | ||
| Penrith Panthers | 12 – 18 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 27 September 2014, 8:00 pm | ANZ Stadium | Shayne Hayne Gavin Badger | 46,168 | ||
† Match decided ingolden point extra time.
| Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||||||
| 13 Sept,Allianz Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Sydney | 18 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Penrith | 19 | 19 Sept,Allianz Stadium | ||||||||||||||||
| Sydney | 31 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 Sept,1300SMILES Stadium | North Queensland | 30 | 27 Sept,ANZ Stadium | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | North Queensland | 32 | Penrith | 12 | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | Brisbane | 20 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 18 | 5 Oct,ANZ Stadium | ||||||||||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 Sept,AAMI Park | 26 Sept,ANZ Stadium | South Sydney | 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Melbourne | 4 | South Sydney | 32 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 28 | 20 Sept,Allianz Stadium | Sydney | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 Sept,Allianz Stadium | Manly-Warringah | 17 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Manly-Warringah | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | South Sydney | 40 | |||||||||||||||||
Sunday, 5 October 7:35pm (AEDT) |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | 30 – 6 | Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Alex Johnston (20')1 George Burgess (56')1 Kirisome Auva'a (73')1 Adam Reynolds (78')1 Greg Inglis (80')1 Goals: Adam Reynolds5/7 (27' pen, 57', 64' pen, 75', 79') Sam Burgess0/1 | 1st: 6 - 0 2nd: 24 - 6 | Tries: 1 (49')Tony Williams Goals: 1/1 (50')Trent Hodkinson |
The following statistics are of the conclusion of round 26.
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
| Top 5 goal scorers
Top 5 tacklers
|
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| Coach | 2013 Club | 2014 Club |
|---|---|---|
| Ricky Stuart | Parramatta Eels | Canberra Raiders |
