1998 NRL season

The National Rugby League was formed after an agreement was reached between the two rivaling competitions from 1997, the Australian Rugby League and the Super League. In December 1997, the two parties formed a joint board to run the new Australian rugby league club competition. The vast majority of the 22 clubs that contested in 1997 across the split competitions also contested the first season of the National Rugby League, with the exception of the Hunter Mariners, the Western Reds and South Queensland.

The National Rugby League imposed a $3M salary cap on each of the clubs.[1]

The closure of the Hunter Mariners, Western/Perth Reds and South Queensland Crushers, and the introduction of the Melbourne Storm meant that a total of twenty clubs contested the 1998 Premiership. Eleven of these clubs were from Sydney, but an agreement between the Australian Rugby League and Super League meant that many of these clubs were in danger of being cut from the competition by the 2000 season when, it was decided, only 14 clubs would be invited to contest the premiership.

Adelaide 2nd season Ground: Adelaide Oval → Hindmarsh Stadium Coach: Rod Reddy → Dean Lance Captain: Kerrod Walters	Auckland 4th season Ground: Ericsson Stadium Coach: Frank Endacott Captain: Matthew Ridge	Balmain 91st season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Wayne Pearce Captain: Darren Senter	Brisbane 11th season Ground: ANZ Stadium Coach: Wayne Bennett Captain: Allan Langer	Canberra 17th season Ground: Bruce Stadium Coach: Mal Meninga Captain: Laurie Daley
Canterbury 64th season Ground: Belmore Oval Coach: Steve Folkes Captain: Simon Gillies→Darren Britt	Cronulla 32nd season Ground: Shark Park Coach: John Lang Captain: Andrew Ettinghausen	Gold Coast 11th season Ground: Carrara Stadium Coach: Phil Economidis Captain: Jamie Goddard	Illawarra 17th season Ground: WIN Stadium Coach: Andrew Farrar Captain: Paul McGregor	Manly 52nd season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Bob Fulton Captain: Geoff Toovey
Melbourne 1st season Ground: Olympic Park Stadium Coach: Chris Anderson Captain: Glenn Lazarus	Newcastle 11th season Ground: Marathon Stadium Coach: Mal Reilly Captain: Paul Harragon	North Queensland 4th season Ground: Stockland Stadium Coach: Tim Sheens Captain: Ian Roberts & John Lomax	North Sydney 91st season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Peter Louis Captain: Jason Taylor	Parramatta 52nd season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Brian Smith Captain: Dean Pay
Penrith 32nd season Ground: Penrith Stadium Coach: Royce Simmons Captain: Steve Carter	South Sydney 91st season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Steve Martin → Craig Coleman Captain: Sean Garlick	St. George 78th season Ground: Kogarah Oval Coach: David Waite Captain: Mark Coyne	Sydney City 91st season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Phil Gould Captain: Brad Fittler	Western Suburbs 91st season Ground: Campbelltown Stadium Coach: Tommy Raudonikis Captain: Paul Langmack

Adelaide

Auckland

Balmain

Brisbane

Canberra

Canterbury

Cronulla

Gold Coast

Illawarra Steelers

Manly

Melbourne

Newcastle

N. Queensland

N. Sydney

Parramatta

Penrith

Sydney City

S. Sydney

St. George

W. Suburbs

Locations of the participating clubs

Rounds 5 and 7: Brisbane Broncos set a new record for their biggest win, firstly 58-4 against North Queensland Cowboys, then 60-6 against North Sydney Bears, both games being played at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre.
Round 8: 1997 ARL premiers, the Newcastle Knights played the 1997 Super League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane won 26-6 in Newcastle before a crowd of 27,119, cementing their position at the top of the ladder.
Round 12: The record for the biggest comeback in premiership history was re-set by the North Queensland Cowboys who trailed 26–0 at half-time and came back to beat the Penrith Panthers 36–28.
Round 24: Ivan Cleary's tally of 284 points set a new individual record for most points scored in a season in Australian club rugby league history; it has since been beaten.

Ladder

1998 NRL season
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Brisbane Broncos (P)	24	18	1	5	688	310	+378	37
2	Newcastle Knights	24	18	1	5	562	381	+181	37
3	Melbourne Storm	24	17	1	6	546	372	+174	35
4	Parramatta Eels	24	17	1	6	468	349	+119	35
5	North Sydney Bears	24	17	0	7	663	367	+296	34
6	Sydney City Roosters	24	16	0	8	680	383	+297	32
7	Canberra Raiders	24	15	0	9	564	429	+135	30
8	St. George Dragons	24	13	1	10	486	490	-4	27
9	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	13	0	11	489	411	+78	26
10	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	24	13	0	11	503	473	+30	26
11	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	12	1	11	438	387	+51	25
12	Illawarra Steelers	24	11	1	12	476	539	-63	23
13	Balmain Tigers	24	9	1	14	381	463	-82	19
14	Penrith Panthers	24	8	2	14	525	580	-55	18
15	Auckland Warriors	24	9	0	15	417	518	-101	18
16	North Queensland Cowboys	24	9	0	15	361	556	-195	18
17	Adelaide Rams	24	7	0	17	393	615	-222	14
18	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	5	0	19	339	560	-221	10
19	Gold Coast Chargers	24	4	0	20	289	654	-365	8
20	Western Suburbs Magpies	24	4	0	20	371	802	-431	8

Ladder progression

• Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 10.
• 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
1	Brisbane Broncos	2	4	6	8	10	10	12	14	14	14	16	16	16	18	20	22	24	26	28	29	31	33	35	37
2	Newcastle Knights	2	4	6	8	10	10	12	12	14	16	18	20	22	24	24	26	27	29	31	31	31	33	35	37
3	Melbourne Storm	2	4	6	8	8	10	12	14	14	16	17	19	21	23	25	25	25	27	27	29	31	33	33	35
4	Parramatta Eels	2	4	4	6	8	8	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	24	24	24	26	28	28	30	32	34	35
5	North Sydney Bears	0	2	4	4	6	8	8	10	12	12	14	14	16	18	18	20	22	22	24	26	28	30	32	34
6	Sydney City Roosters	2	2	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	16	16	18	20	20	22	24	24	26	26	26	28	30	32
7	Canberra Raiders	0	0	2	2	4	4	6	8	10	12	12	14	16	16	18	18	20	20	22	24	26	28	30	30
8	St George Dragons	2	2	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	20	22	22	22	22	24	24	26	26	26	26	27
9	Canterbury Bulldogs	2	2	2	2	2	4	6	8	10	10	10	12	12	12	14	14	16	18	18	18	20	22	24	26
10	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	0	2	2	2	2	4	6	6	6	6	8	8	8	8	10	12	14	14	16	18	20	22	24	26
11	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	0	2	2	2	4	4	6	8	10	10	12	14	14	14	16	18	18	18	19	21	23	23	23	25
12	Illawarra Steelers	0	2	2	2	2	4	6	6	8	8	9	11	13	13	15	17	19	19	19	19	21	21	23	23
13	Balmain Tigers	2	2	4	6	8	10	10	10	10	10	12	12	12	14	16	16	16	18	18	19	19	19	19	19
14	Penrith Panthers	0	2	2	4	4	4	4	6	6	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	11	12	14	14	14	16	18
15	Auckland Warriors	0	0	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	6	8	8	10	10	12	14	14	14	16	16	18	18	18	18
16	North Queensland Cowboys	2	4	6	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	12	14	14	14	14	16	16	18	18	18	18	18	18
17	Adelaide Rams	0	0	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	6	6	6	8	10	12	12	14	14	14	14	14
18	South Sydney Rabbitohs	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	6	6	6	8	8	10	10	10
19	Gold Coast Chargers	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	6	6	6	6	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
20	Western Suburbs Magpies	0	0	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	6	6	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8

The biggest surprise of the season was when the Melbourne Storm finished 3rd after the regular season in their first ever year, only to be knocked out by the Brisbane Broncos in the Semi-final. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs became the lowest placed team ever to make the Grand Final, after finishing 9th after the regular season. Canterbury-Bankstown did it tough though, coming from 16 points down twice in as many weeks. They came from 16-0 down to win 28-16 against the Newcastle Knights in the Semi-final, then 18-2 down with 11 minutes to go to make it 18-18 after regulation time, then going on to win 32-20 in extra time against arch-rivals the Parramatta Eels in the preliminary final.

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Elimination and Preliminary Qualifying Finals[2]
Canberra Raiders	17–4	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	28 August 1998	Bruce Stadium	Bill Harrigan	15,953
St. George Dragons	12–20	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	29 August 1998	Jubilee Oval	Steve Clark	16,833
Parramatta Eels	25–12	North Sydney Bears	29 August 1998	Parramatta Stadium	Kelvin Jeffes	16,033
Melbourne Storm	12–26	Sydney City Roosters	30 August 1998	Olympic Park	Paul McBlane	18,247
Elimination and Qualifying Quarter-Finals
North Sydney Bears	2–23	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	4 September 1998	North Sydney Oval	Bill Harrigan	18,718
Melbourne Storm	24–10	Canberra Raiders	5 September 1998	Olympic Park	Steve Clark	12,592
Newcastle Knights	15–26	Sydney City Roosters	5 September 1998	Marathon Stadium	Kelvin Jeffes	26,482
Brisbane Broncos	10–15	Parramatta Eels	6 September 1998	ANZ Stadium	Paul McBlane	21,172
Semi-Finals
Newcastle Knights	16–28	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	12 September 1998	Sydney Football Stadium*	Steve Clark	24,449
Brisbane Broncos	30–6	Melbourne Storm	13 September 1998	Sydney Football Stadium*	Bill Harrigan	20,354
Grand Final Qualifiers[2]
Sydney City Roosters	18–46	Brisbane Broncos	19 September 1998	ANZ Stadium	Steve Clark	28,374
Parramatta Eels	20–32	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	20 September 1998	Sydney Football Stadium	Bill Harrigan	36,841

• Note: Due to an agreement held between the NRL and SFS that required a set number of finals games to be held at the SFS, the semi-finals were both held at the SFS to meet the agreement despite neither "home" side being from Sydney.

Grand Final

Main article: 1998 NRL Grand Final

The 1998 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 1998 NRL season. It was the first grand final of the re-unified National Rugby League and featured minor premiers and the previous year's Super League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, who had finished the regular season 9th (out of 20) to make a top-ten play-off grouping.

It was to be the first grand final under the National Rugby League partnership's administration and the last to be played at the Sydney Football Stadium. It was also the first time these two sides had met in a grand final. Brisbane scored first, but by half time trailed Canterbury 10–12. However, Brisbane scored 28 unanswered points in the second half, winning 12–38 and equaling the second highest score for a team in grand final history.

1998 NRL Grand Final

Sunday, 27 September 15:00 AEST (UTC+10)

Brisbane Broncos	38 – 12	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Tries: 7 De Vere  2' Campion  27' Carroll  41' Sailor  50' Tallis  59' Lee  68' Smith  75' Goals: 5 Lockyer  4', 43', 60', 69', 76' (5/7)	1st: 10–12 2nd: 28–0 Report[3][4]	Tries: 2 Grimaldi  21' Talau  30' Goals: 2 Halligan  pen 11', 22' (2/3)

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 40,857[5] Referee: Bill Harrigan Touch judges: Steve Betts, John McCormack Clive Churchill Medal: Gorden Tallis (Brisbane)

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 24.

Top 5 point scorers Points Player Tries Goals Field Goals 268 Ivan Cleary 13 108 0 229 Jason Taylor 5 104 1 226 Darren Lockyer 14 85 0 208 Daryl Halligan 5 94 0 174 Andrew Johns 7 71 4 Top 5 try scorers Tries Player 20 Darren Smith 20 Michael Buettner 20 Steve Menzies 19 Nathan Blacklock 18 Trent Barrett

Top 5 goal scorers Goals Player 108 Ivan Cleary 104 Jason Taylor 94 Daryl Halligan 85 Darren Lockyer 72 Clinton Schifcofske

Brisbane's consistent dominance over other teams at this period of time contributed to the National Rugby League's plans to cut the number of teams down to 14 in order to ensure competitiveness and the long-term financial success of the game.[6]

Despite the inclusion of "national" in the new competition's name, both the Gold Coast and Adelaide clubs folded at the end of the 1998 season. A new Gold Coast side re-entered the competition nine years later in 2007.

1998 was the last season for the seventy-eight-year-old St. George Dragons and seventeen-year-old Illawarra Steelers clubs, which merged to form the NRL's first joint-venture team at the conclusion of the season, the St. George Illawarra Dragons, for inclusion in the 1999 Premiership.

• Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
• Rugby League Tables - Season 1998 The World of Rugby League
• Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
• 1998 - Broncos Take Inaugural NRL Competition RL1908