The 2008 NRL Under-20s season was the first season of the National Rugby League's youth competition, known as the Toyota Cup due to sponsorship from Toyota. The draw and structure of the competition mirrors that of its senior counterpart, the 2008 Telstra Premiership.
Season summary
Schedule
NYC Records
Ladder
Ladder progression Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8. Team12345678910111213141516171819202122232425261 Canberra Raiders244681012141616181820222224242628303234363638402 Brisbane Broncos00246666810121415151719212123252527293133353 New Zealand Warriors002456881010121416182020222426283030323434354 Penrith Panthers224681012141416182022242626282929313131313335355 Parramatta Eels246791113131315171717192123232323252729313334356 St. George Illawarra Dragons024681012141618202223252525272729293131313132327 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs024677791112141416182022232525272729313131318 Gold Coast Titans222224468991113151719212325252729292929319 Wests Tigers2444466810101214161616182022242426282828303010 South Sydney Rabbitohs0002446810121414141616171820202020222426262811 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles2222224668810121414161616181820202022242612 Newcastle Knights02222466681010101012121213151717171719212113 Melbourne Storm2333557911111113131515151717171717192121212114 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks01333357999999991113131313131315151715 Sydney Roosters24666668888888881010101212121212141616 North Queensland Cowboys000112222244468911111111131315151515
Finals series
HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueReferee Qualifying Finals Brisbane Broncos28-22 Canterbury Bulldogs12 September 2008, 5:30pmSydney Football StadiumGerard Sutton Canberra Raiders43-12 Gold Coast Titans13 September 2008, 4:15pmToyota StadiumAlan Shortall Penrith Panthers16-24 Parramatta Eels13 September 2008, 6:15pmBrookvale OvalPhillip Haines New Zealand Warriors47-20 St. George Illawarra14 September 2008, 1:45pmOlympic ParkChris James Semi-finals New Zealand Warriors38-4 Penrith Panthers19 September 2008, 6:15pmMt Smart StadiumPhillip Haines Parramatta Eels22-23 St. George Illawarra20 September 2008, 5:30pmSuncorp StadiumChris James Preliminary Finals Canberra Raiders18-14 St. George Illawarra26 September 2008, 5:30pmSydney Football StadiumPhillip Haines Brisbane Broncos28-26 New Zealand Warriors27 September 2008, 5:30pmSydney Football StadiumChris James Grand Final Canberra Raiders28-24 Brisbane Broncos5 October 2008, 2:15pmANZ StadiumShayne Hayne
Grand final Canberra RaidersPosition Brisbane Broncos Josh Dugan FB Josh Hoffman2. Drury Low WG 2. Mitch Rivett3. Jarrod Croker CE 3. Will Tupou4. Daniel Vidot CE 4. Brendon Gibb5. Michael Brophy WG 5. Jharal Yow Yeh6. Michael Picker FE 6. Jared Kahu7. Matt Smith HB 7. Ben Hunt15. Andrew Edwards PR 8. Josh McGuire9. Travis Waddell HK 9. Andrew McCullough10. Nick Skinner PR 10. Mitchell Dodds11. Jarrad Kennedy SR 11. Matt Handcock12. Zach Merritt SR 12. Troyden Watene13. Shaun Fensom (c) LK 13. Alex Glenn (c)14. Brock Dunn Bench 14. Michael Spence16. Justin Carney Bench 15. Dunamis Lui17. Todd Rheinberger Bench 16. Guy Ford18. Levi Freeman Bench 17. Tom ButterfieldTony Adam Coach Anthony Griffin
Canberra defeated Brisbane 28–24 in the U20 rugby league grand final at ANZ Stadium. Second-rower Jarrad Kennedy scored the winning try seven minutes into golden-point extra time.
Kennedy was mobbed by jubilant Raiders teammates after collapsing over the line in exhaustion after willing himself to back up centre Jarrod Croker, who had collected a cross-field kick from halfback Matt Smith as the clock wound down.
Canberra won the hard way, though, recovering from 20-12 down early in the second half and then needing a missed conversion attempt from Broncos halfback Ben Hunt to force extra time.
Gunning for their eighth straight victory, Brisbane made a worrying start, conceding a soft try to five-eighth Michael Picker, which fullback Josh Dugan converted for a 6-0 lead after 10 minutes.
The Broncos steadied and went to the interval with a 16-12 buffer after tries to Hunt, interchange forward Michael Spence and winger Jharal Yow Yeh.
The Broncos looked set to go on with the job when centre Brendon Gibb crossed out wide in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Raiders refused to lie down.
A second try to Michael Picker and a goose-stepping four-pointer to winger Drury Low, plus Dugan's heroics, eventually set the scene for Kennedy's match-winning play.
Match Summary
Statistics
Top Pointscorers PlayerTeamPTGFGPts1Ben Barba Bulldogs20287022542Kevin Locke New Zealand241588-2363Josh Dugan Canberra191583-2264Ben Hunt Brisbane261749-1665Lachlan Coote Penrith121539-1386Nathan Gardner Parramatta161832-1367Jordan Kahu Brisbane22552-1248Eddie Paea South Sydney19113821229Chris Sandow South Sydney11647-11810Daly Cherry-Evans Manly247413113
Top Tryscorers PlayerTeamPT1Ben Barba Bulldogs20282Jharal Yow Yeh Brisbane26273Kevin Gordon Gold Coast20204Nathan Gardner Parramatta16185Ben Hunt Brisbane26176Drury Low Canberra16167Lachlan Coote Penrith12157Coedi Towney Wests Tigers17157Simon Williams Newcastle17157John Kennedy St George Illawarra23157Kevin Locke New Zealand2415
Awards
Toyota Cup Player of the Year The winner of the award is decided by the most votes during the year as decided by the referee of each game on a 3-2-1 basis for each game played throughout the regular season. Winner: Ben Hunt, Brisbane Nominated: Ben Barba, Bulldogs Eddie Paea, South Sydney Matt Mundine, St. George Illawarra
Toyota Cup team of the Year
The Toyota Cup team of the Year is voted on by the 16 Toyota Cup coaches, with the players with the highest votes in each position selected. PositionPlayerClub FB Lachlan Coote Penrith WG Jharal Yow Yeh Brisbane CE Justin Carney Canberra CE Tony Williams Parramatta WG Kevin Gordon Gold Coast FE Ben Barba Bulldogs HB Chris Sandow South Sydney PR Russell Packer New Zealand HK Masada Iosefa Penrith PR John Kite Bulldogs SR Joel Thompson Canberra SR Daniel Harrison Bulldogs LK Shaun Fensom Canberra Bench Ben Hunt Brisbane Bench Matt Mundine St George Illawarra Bench Jordan Rapana Gold Coast Bench Ben Matulino New Zealand
References