2011 NRL season

The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The NRL's main championship, called the 2011 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, was contested by sixteen teams for the fifth consecutive year. Alongside was the fourth season of the Toyota Cup taking place.

2011 National Rugby League
DurationMarch 11 – October 2, 2011
Teams16
Premiers Manly Warringah (8th title)
Minor premiers Melbourne Storm (1st title)
Matches played201
Attendance3464207
Top points scorer(s) Benji Marshall (211)
Player of the year Billy Slater (Dally M Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Nathan Merritt (23) Ben Barba (23)

The season's Premiership title was awarded to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles who took out their 8th title, only three years after their previous title, defeating the New Zealand Warriors in the Grand Final.

Season summary

The 2011 competition draw was announced on Thursday, 7 October 2010,[1] with the season's first match between NRL teams to be played on Friday, 11 March. The first round of the premiership season became the highest attended round in NRL history, with 201,212 fans attending.[2] However, the first NRL match of the year was the second annual NRL All Stars vs Indigenous All Stars game played at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast on 12 February. The annual ANZAC Test was also held at Skilled Park, on 6 May, with City vs Country Origin held on the same night at the Lavington Sports Ground in Albury. The Test match was to have been held at Christchurch in New Zealand, but was moved due to the destruction wrought on that city by the earthquake in February 2011.[3] Byes began on 6 May, being the day of those representative matches, and continued throughout the 2011 State of Origin series, covering in total rounds 9 to 18. Themed rounds included the Heritage Round (round 5), Women in League Round (round 16), and Rivalry Round (round 19).

The regular 26 round season finished with the Melbourne Storm winning the J. J. Giltinan Shield for being the minor premiers. However the grand final match-up ended up between the second placed Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the sixth placed New Zealand Warriors in which the Sea Eagles sought victory and claimed their 8th premiership title.

The coveted Dally M Medal award for player of the year in 2011 was awarded to Melbourne Storm fullback Billy Slater, who becomes the second Storm player to be given the award. (see 2011 Dally M Awards for full award listing)

Records set In 2011

Teams

The number of teams in the NRL remained unchanged for the fourth consecutive season, with sixteen participating in the regular season: ten from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. Of the ten from New South Wales, eight are from Sydney's metropolitan area, with St. George-Illawarra being a Sydney and Wollongong joint venture. Just two foundation clubs from New South Wales Rugby League season 1908 played in the competition: the Sydney Roosters (formerly known as Eastern Suburbs) and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Brisbane Broncos
24th season
Ground: Suncorp Stadium
Coach: Anthony Griffin
Captain: Darren Lockyer
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
77th season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: Kevin MooreJim Dymock
Captain: Andrew Ryan
Canberra Raiders
30th season
Ground: Canberra Stadium
Coach: David Furner
Captain: Alan Tongue
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
45th season
Ground: Toyota Stadium
Coach: Shane Flanagan
Captain: Paul Gallen
Gold Coast Titans
5th season
Ground: Skilled Park
Coach: John Cartwright
Captain: Scott Prince
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
62nd season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Des Hasler
Captain: Jamie Lyon & Jason King
Melbourne Storm
14th season
Ground: AAMI Park
Coach: Craig Bellamy
Captain: Cameron Smith
Newcastle Knights
24th season
Ground: Ausgrid Stadium
Coach: Rick Stone
Captain: Kurt Gidley
2009
New Zealand Warriors
17th season
Ground: Mt Smart Stadium
Coach: Ivan Cleary
Captain: Simon Mannering
North Queensland Cowboys
17th season
Ground: Dairy Farmers Stadium
Coach: Neil Henry
Captain: Johnathan Thurston & Matt Scott
Parramatta Eels
65th season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Stephen Kearney
Captain: Nathan Hindmarsh
Penrith Panthers
45th season
Ground: Centrebet Stadium
Coach: Matthew ElliottSteve Georgallis
Captain: Petero Civoniceva
South Sydney Rabbitohs
102nd season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: John Lang
Captains: Roy Asotasi & Michael Crocker
Sydney Roosters
104th season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Braith Anasta
St George Illawarra Dragons
13th season
Ground: Jubilee Oval & WIN Stadium
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Ben Hornby
Wests Tigers
12th season
Grounds: Campbelltown Stadium & Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Robbie Farah

Ladder

2011 NRL Telstra Premiership
Pos. Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Melbourne Storm 2419-5252130821342
2 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) 2418-6253933120840
3 Brisbane Broncos 2418-6251137213940
4 Wests Tigers 2415-925194308934
5 St. George Illawarra Dragons 241419248334114233
6 New Zealand Warriors 2414-10250439311132
7 North Queensland Cowboys 2414-1025324805232
8 Newcastle Knights 2412-1224784433528
9 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2412-122449489-4028
10 South Sydney Rabbitohs 2411-132531562-3126
11 Sydney Roosters 2410-142417500-8324
12 Penrith Panthers 249-152430517-8722
13 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 247-172428557-12918
14 Parramatta Eels 2461172385538-15317
15 Canberra Raiders 246-182423623-20016
16 Gold Coast Titans 246-182363629-26616

Ladder progression

  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
  • Underlined numbers indicate that the team had a bye during 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 25 26
1 Melbourne 24468101012141416182022242628303234363840424242
2 Manly-Warringah 0244681010121416182022242426283032323436384040
3 Brisbane 02468101214141416161820222224262828303234363840
4 Wests 02446668101012121416161618182022242628303234
5 St George Illawarra 22468101214161820222323232525272929292929293133
6 New Zealand 00024468101214161616161618202224262628303032
7 North Queensland 2244681012121416182020222224262628303030303232
8 Newcastle 24444688101010121214161820202022242626262628
9 Canterbury-Bankstown 2466681010121212141416161818181820202224242628
10 South Sydney 0024444681010101012141616161818202224262626
11 Sydney 2224444466881010121212141414161618202224
12 Penrith 02224444688101214141618182020202020202222
13 Cronulla-Sutherland 024444446888810121416181818181818181818
14 Parramatta 222444668810101113131313151515151515151517
15 Canberra 22222222246888101214141416161616161616
16 Gold Coast 000224466688810101012121212121414161616

Finals series

To decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams, the NRL adopts the McIntyre Final Eight System. The 2011 finals series sees the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, Wests Tigers, St George Illawarra Dragons and the New Zealand Warriors all return from last year. The Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos both return after last year's absence whilst the North Queensland Cowboys and the Newcastle Knights appear in this year's finals for the first time since 2007 and 2009, respectively.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue Referees Crowd
QUALIFYING FINALS
Wests Tigers 21 12 St George Illawarra Dragons 9 September 2011, 7:45pm ANZ Stadium Tony Archer
Matt Cecchin
45,631
Brisbane Broncos 40 10 New Zealand Warriors 10 September 2011, 6:45pm Suncorp Stadium Jared Maxwell
Shayne Hayne
48,943
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 42 8 North Queensland Cowboys 10 September 2011, 8:30pm Sydney Football Stadium Ben Cummins
Gavin Badger
13,972
Melbourne Storm 18 8 Newcastle Knights 11 September 2011, 4:00pm AAMI Park Ashley Klein
Adam Devcich
14,845
SEMI FINALS
Wests Tigers 20 22 New Zealand Warriors 16 September 2011, 7:45pm Sydney Football Stadium Shayne Hayne
Jared Maxwell
27,109
Brisbane Broncos 13 12 St George Illawarra Dragons 17 September 2011, 6:45pm Suncorp Stadium Tony Archer
Matt Cecchin
48,474
PRELIMINARY FINALS
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 26 14 Brisbane Broncos 23 September 2011, 7:45pm Sydney Football Stadium Shayne Hayne
Jared Maxwell
31,894
Melbourne Storm 12 20 New Zealand Warriors 24 September 2011, 7:45pm AAMI Park Tony Archer
Matt Cecchin
28,580

† - Match decided in golden point extra time

Finals chart

  Qualifying Finals Semi Finals Preliminary Finals Grand Final
                                     
1 Melbourne 18
8 Newcastle 8
  1W Melbourne 12  
2 Manly 42   4W Wests 20       New Zealand 20    
7 North Queensland 8   2L New Zealand 22           Manly 24
        New Zealand 10
3 Brisbane 40         2W Manly 26    
6 New Zealand 10   3W Brisbane 13       Brisbane 14  
  1L St. George Illawarra 12  
4 Wests 21
5 St. George Illawarra 12

Grand Final

Sunday, 2 October
5:00pm (AEDT)
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24 10 New Zealand Warriors
Tries:
Brett Stewart (30') 1
Daly Cherry-Evans (40') 1
Glenn Stewart (57') 1
Jamie Lyon (79') 1
Goals:
Jamie Lyon 3/3
(32', 40', 58')
Michael Robertson 1/1
(80')
1st: 12 - 2
2nd: 12 - 8
report
Tries:
Manu Vatuvei (62') 1
Elijah Taylor (68') 1
Goals:
James Maloney 1/3
(28' pen)

Club and player records

The following statistics are correct as of the conclusion of Round 26.

Most points in a match by an individual

Points Player Tries Goals FG Opponent Score Venue Round
20 Luke Burt 2 6/7 0 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 40–6 Sydney Football Stadium Round 11
20 Nathan Merritt 5 0 0 Parramatta Eels 56–6 ANZ Stadium Round 22
20 Chris Sandow 1 8/10 0 Parramatta Eels 56–6 ANZ Stadium Round 22
20 Johnathan Thurston 2 6/7 0 Parramatta Eels 40–26 Dairy Farmers Stadium Round 10

Most tries in a match by an individual

Tries Player Opponent Score Venue Round
5 Nathan Merritt Parramatta Eels 56–6 ANZ Stadium Round 22
4 Ben Barba Canberra Raiders 36–22 ANZ Stadium Round 26
4 Akuila Uate South Sydney Rabbitohs 40–24 Ausgrid Stadium Round 26

Paul Gallen ran 3,670 metres with the ball in 2011, more than any other player in the competition.[4]

Attendances

The regular season attendances for the 2011 season aggregated to a total of 3,123,055 (average 16,267), becoming the second highest attended NRL season (after 2010).


The highest twenty regular season match attendances:

Crowd Venue Home Team Opponent Round
50,859 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Round 26
45,119 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos North Queensland Cowboys Round 1
40,094 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos South Sydney Rabbitohs Round 25
38,412 Eden Park New Zealand Warriors Parramatta Eels Round 1
37,173 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos New Zealand Warriors Round 22
34,976 Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Roosters St George Illawarra Dragons Round 7
34,322 ANZ Stadium Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs St George Illawarra Dragons Round 10
34,185 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos St George Illawarra Dragons Round 15
34,175 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Melbourne Storm Round 9
32,283 Suncorp Stadium
(Double Header)
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Brisbane Broncos
Gold Coast Titans
Round 12
31,122 Sydney Cricket Ground St George Illawarra Dragons Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Round 5
31,035 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Gold Coast Titans Round 19
30,729 Ausgrid Stadium Newcastle Knights South Sydney Rabbitohs Round 26
30,687 ANZ Stadium Parramatta Eels Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Round 6
30,127 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Wests Tigers Round 17
30,538 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Round 8
28,703 Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Roosters South Sydney Rabbitohs Round 1
27,687 Sydney Football Stadium Wests Tigers St George Illawarra Dragons Round 22
26,737 ANZ Stadium Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Wests Tigers Round 1
26,463 Dairy Farmers Stadium North Queensland Cowboys Brisbane Broncos Round 23
25,623 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Broncos Penrith Panthers Round 4

2011 Transfers

Players

Player 2010 Club 2011 Club
Israel Folau Brisbane Broncos Greater Western Sydney Giants (Australian rules football)
Lagi Setu Brisbane Broncos Hiatus
Ashton Sims Brisbane Broncos North Queensland Cowboys
Antonio Winterstein Brisbane Broncos North Queensland Cowboys
Scott Logan Canberra Raiders Retirement
Adam Mogg Canberra Raiders Retirement
Joel Monaghan Canberra Raiders Super League: Warrington Wolves
Troy Thompson Canberra Raiders Melbourne Storm
Yileen Gordon Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Penrith Panthers
Ben Hannant Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Brisbane Broncos
Jarrad Hickey Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Brett Kimmorley Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Retirement
Luke Patten Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Super League: Salford City Reds
Trent Barrett Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Retirement
Luke Covell Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Retirement
Adam Cuthbertson Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks St. George Illawarra Dragons
Blake Ferguson Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Canberra Raiders
Grant Millington Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Jordan Atkins Gold Coast Titans Parramatta Eels
Aaron Cannings Gold Coast Titans Tweed Heads Seagulls (Intrust Super Cup)
Josh Graham Gold Coast Titans Retirement
Chris Bailey Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Super League: Harlequins RL
Matthew Cross Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Retirement
Ben Farrar Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Super League: Catalans Dragons
Trent Hodkinson Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Josh Perry Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Super League: St. Helens
Brett Finch Melbourne Storm Super League: Wigan Warriors
Ryan Hoffman Melbourne Storm Super League: Wigan Warriors
Greg Inglis Melbourne Storm South Sydney Rabbitohs
Jeff Lima Melbourne Storm Super League: Wigan Warriors
Aiden Tolman Melbourne Storm Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Brett White Melbourne Storm Canberra Raiders
Ben Cross Newcastle Knights Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Scott Dureau Newcastle Knights Super League: Catalans Dragons
Steve Simpson Newcastle Knights Retirement
Cooper Vuna Newcastle Knights Melbourne Rebels (Super Rugby)
Patrick Ah Van New Zealand Warriors Super League: Bradford Bulls
Ian Henderson New Zealand Warriors Super League: Catalans Dragons
Jesse Royal New Zealand Warriors Retirement
Brent Tate New Zealand Warriors North Queensland Cowboys
Ben Harris North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Manase Manuokafoa North Queensland Cowboys Parramatta Eels
Willie Mason North Queensland Cowboys Super League: Hull Kingston Rovers
Luke O'Donnell North Queensland Cowboys Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Steve Rapira North Queensland Cowboys New Zealand Warriors
Grant Rovelli North Queensland Cowboys Mackay Cutters (Intrust Super Cup)
Steve Southern North Queensland Cowboys Newcastle Knights
Anthony Watts North Queensland Cowboys N/A
Carl Webb North Queensland Cowboys Parramatta Eels
John Williams North Queensland Cowboys Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Ty Williams North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Nathan Cayless Parramatta Eels Retirement
Eric Grothe Jr. Parramatta Eels Retirement
Krisnan Inu Parramatta Eels New Zealand Warriors
Kris Keating Parramatta Eels Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Feleti Mateo Parramatta Eels New Zealand Warriors
Timana Tahu Parramatta Eels Penrith Panthers
Maurice Blair Penrith Panthers Melbourne Storm
Gavin Cooper Penrith Panthers North Queensland Cowboys
Shane Elford Penrith Panthers Retirement
Wade Graham Penrith Panthers Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Frank Pritchard Penrith Panthers Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Frank Puletua Penrith Panthers Retirement
Colin Best South Sydney Rabbitohs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Luke Capewell South Sydney Rabbitohs Gold Coast Titans
Beau Champion South Sydney Rabbitohs Melbourne Storm
Garret Crossman South Sydney Rabbitohs Retirement
Jaiman Lowe South Sydney Rabbitohs Melbourne Storm
Jamie Simpson South Sydney Rabbitohs Super League: Huddersfield Giants
Craig Stapleton South Sydney Rabbitohs Retirement
Neville Costigan St. George Illawarra Dragons Newcastle Knights
Luke Priddis St. George Illawarra Dragons Retirement
Jarrod Saffy St. George Illawarra Dragons Melbourne Rebels (Super Rugby)
Jeremy Smith St. George Illawarra Dragons Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
James Aubusson Sydney Roosters Retirement
Ben Jones Sydney Roosters North Queensland Cowboys
Nick Kouparitsas Sydney Roosters Super League: Harlequins RL
Lopini Paea Sydney Roosters Super League: Catalans Dragons
Jason Cayless Wests Tigers Retirement
Daniel Fitzhenry Wests Tigers Retirement
John Skandalis Wests Tigers Retirement
Glenn Hall Super League: Bradford Bulls North Queensland Cowboys
Matt Orford Super League: Bradford Bulls Canberra Raiders
Dane Carlaw Super League: Catalans Dragons Brisbane Broncos
Dallas Johnson Super League: Catalans Dragons North Queensland Cowboys
Casey McGuire Super League: Catalans Dragons Parramatta Eels
Chris Walker Super League: Catalans Dragons Parramatta Eels
Paul Whatuira Super League: Huddersfield Giants Parramatta Eels
Shaun Berrigan Super League: Hull F.C. New Zealand Warriors
Greg Eastwood Super League: Leeds Rhinos Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Shane Tronc Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Brisbane Broncos
Chris Hicks Super League: Warrington Wolves Parramatta Eels
Mark Riddell Super League: Wigan Warriors Sydney Roosters
Chris Houston N/A Newcastle Knights
Reni Maitua N/A Parramatta Eels
Reece Simmonds N/A St. George Illawarra Dragons
Matt Utai N/A Wests Tigers
Dayne Weston N/A Penrith Panthers
Adam Woolnough N/A Melbourne Storm

See also

References

  1. 2011 Telstra Premiership Draw – NRL.com
  2. Paul, Crawley (15 March 2011). "Record-breaking week for NRL". The Daily Telegraph. Australia: Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  3. Name: (will appear on website) (4 March 2011). "ANZAC test moves to Skilled Park Titans | goldcoast.com.au | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia". goldcoast.com.au. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  4. Proszenko, Adrian (6 May 2012). "Gallen set to smash record". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
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