The 2006 NRL season was the 99th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the ninth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen clubs competing for the 2006 Telstra Premiership. Throughout the 26 rounds of the regular season, ten teams from New South Wales (9 of them from the Sydney basin), two from Queensland and one each from Victoria, the ACT and New Zealand competed for the minor premiership. Eight of these teams qualified for the four-week finals series, with the Brisbane Broncos eventual victors over the Melbourne Storm in the grand final. Melbourne finished the regular season first so were awarded the minor premiership, but this was later revoked due to the Melbourne Storm salary cap breach. The decision was then made to award no minor premiership for the season.
Preseason Newcastle Knights coach Michael Hagan signed a three-year deal to coach the Parramatta Eels, beginning in 2007. Hagan replaced Brian Smith, who had coached the Eels since 1997 whilst Smith replaced Hagan at Newcastle in an unprecedented coach-swap. In other coaching moves, Matthew Elliott was confirmed as the coach of the Penrith Panthers, beginning in 2007. Penrith Panthers halfback Craig Gower was fired as captain, suspended for four games and fined $100,000 ($90,000 to be paid to an NRL programme encouraging the responsible use of alcohol by league players and $10,000 to replace a destroyed golf cart) after a string of alcohol-fueled incidents at a charity golf function. The Charity Shield heralded the unofficial start of the season, with the South Sydney Rabbitohs defeating St George Illawarra 14-12 in their first home game at Telstra Stadium on February 18. All NRL clubs engaged in a series of trials during the month of February. Wests Tigers premiership-winning captain Scott Prince announced on March 3 he had signed a four-year deal with expansion team Gold Coast Titans, beginning in 2007. Prince relinquished the captaincy of the Tigers for the 2006 season.
New Zealand Warriors salary cap breach The salary cap for the 2006 season was A$3.366 million per club for their 25 highest-paid players. The New Zealand Warriors were investigated by the National Rugby League over alleged salary cap breaches committed by the team's previous administrators. The club admitted to inflating its salary cap to the tune of nearly $1 million during the 2005 season. The National Rugby League fined the Warriors $430,000 and ordered the team to start the season with a four premiership point deficit. It was the first time in 99 years of rugby league in Australia that a team has started a season on less than zero premiership points.
The Warriors appealed the decision by the NRL to deduct the four competition points but accepted the financial penalty. Prior to the beginning of the season, the National Rugby League confirmed that the points penalty would stand. The penalty would prove the decisive factor in the Warriors missing the finals for the third year in succession.
Teams Brisbane Broncos 19th seasonGround: Suncorp StadiumCoach: Wayne BennettCaptain: Darren LockyerCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 72nd seasonGround: Telstra StadiumCoach: Steve FolkesCaptain: Andrew RyanCanberra Raiders 25th seasonGround: Canberra StadiumCoach: Matthew ElliottCaptain: Clinton SchifcofskeCronulla-Sutherland Sharks 40th seasonGround: Toyota StadiumCoach: Stuart RaperCaptain: Brett KimmorleyManly Warringah Sea Eagles 57th seasonGround: Brookvale OvalCoach: Des HaslerCaptain: Ben KennedyMelbourne Storm 9th seasonGround Olympic Park StadiumCoach: Craig BellamyCaptain: variousNew Zealand Warriors 12th seasonGround: Mt Smart StadiumCoach: Ivan ClearyCaptain: Steve PriceNewcastle Knights 19th seasonGround: EnergyAustralia StadiumCoach: Michael HaganCaptain: Andrew JohnsNorth Queensland Cowboys 12th seasonGround: Dairy Farmers StadiumCoach: Graham MurrayCaptain: Travis NortonParramatta Eels 60th seasonGround: Parramatta StadiumCoach: Brian Smith→Jason TaylorCaptain: Nathan CaylessPenrith Panthers 40th seasonGround: CUA StadiumCoach: John LangCaptain: Tony PuletuaSouth Sydney Rabbitohs 97th seasonGround: Telstra StadiumCoach: Shaun McRaeCaptain: Peter CusackSt. George Illawarra Dragons 8th seasonGround: OKI Jubilee Stadium & WIN StadiumCoach: Nathan BrownCaptain: Trent BarrettSydney Roosters 99th seasonGround: Sydney Football StadiumCoach: Ricky StuartCaptain: Craig FitzgibbonWests Tigers 7th seasonGround: Campbelltown Stadium & Leichhardt OvalCoach: Tim SheensCaptain: Brett Hodgson
Season summary
The season began on March 10 with a match between defending premiers Wests Tigers and the St. George Illawarra Dragons, played at Telstra Stadium. The Melbourne Storm won 20 out of 24 regular season matches to win the minor premiership eight points clear of the Bulldogs. However, in April 2010, the Storm were retroactively stripped of their minor premiership as a result of salary cap breaches occurring over the course of the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons, with no minor premiers declared for the 2006 season, as well as the subsequent two seasons.
The grand finals:
Brisbane Broncos vs Melbourne Storm (NRL) Parramatta Eels vs Newtown Jets (NSW Cup) Penrith Panthers vs Newcastle Knights (NSW Jersey Flegg Cup)
The winners in all grades were:
Brisbane Broncos (NRL) Parramatta Eels (NSW Cup) Penrith Panthers (NSW Jersey Flegg Cup)
The test match
Australia vs New Zealand
The tri-nations Series
Australia vs New Zealand Australia vs Great Britain Great Britain vs New Zealand
The State Of Origin Series
Queensland vs New South Wales
Venues Sixteen stadiums regularly hosted National Rugby league matches, with a further six hosting at least one match in season 2006. Stadium name During the 2006 season, many of the stadiums were known by different names to their traditional ones, as some were sponsored by various organisations. For example, Aussie Stadium was also formerly known as the "Sydney Football Stadium", likewise, Mt Smart Stadium was known as 'Ericsson Stadium' for the majority of the season, until the naming rights expired.CityHost club(s)Capacity This includes both seated and standing spots. Suncorp Stadium Milton, Brisbane, Qld Brisbane Broncos52,500 Canberra Stadium Bruce, Canberra, ACT Canberra Raiders25,000 Olympic Park Stadium Melbourne, Vic Melbourne Storm18,500 EnergyAustralia Stadium Newcastle, NSW Newcastle Knights26,200 Sydney Football Stadium Moore Park, Sydney, NSW Sydney Roosters41,159 Brookvale Oval Brookvale, Sydney, NSW Manly Warringah Sea Eagles22,000 Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown, Sydney, NSW Wests Tigers20,000 Leichhardt Oval Leichhardt, Sydney, NSW Wests Tigers20,000 Oki Jubilee Stadium Kogarah, Sydney, NSW St George Illawarra Dragons20,541 Parramatta Stadium Parramatta, Sydney, NSW Parramatta Eels20,500 CUA Stadium Penrith, Sydney, NSW Penrith Panthers21,000 Telstra Stadium Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, NSW Bulldogs South Sydney Rabbitohs Wests Tigers83,500 Toyota Park Cronulla, Sydney, NSW Cronulla Sharks21,500 Dairy Farmers Stadium Kirwan, Townsville, Qld North Queensland Cowboys25,000 Mt Smart Stadium Penrose, Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand Warriors25,000 WIN Stadium Wollongong, NSW St George Illawarra Dragons20,000 Hindmarsh Stadium Hindmarsh, Adelaide, SA15,500 Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium Gosford, Central Coast, NSW20,059 Jade Stadium Christchurch, New Zealand36,500 Carrara Stadium Carrara, Gold Coast, Qld22,000 Waikato Stadium Hamilton, New Zealand26,350 Sydney Cricket Ground Moore Park, Sydney, NSW43,562
Advertising In 2006 the NRL and their advertising agency MJW Hakuhodo stayed with the Hoodoo Gurus' "That's My Team" soundtrack for a fourth year, producing a treatment aimed to appeal to the fundamental hope of all players and fans: that it would be ‘their team’ who would win the Grand Final.
Capitalising on the enthusiasm generated by the Wests Tigers triumph of 2005 in only their sixth season, the campaign line and song chorus was changed to ‘That’s My Dream’.
All fifteen NRL club captains featured heavily in the television and outdoor ads holding aloft the Telstra trophy. Eight young real life fans also featured in the TV commercial reflecting the origins of the game from backyard football scenes to Sydney beaches. Each was a fan of one of eight clubs who had not till then won the Telstra Premiership trophy and four different broadcast versions of the ad told the stories of their love of the game and each's dream of their own team's victory.
Dally M Awards
The Dally M Awards were introduced in 1980 by News Limited. The most prestigious of these awards is the Dally M Medal which is awarded to the Player of the Year. The other prestigious award is the Provans Summons Medal which is the season's best player as voted by the public. As well as honouring the player of the year the awards night also recognises the premier player in each position, the best coach, the best captain, representative player of the year and the most outstanding rookie of the season. The awards night and Player of the Year medal are named in honour of Australian former rugby league great Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger.
PositionAwardPlayerClub Player of the YearCameron SmithMelbourne Storm Provans Summons MedalNathan HindmarshParramatta Eels Rookie of the YearJarryd HayneParramatta Eels Captain of the YearBen KennedyManly Warringah Sea Eagles Rep Player of the YearDarren LockyerBrisbane Broncos Coach of the YearCraig BellamyMelbourne Storm
Team of the Year PositionAwardPlayerClub Best FullbackClinton SchifcofskeCanberra Raiders Best WingerBrian CarneyNewcastle Knights Best CentreMark GasnierSt George Illawarra Dragons Best Five-EighthDarren LockyerBrisbane Broncos Best HalfbackCooper CronkMelbourne Storm Best LockBen KennedyManly Warringah Sea Eagles Best Second-RowerNathan HindmarshParramatta Eels Best PropRoy AsotasiBulldogs Best HookerCameron SmithMelbourne Storm
Statistics and records Clinton Schifcofske ran 3,741 metres with the ball in 2006, more than any other player in the competition. The Brisbane Broncos set a club record for their biggest comeback win when they came from 18-0 down at half time to win 30-28 against Canberra Raiders in round 8. The Melbourne Storm set a club record for their longest winning streak with 11 games from Round 12 to Round 23. New Zealand Warriors defeated South Sydney Rabbitohs 66–0 in Round 16. This set new records for New Zealand's greatest winning margin and South Sydney's greatest losing margin. The Newcastle Knights and Canberra Raiders set the league record for the highest aggregate score in a match, with a total of 102 points scored in Newcastle's 70–32 win in Round 2. The previous record (97 points, between St George and Canterbury-Bankstown) had stood since 1935. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks set a then-club record for longest losing streak with 10 matches from Round 17 to Round 26. Nathan Merritt became the first player to top the try scoring chart from the wooden spoon winning side.Champions in poor teams, Sydney Morning Herald, September 2006
Ladder
Finals series The Melbourne Storm went into the finals for the first time as Minor Premiers (at the time). They had a week off after their first finals win against the Parramatta Eels 12-6 to prepare for a preliminary final encounter, again the St. George Illawarra Dragons which was won by the Storm 24-10, earning them a spot in the Grand final against the Brisbane Broncos. The Broncos had surprised everyone in the previous two months. After a slight hiccup in the qualifying final, going down against St. George Illawarra Dragons 20-4, they came back in the next two weeks, beating the Newcastle Knights 50-6 in the Semi-final and coming from 20-6 down at halftime to win 37-20 against the Bulldogs in the preliminary final.