The 2012 NRL season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds starting on 1 March, followed by four weeks of play-offs that culminated in the grand final on 30 September. The finals format for 2012 was also changed, with the new ARL Commission dispensing with the McIntyre final eight system and replacing it with the finals system employed previously by the ARL in the 1990s.
Regular season
Round 1 HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and Time (Local)VenueRefereesAttendance Newcastle Knights 14 – 15 St. George Illawarra Dragons1 March 2012, 7:30pmHunter Stadium Matt CecchinAshley Klein 29,189 Parramatta Eels6 – 18 Brisbane Broncos2 March 2012, 7:30pmParramatta StadiumShayne HayneGavin Morris11,399 Canberra Raiders19 – 24 Melbourne Storm3 March 2012, 5:30pmCanberra StadiumGavin BadgerBrett Suttor7,862 Penrith Panthers14 – 22 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs3 March 2012, 7:30pmCentrebet StadiumJason RobinsonPhil Haines9,585 North Queensland Cowboys0 – 18 Gold Coast Titans3 March 2012, 8:30pmDairy Farmers StadiumSteve LyonsAlan Shortall16,311 New Zealand Warriors20 – 26 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles4 March 2012, 2:00pmEden ParkTony ArcherBen Cummins37,502 Wests Tigers17 – 16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks4 March 2012, 2:00pmLeichhardt OvalJarred Maxwell Chris James19,762 South Sydney Rabbitohs20 – 24 Sydney Roosters5 March 2012, 7:00pmANZ StadiumGerard SuttonAdam Devcich18,278 Source: NRL 2012 Round 1 – RL Project After five previous unsuccessful attempts, the St George Illawarra Dragons became the last club to win a match in golden point extra time. The North Queensland Cowboys were held scoreless for the first time since 2006, and at home since 2003. This round saw the NRL premiership coaching debuts of the Dragons' Steve Price, the Sea Eagles' Geoff Toovey, the Warriors' Brian McClennan and the Rabbitohs' Michael Maguire. 2012's Round 1 set a new record in television ratings for an opening round, up 9% on the previous season's. This Round was the 9th (and as of Round 15 2014, last) time since Golden Point's inception in 2003 that there were 2 Golden Point games in the same week.
Round 2 HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and Time (Local)VenueRefereesAttendance Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles22 – 18 Wests Tigers9 March 2012, 7:30pmBluetongue StadiumBen CumminsGerard Sutton17,532 Brisbane Broncos26 – 28 North Queensland Cowboys9 March 2012, 7:30pmSuncorp StadiumJason RobinsonGavin Reynolds43,171 Gold Coast Titans12 – 24 Canberra Raiders10 March 2012, 4:30pmSkilled ParkSteve LyonsAlan Shortall11,378 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs30 – 4 St. George Illawarra Dragons10 March 2012, 7:30pmANZ StadiumMatt CecchinAshley Klein29,641 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks6 – 18 Newcastle Knights11 March 2012, 2:00pmToyota StadiumTony ArcherPhil Haines15,564 Sydney Roosters0 – 18 Penrith Panthers11 March 2012, 3:00pmAllianz StadiumAdam DevcichChris James12,746 Melbourne Storm24 – 10 South Sydney Rabbitohs11 March 2012, 7:00pmAAMI ParkShayne HayneGavin Morris15,872 Parramatta Eels20 – 36 New Zealand Warriors12 March 2012, 7:00pmParramatta StadiumGavin BadgerBrett Suttor12,102 Source: NRL 2012 Round 2 – RL Project The Gold Coast lost at home to Canberra for the first time. Canterbury defeated St. George Illawarra for the first time since Round 6, 2008. Penrith prevented their opposition scoring a try for the first time since Round 17, 2003, breaking an alltime record streak of 208 games The Round 2 attendance total of 158,006 set a new record for Round 2, exceeding the previous high of 148,127 in 2009. The Round 2 attendance total exceeded the Round 1 total for the first time since 1996.
Round 3 HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and Time (Local)VenueRefereesAttendance St. George Illawarra Dragons36 – 12 Wests Tigers16 March 2012, 7:30pmWIN Jubilee OvalTony ArcherPhil Haines18,726 Newcastle Knights10 – 24 Brisbane Broncos16 March 2012, 8:30pmHunter StadiumShayne HayneGavin Morris23,894 Gold Coast Titans6 – 30 Melbourne Storm17 March 2012, 4:30pmSkilled ParkJason RobinsonGavin Reynolds11,254 North Queensland Cowboys42 – 6 Parramatta Eels17 March 2012, 6:30pmDairy Farmers StadiumAdam DevcichChris James8,239 New Zealand Warriors18 – 32 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs18 March 2012, 2:00pmMt Smart StadiumMatt CecchinAshley Klein17,067 Sydney Roosters14 – 8 Canberra Raiders18 March 2012, 2:00pmAllianz StadiumSteve LyonsAlan Shortall10,343 Penrith Panthers24 – 40 South Sydney Rabbitohs18 March 2012, 3:00pmCentrebet StadiumGavin BadgerBernard Sutton13,876 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks17 – 14 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles19 March 2012, 7:00pmToyota StadiumBen CumminsChris Sutton8,652 Source: NRL 2012 Round 3 – RL Project
Round 4 HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and Time (Local)VenueRefereesAttendance Parramatta Eels6 – 39 Penrith Panthers23 March 2012, 7:30pmParramatta Stadium Matt Cecchin Gavin Reynolds13,788 South Sydney Rabbitohs12 – 20 Brisbane Broncos23 March 2012, 6:00pmnib Stadium Ashley Klein Chris James15,599 New Zealand Warriors26 – 6 Gold Coast Titans24 March 2012, 7:30pmMt Smart Stadium Jarred Maxwell Gavin Morris12,915 St. George Illawarra Dragons17 – 6 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles24 March 2012, 7:30pmWIN Jubilee Oval Shayne Hayne Adam Devcich17,893 North Queensland Cowboys14 – 20 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks24 March 2012, 8:30pmDairy Farmers Stadium Gerard Sutton Tony De Las Heras11,364 Melbourne Storm44 – 4 Sydney Roosters25 March 2012, 2:00pmAAMI Park Tony Archer Gavin Badger11,897 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs6 – 20 Newcastle Knights25 March 2012, 3:00pmANZ Stadium Ben Cummins Phil Haines21,701 Wests Tigers16 – 30 Canberra Raiders26 March 2012, 7:00pmCampbelltown Sports Stadium Jason Robinson Brett Suttor14,388 Source: NRL 2012 Round 4 – RL Project Parramatta's four losses to begin a season is the first time it has done so since 1991. Canberra defeated the Wests Tigers for the first time since Round 5, 2008, and at Campbelltown for the first time since Round 23, 2006.
Round 5 - Heritage Round HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and Time (Local)VenueRefereesAttendance Melbourne Storm34 – 22 Newcastle Knights30 March 2012, 7:30pmAAMI ParkMatt Cecchin Adam Devcich11,369 Brisbane Broncos28 – 20 St. George Illawarra Dragons30 March 2012, 7:30pmSuncorp StadiumBen Cummins Brett Suttor38,012 Penrith Panthers14 – 15 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks31 March 2012, 5:30pmCentrebet StadiumAshley Klein Henry Perenara13,920 Parramatta Eels29 – 20 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles31 March 2012, 7:30pmParramatta StadiumGrant Maxwell Gavin Reynolds13,158 Sydney Roosters26 – 8 New Zealand Warriors31 March 2012, 7:30pmAllianz StadiumTony Archer Tony De Las Heras13,201 Gold Coast Titans20 – 30 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs1 April 2012, 2:00pmSkilled ParkGerard Sutton Gavin Badger14,344 Wests Tigers16 – 17 South Sydney Rabbitohs1 April 2012, 3:00pmAllianz StadiumShayne Hayne Gavin Morris25,608 Canberra Raiders6 – 22 North Queensland Cowboys2 April 2012, 7:00pmCanberra StadiumSteve Lyons Chris James12,135 Source: NRL 2012 Round 5 – RL Project
Round 6 HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and Time (Local)VenueRefereesAttendance South Sydney Rabbitohs20 – 10 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs6 April 2012, 4:00pmANZ StadiumBen Cummins Gavin Badger35,221 Wests Tigers14 – 18 Brisbane Broncos6 April 2012, 7:35pmAllianz StadiumAshley Klein Steve Lyons17,556 Gold Coast Titans12 – 18 Sydney Roosters7 April 2012, 5:30pmSkilled Park Brett Suttor Chris James11,478 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks12 – 0 St. George Illawarra Dragons7 April 2012, 7:30pmToyota StadiumMatt Cecchin Adam Devcich21,380 Canberra Raiders32 – 12 New Zealand Warriors8 April 2012, 2:00pmCanberra StadiumShayne Hayne Alan Shortall10,800 Newcastle Knights14 – 6 Parramatta Eels8 April 2012, 3:00pmHunter StadiumTony Archer Tony De Las Heras24,158 North Queensland Cowboys18 – 42 Melbourne Storm8 April 2012, 7:00pmDairy Farmers StadiumJared Maxwell Gavin Reynolds20,206 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles30 – 0 Penrith Panthers9 April 2012, 7:00pmBrookvale OvalGerard Sutton Henry Perenara14,255 Source: NRL 2012 Round 6 – RL Project The Round 6 attendance total of 155,054 set a new record for Round 6, exceeding the previous high of 152,371 in 1995 (10 games).
Round 7 HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and Time (Local)VenueRefereesAttendance St. George Illawarra Dragons12 – 4 Newcastle Knights13 April 2012, 7:35pmWIN Jubilee OvalJarred Maxwell Gavin Reynolds15,291 Brisbane Broncos30 – 6 Canberra Raiders13 April 2012, 7:35pmSuncorp StadiumBen Cummins Gavin Badger30,017 Melbourne Storm12 – 6 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs14 April 2012, 5:30pmAAMI ParkMatt Cecchin Adam Devcich14,912 Sydney Roosters12 – 50 North Queensland Cowboys14 April 2012, 7:00pmTIO StadiumAshley Klein Gavin Morris10,758 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles14 – 26 Gold Coast Titans14 April 2012, 7:30pmBrookvale OvalJason Robinson Tony De Las Heras11,619 New Zealand Warriors44 – 22 South Sydney Rabbitohs15 April 2012, 2:00pmMt Smart StadiumShayne Hayne Alan Shortall15,378 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks24 – 18 Parramatta Eels15 April 2012, 2:00pmToyota StadiumSteve Lyons Henry Perenara14,327 Penrith Panthers0 – 30 Wests Tigers15 April 2012, 3:00pmCentrebet StadiumTony Archer Chris James15,759 Source: NRL 2012 Round 7 – RL Project For the first time since Round 26, 2005, St. George Illawarra defeated Newcastle on any of its home grounds. For the first time since Round 13 2005, the Cowboys scored 50 or more points against an opponent. For the first time in the Panthers history and the 10th time in NRL history, they were held to nil in 2 consecutive games, becoming the first team since West Tigers in Rounds 15 & 16 2004 to do this, it was also the first time the West Tigers held a team to nil in the joint venture's history, and the first time since Round 18 1998 either team in the merger held a team to nil.
Round 8 HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and Time (Local)VenueRefereesAttendance St. George Illawarra Dragons28 – 24 Sydney Roosters25 April 2012, 4:00pmAllianz StadiumMatt Cecchin Ben Cummins40,164 Melbourne Storm32 – 14 New Zealand Warriors25 April 2012, 7:00pmAAMI ParkTony Archer Chris James20,333 Brisbane Broncos26 – 6 Gold Coast Titans27 April 2012, 7:35pmSuncorp StadiumJarred Maxwell Adam Devcich30,083 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs10 – 12 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles27 April 2012, 7:35pmANZ StadiumShayne Hayne Brett Suttor24,743 South Sydney Rabbitohs20 – 16 North Queensland Cowboys28 April 2012, 7:30pmANZ StadiumSteve Lyons Henry Perenara12,213 Canberra Raiders22 – 44 Cronulla Sutherland Sharks29 April 2012, 2:00pmCanberra StadiumJason Robinson Tony De Las Heras12,227 Parramatta Eels30 – 31 Wests Tigers29 April 2012, 3:00pmParramatta StadiumAshley Klein Gavin Morris19,654 Newcastle Knights34 – 14 Penrith Panthers30 April 2012, 7:00pmHunter StadiumGerard Sutton Gavin Badger16,892 Source: NRL 2012 Round 8 – RL Project The Melbourne Storm became the first team since the Sydney Roosters in 1996 to open a season with eight successive wins. The South Sydney Rabbitohs won their 1,000th ever premiership match. Parramatta scored 30 points in 13 minutes, as they fell short of what would have been the greatest ever comeback in NRL history.
Round 9