The 2009 NRL Under-20s season was the second season of the NRL Under-20s competition. The Competition, known as the Toyota Cup for sponsorship purposes, is solely for under-20 players. The draw and structure of the competition mirrors that of its first grade counterpart, the National Rugby League.
Season summary
Schedule
Ladder
Ladder progression Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.
Finals series
The NYC finals series adopts the McIntyre final eight system just like its first grade counterpart, the National Rugby League.
HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueReferee Qualifying Finals Melbourne Storm54-18 South Sydney Rabbitohs11 September 2009, 5:30pmEtihad Stadium, MelbourneGavin Reynolds Wests Tigers22-46 Brisbane Broncos12 September 2009, 4:15pmSkilled Park, RobinaChris Butler Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles28-32 Canberra Raiders12 September 2009, 6:15pmANZ Stadium, SydneyGavin Morris St. George Illawarra Dragons48-24 New Zealand Warriors13 September 2009, 1:45pmWIN Jubilee Oval, KogarahAdam Devcich Semi-finals Canberra Raiders34-42 Wests Tigers18 September 2009, 5:30pmSydney Football Stadium, SydneyGavin Reynolds Brisbane Broncos24-10 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles19 September 2009, 5:30pmSuncorp Stadium, BrisbaneAdam Devcich Preliminary Finals St. George Illawarra Dragons12-36 Wests Tigers25 September 2009, 5:30pmANZ Stadium, SydneyGavin Reynolds Melbourne Storm40-16 Brisbane Broncos26 September 2009, 5:30pmEtihad Stadium, MelbourneAdam Devcich Grand Final Melbourne Storm24-22 Wests Tigers4 October 2009, 2:10pmANZ Stadium, SydneyGavin Reynolds
Grand Final Melbourne StormPosition Wests TigersGareth Widdop FB Jake MullaneySam Joe WG Joel JacksonJustin O'Neill CE Joel WisbeyPita Maile CE Jake ClarkeMatt Duffie WG Sama SauvaoDane Chisholm FE Robert LuiLuke Kelly (c) HB Darren Nicholls (c)Pulou Vaituutuu PR Andrew FifitaJames Woolford HK Chris CorbyJesse Bromwich PR Aaron WoodsRob Rochow SR Simon DwyerTheodore Stuart SR Jason SchirnackBilly Rogers LK Matt HylandJai Jones-Wiegold Bench Jay FlorimoJordan McLean Bench Monikura TikinauKevin Proctor Bench David FifitaFred Makimare Bench Rhys CurranBrad Arthur Coach Grant Jones
English-born Melbourne young gun Gareth Widdop clinched the Toyota Cup grand final for the Storm with a 74th minute try and pressure conversion, his side downing the Wests Tigers 24-22 on Sunday.
Widdop finger-nailed a late grubber - his second try of the match - to draw his side level at 22-22 before calmly potting the conversion and delivering the second version of the national under-20s competition to Melbourne.
The Storm scored four of their five tries in the first half to lead 18-10 at the break before a burst of two four-pointers in three minutes from the Tigers took them to a 22-18 lead after 56 minutes.
The Tigers had looked to be coming home with a wet sail before Widdop, who missed three first-half conversions, made the difference in a match where the lead changed five times.
The match became a virtual showdown between two gun fullbacks as Wests Tigers tryscoring machine Jake Mullaney took his season tally to 29 tries from 27 games in 2009 with a double of his own.
The speedy Tigers fullback also scored a try on either side of halftime and set up five-eighth Robert Lui's four-pointer for the Tigers' second-half lead.
Melbourne, who finished third in the regular season, had held the ascendancy before that, and led 18-10 at the break with, ironically, Widdop's goal-kicking letting his side down.
The Storm had also been denied three times in the first half, twice with players held up, but scored tries through winger Matt Duffie, lock Billy Rogers, Gareth Widdop and centre Justin O'Neill.
Melbourne Storm 24 (Gareth Widdop 2, Matt Duffie, Billy Rogers, Justin O'Neill tries; Gareth Widdop 2/5 goals)
Wests Tigers 22 (Jake Mullaney 2, Rhys Curran, Robert Lui tries; Jake Mullaney 3/4 goals)
Half-Time: Melbourne 18-10
Jack Gibson Medal: Luke Kelly
Club and Player Statistics
Leading try scorers Top 10 try scorers Pos Name Tries Team1Jake Mullaney29 Wests Tigers2Kane Morgan26 South Sydney3Matt Duffie25 Melbourne4=Taioalo Vaivai20 South Sydney4=Joe Vickery20 St. George Illawarra6=Kane Linnett18 St. George Illawarra6=Gareth Widdop18 Melbourne8=Pakisonasi Afu17 Bulldogs8=Daly Cherry-Evans17 Manly8=Obe Geia17 North Queensland8=Beau Henry17 St. George Illawarra8=Shaun Johnson17 New Zealand
Leading point scorers Top 10 overall point scorersPlayerTeamTGFGPts1Jake Mullaney Wests Tigers29103-3222Gareth Widdop Melbourne18111-2943Beau Henry St. George Illawarra1790-2484Shaun Johnson New Zealand178412375=Mitchell Porter Manly876-1845=Stirling Siejka Penrith582-1847Peter Mata'utia Newcastle1264-1768Michael Picker Canberra1063-1669=Jordan Rankin Gold Coast564-1489=Taioalo Vaivai South Sydney2034-1489=Troyden Watene North Queensland760-148
Leading goal scorers Top 10 goal scorers Pos Name Goals Team1Gareth Widdop111 Melbourne2Jake Mullaney103 Wests Tigers3Beau Henry90 St. George Illawarra4Shaun Johnson84 New Zealand5Stirling Siejka82 Penrith6Mitchell Porter76 Manly7=Peter Mata'utia64 Newcastle7=Jordan Rankin64 Gold Coast9=Michael Picker63 Canberra9=Troyden Watene60 North Queensland
Leading field goal scorers Top 10 field goal scorers Pos Name FG's Team1Daly Cherry-Evans3 Manly2Darren Nicholls2 Wests Tigers3=Ben Cronin1 North Queensland3=Rhys Jack1 Bulldogs3=Shaun Johnson1 New Zealand3=Luke Kelly1 Melbourne3=Robert Lui1 Wests Tigers3=Ben Murray1 Sydney3=Shane Pumipi1 Cronulla3=Harry Siejka1 Penrith3=Ray Thompson1 North Queensland
Biggest Wins Top 10 biggest winning margins Pos Winning team Losing team Round Score Margin 1 Manly Cronulla2564-1054 2= Manly New Zealand252-448 2= Manly Bulldogs1764-1648 2= New Zealand Gold Coast2252-448 2= Parramatta Cronulla1252-448 2= St. George Illawarra Sydney1758-1048 7= Manly Sydney2356-1046 7= North Queensland Cronulla1756-1046 9 South Sydney Gold Coast850-644 10= Manly Sydney1342-042 10= Wests Tigers Bulldogs2658-1642
Winning Streaks Winning streak still active
Top 5 longest winning streaks Pos Team First win Round Last win Round Games won 1= Brisbane40-16 vs Bulldogs1448-24 vs Penrith239 1= St. George Illawarra36-12 vs Penrith334-22 vs Cronulla119 3 Melbourne40-26 vs North Queensland2224-22 vs Wests TigersGF8 4= Manly40-20 vs Bulldogs126-22 vs North Queensland77 4= St. George Illawarra34-22 vs Melbourne2148-24 vs New ZealandQF7
QF = Qualifying Finals GF = Grand Final
Losing Streaks Losing streak still active
Top 5 longest losing streaks Pos Team First Loss Round Last Loss Round Games lost 1 Cronulla24-16 vs North Queensland644-12 vs Melbourne2013 2 Sydney48-10 vs South Sydney2058-26 vs North Queensland267 3= Bulldogs40-16 vs Brisbane1428-16 vs Gold Coast196 3= Canberra28-14 vs Penrith1928-24 vs New Zealand246 3= Gold Coast22-16 vs Penrith728-6 vs St. George Illawarra136 3= Penrith20-16 vs Cronulla134-30 vs Brisbane66
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:
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.
PositionPlayerClubFullbackMalcolm Webster South SydneyWingJoe Vickery St. George IllawarraCentreTaioalo Vaivai South SydneyCentreSiuatonga Likiliki New ZealandWingDrury Low CanberraFive-EightRobert Lui Wests TigersHalfbackBeau Henry St. George IllawarraFront RowTrent Merrin St. George IllawarraHookerTravis Waddell CanberraFront RowJesse Bromwich MelbourneSecond RowJake Marketo St. George IllawarraSecond RowJared Waerea-Hargreaves ManlyLockJamie Buhrer ManlyBenchKieran Foran ManlyBenchJoel Romelo PenrithBenchGareth Widdop MelbourneBenchDaly Cherry-Evans Manly
See also 2009 NRL Under-20s season results 2009 NRL season 2009 Dally M Awards 2009 in rugby league
References
External links NRL.com - Official site of the NYC, National Youth Competition