2004 NRL season explained

The 2004 NRL season (also known as the 2004 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra) was the 97th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the seventh run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen clubs competed during the regular season before the top eight finishing teams contested the finals series. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs defeated the Sydney Roosters in the 2004 NRL grand final and in doing so claimed their eighth premiership.

Pre-season

The beginning of the season was largely overshadowed with several Bulldogs players questioned by police in relation to an alleged rape of a 20-year-old Coffs Harbour woman.^[1] An independent investigator, former New South Wales chief of detectives, would later fail to find any evidence of misconduct on behalf of the players, and no charges were pressed.

The 2004 World Club Challenge was held on Friday, 13 February 2004, at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield, England. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and Penrith Panthers and won by the home team.

The salary cap for the 2004 season was A$3.25 million per club for their 25 highest-paid players.^[2]

Regular season

Due to a perceived emphasis in the game on defence, NRL referees were instructed to call out "surrender tackle" this season when ball carriers submit at the ruck, signalling the defence to slow down the tackle in order for defenders to reset.^[3]

The first round of the season began on Friday, 12 March with 2003 champions, the Penrith Panthers losing 14–20 to the Newcastle Knights before a crowd of 19,936 at Penrith Stadium.^[4]

During a match between the Broncos and the Tigers, the Broncos fielded 14 men at one stage of the Campbelltown Stadium match. In the 60th minute, Brisbane's Shane Webcke knocked out by Tiger Bryce Gibbs. Corey Parker was brought onto the ground while Webcke was still being assisted off. Parker immediately scored off a Darren Lockyer pass and started a Broncos revival (they trailed 24–8 at halftime) which later saw them win 24–32. But, after the fourteenth man was investigated, the Broncos were stripped of the two competition points,^[5] which were reinstated weeks later.

A significant comeback was seen in a round 25 clash between the St George Dragons and Manly. Trailing 34–10 after 53 minutes, St. George Illawarra came back to win the match 36–34. This match stood in second-place in the rankings of the biggest comebacks in Australian premiership history.

Several players and coaches also made the headlines for the wrong reasons. Jamie Lyon walked out on the Parramatta club after the first round citing burnout and dissatisfaction with living in Sydney, and would later move to the UK for a successful Super League career. Coaches Daniel Anderson and Paul Langmack would have their contracts terminated at the New Zealand Warriors and South Sydney Rabbitohs respectively.

Andrew Johns was injured in Newcastle's third game of the season against Parramatta, and subsequently missed the remainder of the season. The Knights missed the finals of the NRL for the first time since 1996.

2004 was also notable for the emergence of teenage players Sonny Bill Williams (Bulldogs) and Karmichael Hunt (Brisbane Broncos), and their performances, mature beyond their years, would be critical to the fortunes of their clubs.

A quirk of the draw meant that the Sydney Roosters did not play a premiership match in Queensland during the season, while there was only one Queensland derby contested during the regular season, in round six in Townsville.^[6]

The grand finals:

• Canterbury Bulldogs vs Sydney Roosters (NRL)
• St George Illawarra Dragons vs Sydney Roosters (NSW Cup)
• Cronulla Sharks vs Sydney Roosters (NSW Jersey Flegg Cup)

The winners in all grades were:

• Canterbury Bulldogs (Seniors Grade)
• Sydney Roosters (NSW Cup)
• Sydney Roosters (NSW Jersey Flegg Cup)

The test match

• Australia vs New Zealand

The State Of Origin Series

• Queensland vs New South Wales

Teams

The line-up of fifteen teams for the 2004 premiership remained unchanged from the previous season.

width=150		width=150		width=150		width=150		width=150
Brisbane Broncos 17th season Ground: Suncorp Stadium Coach: Wayne Bennett Captain: Gorden Tallis	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 70th season Ground: Sydney Showground & Telstra Stadium Coach: Steve Folkes Captain: Steve Price	Canberra Raiders 23rd season Ground: Canberra Stadium Coach: Matthew Elliott Captain: Simon Woolford	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 38th season Ground: Toyota Stadium Coach: Stuart Raper Captain: Brett Kimmorley	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 55th season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Des Hasler Captain: Steve Menzies
Melbourne Storm 7th season Ground Olympic Park Coach: Craig Bellamy Captain: Stephen Kearney	Newcastle Knights 17th season Ground: EnergyAustralia Stadium Coach: Michael Hagan Captain: Andrew Johns	New Zealand Warriors 10th season Ground: Ericsson Stadium Coach: Daniel Anderson → Tony Kemp Captain: Stacey Jones	North Queensland Cowboys 10th season Ground: Dairy Farmers Stadium Coach: Graham Murray Captain: Travis Norton	Parramatta Eels 58th season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Brian Smith Captain: Nathan Cayless
Penrith Panthers 38th season Ground: Penrith Football Stadium Coach: John Lang Captain: Craig Gower	South Sydney Rabbitohs 95th season Ground: Aussie Stadium Coach: Paul Langmack → Arthur Kitinas Captain: Bryan Fletcher	St. George Illawarra Dragons 6th season Ground: OKI Jubilee Stadium & WIN Stadium Coach: Nathan Brown Captain: Trent Barrett	Sydney Roosters 97th season Ground: Aussie Stadium Coach: Ricky Stuart Captain: Brad Fittler	Wests Tigers 5th season Ground: Campbelltown Stadium & Leichhardt Oval Coach: Tim Sheens Captain: Scott Sattler & Darren Senter

Advertising

In 2004 the NRL and their advertising agency MJW Hakuhodo continued with their use of the Hoodoo Gurus' 1987 hit "What's My Scene" with reworked lyrics as "That's My Team".

In addition to the big 60-second season launch TV commercial, three shorter executions were produced: one targeting young men, another targeting women and one aimed at families. In a year where sexual assault allegations damaged perceptions and the reputation of the code, retaining female fans was seen as a massive challenge.^[7]

Statistics and records

• Anthony Minichiello ran 4,590 metres with the ball in 2004, more than any other player in the competition.^[8]
• Hazem El Masri's tally of 342 points from 2004 still stands as the individual record for most points scored in a season in Australian club rugby league history.
• The St. George Illawarra Dragons's club record for their biggest comeback was set at 24 points when they came from 34–10 down with only 25 minutes remaining to win 36–34 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
• The Brisbane Broncos' 10–0 loss to the Cowboys was their first ever against the Townsville-based club, and the first time they had been held scoreless in Queensland.
• The Wests Tigers were held scoreless in consecutive weeks (rounds 15 and 16), those two rounds, the Tigers conceded 50+ points, a 50–0 loss to St. George Illawarra Dragons in round 15 and a 56–0 loss to the Sydney Roosters in round 16. Also the Tigers were held scoreless twice against the Roosters, the other time, a 22–0 scoreline in round 9.
• The North Queensland Cowboys' round 25 clash against the Wests Tigers was their first match broadcast by the Nine Network since round 1, 1995.

Ladder

Finals series

To decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams, the NRL adopts the McIntyre final eight system.

The North Queensland Cowboys qualified for the finals for the first time in their ten-year history, and shocked everybody by finishing just one game short of the grand final. During the finals, they won their first ever game against Queensland rivals Brisbane, thus ending the career of Brisbane stalwart Gorden Tallis. Also retiring after the 2004 finals series were Brad Fittler, Ryan Girdler and Kevin Campion.

St. George Illawarra Dragons almost capped a remarkable comeback when they trailed 24–0 only after half an hour of play to come back to only lose 31–30 against the Penrith Panthers in the first Qualifying Final. In doing so St. George Illawarra became the first team to finish fifth to bow out after the first week of the finals, giving Penrith a home preliminary final; despite leading 8–4 at halftime in their preliminary final against Canterbury, they lost 30–14, thus ending their premiership defence.

Another notable game was the seventh-placed North Queensland Cowboys reaching the finals for the first time and upsetting the second-placed and competition favourites the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 30–22 in the 3rd qualifying final. North Queensland also defeated the Brisbane Broncos for the first time ever during the semi-finals but were unable to reach the grand final when they lost to the Sydney Roosters in the Preliminary Final.

The North Queensland vs Brisbane semi-final was originally fixtured to be played at Aussie Stadium, however, at the behest of both clubs, and in accordance with Aussie Stadium management, the NRL agreed to move the game to Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville.^[9] North Queensland won the game 10–0, giving them their first ever win over Brisbane and eliminating from the finals in the process. The game was Broncos' captain and club legend Gorden Tallis' last, who coincidentally was born and raised in Townsville.^[10]

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs claimed their 8th premiership title by beating the Sydney Roosters in the grand final.

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			width=17%	Date and Time	width=17%	Venue	width=11%	Referee	width=7%	Crowd
Qualifying Finals
align=left	Penrith Panthers	31 – 30	align=left	St. George Illawarra Dragons	10 September 2004	Penrith Football Stadium	Sean Hampstead	21,963
align=left	Brisbane Broncos	14 – 31	align=left	Melbourne Storm	11 September 2004	Suncorp Stadium	Steve Clark	31,100
align=left	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	22 – 30	align=left	North Queensland Cowboys	11 September 2004	Telstra Stadium	Tim Mander	18,371
align=left	Sydney Roosters	38 – 12	align=left	Canberra Raiders	12 September 2004	Aussie Stadium	Paul Simpkins	18,375
Semi-finals
align=left	North Queensland Cowboys	10 – 0	align=left	Brisbane Broncos	18 September 2004	Dairy Farmers Stadium¹	Tim Mander	24,989
align=left	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	43 – 18	align=left	Melbourne Storm	19 September 2004	Aussie Stadium	Paul Simpkins	23,750
Preliminary Finals
align=left	Penrith Panthers	14 – 30	align=left	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	25 September 2004	Aussie Stadium	Tim Mander	37,868
align=left	Sydney Roosters	19 – 16	align=left	North Queensland Cowboys	26 September 2004	Telstra Stadium	Paul Simpkins	43,048

¹ Game relocated to Dairy Farmers Stadium, the Cowboys' home ground, from Aussie Stadium. Cowboys designated home team despite the Broncos finishing higher on the table.

Finals Chart

Grand Final

See main article: article and 2004 NRL Grand Final.

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 26.Top 5 point scorers

width=50	Points	width=200	Player	width=30	Tries	width=30	Goals	width=30	Field Goals
288	Hazem El Masri	11	122	0
208	Josh Hannay	8	88	0
192	Brett Hodgson	11	74	0
180	Andrew Walker	5	80	0
162	Michael De Vere	8	65	0

Top 5 try scorers

width=50	Tries	width=200	Player
23	Amos Roberts
18	Scott Donald
17	Ryan Cross
17	Matt Cooper
16	Willie Tonga

Top 5 goal scorers

width=50	Goals	width=200	Player
122	Hazem El Masri
88	Josh Hannay
80	Andrew Walker
74	Brett Hodgson
65	Michael De Vere

2004 Transfers

Players

Player	2003 Club	2004 Club
data-sort-value="Gee, Andrew"	Andrew Gee	Brisbane Broncos	Retirement
data-sort-value="Prince, Scott"	Scott Prince	Brisbane Broncos	Wests Tigers
data-sort-value="Swain, Richard"	Richard Swain	Brisbane Broncos	Super League: Hull F.C.
data-sort-value="Jensen, Rod"	Rod Jensen	Canberra Raiders	North Queensland Cowboys
data-sort-value="Lolesi, Jamahl"	Jamahl Lolesi	Canberra Raiders	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
data-sort-value="Monaghan, Michael"	Michael Monaghan	Canberra Raiders	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
data-sort-value="Rutgerson, Sean"	Sean Rutgerson	Canberra Raiders	Super League: Salford City Reds
data-sort-value="Marteene, Shane"	Shane Marteene	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="Norton, Travis"	Travis Norton	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	North Queensland Cowboys
data-sort-value="Reardon, Steve"	Steve Reardon	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Retirement
data-sort-value="Vagana, Nigel"	Nigel Vagana	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
data-sort-value="Cannings, Aaron"	Aaron Cannings	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Dorn, Luke"	Luke Dorn	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Sydney Roosters
data-sort-value="Jensen, Tony"	Tony Jensen	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	St. George Illawarra Dragons
data-sort-value="Lima, Danny"	Danny Lima	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Super League: Warrington Wolves
data-sort-value="Long, Nathan"	Nathan Long	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	St. George Illawarra Dragons
data-sort-value="MacDougall, Ben"	Ben MacDougall	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Melbourne Storm
data-sort-value="McGuinness, Kevin"	Kevin McGuinness	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Super League: Salford City Reds
data-sort-value="Shipway, Mark"	Mark Shipway	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Super League: Salford City Reds
data-sort-value="Bai, Marcus"	Marcus Bai	Melbourne Storm	Super League: Leeds Rhinos
data-sort-value="Langi, Junior"	Junior Langi	Melbourne Storm	Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Moule, Aaron"	Aaron Moule	Melbourne Storm	Super League: Widnes Vikings
data-sort-value="Ross, Robbie"	Robbie Ross	Melbourne Storm	Retirement
data-sort-value="Sargent, Mitchell"	Mitchell Sargent	Melbourne Storm	North Queensland Cowboys
data-sort-value="MacDougall, Adam"	Adam MacDougall	Newcastle Knights	South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="Maddison, Tim"	Tim Maddison	Newcastle Knights	Retirement
data-sort-value="Rudder, Sean"	Sean Rudder	Newcastle Knights	Super League: Castleford Tigers
data-sort-value="Carlaw, John"	John Carlaw	New Zealand Warriors	St. George Illawarra Dragons
data-sort-value="Lauiti'iti, Ali"	Ali Lauiti'iti	New Zealand Warriors	Super League: Leeds Rhinos
data-sort-value="Swann, Logan"	Logan Swann	New Zealand Warriors	Super League: Bradford Bulls
data-sort-value="Buttigieg, John"	John Buttigieg	North Queensland Cowboys	Retirement
data-sort-value="Dezolt, Paul"	Paul Dezolt	North Queensland Cowboys	New Zealand Warriors
data-sort-value="McNicholas, Paul"	Paul McNicholas	North Queensland Cowboys	Super League: Hull F.C.
data-sort-value="Muckert, Chris"	Chris Muckert	North Queensland Cowboys	Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Muspratt, Shane"	Shane Muspratt	North Queensland Cowboys	Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Thompson, David"	David Thompson	North Queensland Cowboys	South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="Chan, Alex"	Alex Chan	Parramatta Eels	Melbourne Storm
data-sort-value="Dunley, Shayne"	Shayne Dunley	Parramatta Eels	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
data-sort-value="Green, Paul"	Paul Green	Parramatta Eels	Brisbane Broncos
data-sort-value="Heckenberg, Daniel"	Daniel Heckenberg	Parramatta Eels	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
data-sort-value="Hodgson, Brett"	Brett Hodgson	Parramatta Eels	Wests Tigers
data-sort-value="Moodie, Jason"	Jason Moodie	Parramatta Eels	Wests Tigers
data-sort-value="Richards, Pat"	Pat Richards	Parramatta Eels	Wests Tigers
data-sort-value="Solomona, David"	David Solomona	Parramatta Eels	Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
data-sort-value="Treacy, Darren"	Darren Treacy	Parramatta Eels	Retirement
data-sort-value="Bell, Geoff"	Geoff Bell	Penrith Panthers	Retirement
data-sort-value="Elford, Shane"	Shane Elford	Penrith Panthers	Wests Tigers
data-sort-value="Hicks, Chris"	Chris Hicks	Penrith Panthers	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
data-sort-value="Roarty, Ben"	Ben Roarty	Penrith Panthers	Super League: Huddersfield Giants
data-sort-value="Sattler, Scott"	Scott Sattler	Penrith Panthers	Wests Tigers
data-sort-value="Ward, Colin"	Colin Ward	Penrith Panthers	Retirement
data-sort-value="Fitzgerald, Jamie"	Jamie Fitzgerald	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Newcastle Knights
data-sort-value="Hart, Andrew"	Andrew Hart	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Super League: London Broncos
data-sort-value="MacGillivray, Duncan"	Duncan MacGillivray	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
data-sort-value="McKinnon, Wade"	Wade McKinnon	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Puletua, Frank"	Frank Puletua	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Penrith Panthers
data-sort-value="Richardson, Russell"	Russell Richardson	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Newcastle Knights
data-sort-value="Cross, John"	John Cross	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Retirement
data-sort-value="Leikvoll, Chris"	Chris Leikvoll	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Super League: Warrington Wolves
data-sort-value="Roberts, Amos"	Amos Roberts	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Penrith Panthers
data-sort-value="Saleh, Hassan"	Hassan Saleh	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
data-sort-value="Stapleton, Craig"	Craig Stapleton	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Grothe, Eric"	Eric Grothe Jr.	Sydney Roosters	Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Lomu, Andrew"	Andrew Lomu	Sydney Roosters	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
data-sort-value="Payten, Todd"	Todd Payten	Sydney Roosters	Wests Tigers
data-sort-value="Beckett, Robbie"	Robbie Beckett	Wests Tigers	Retirement
data-sort-value="Bradley-Qalilawa, Nick"	Nick Bradley-Qalilawa	Wests Tigers	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
data-sort-value="Hill, Terry"	Terry Hill	Wests Tigers	N/A
data-sort-value="Manu, Willie"	Willie Manu	Wests Tigers	South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="O'Donnell, Luke"	Luke O'Donnell	Wests Tigers	North Queensland Cowboys
data-sort-value="Pearson, Corey"	Corey Pearson	Wests Tigers	Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Trindall, Steve"	Steve Trindall	Wests Tigers	Super League: London Broncos
data-sort-value="Withers, Lincoln"	Lincoln Withers	Wests Tigers	St. George Illawarra Dragons
data-sort-value="Lennon, Mark"	Mark Lennon	Super League: Castleford Tigers	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
data-sort-value="Frew, Andrew"	Andrew Frew	Super League: Halifax	St. George Illawarra Dragons
data-sort-value="Logan, Scott"	Scott Logan	Super League: Hull F.C.	South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="Martin, Tony"	Tony Martin	Super League: London Broncos	New Zealand Warriors
data-sort-value="Thorman, Chris"	Chris Thorman	Super League: London Broncos	Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Smith, Darren"	Darren Smith	Super League: St. Helens	Brisbane Broncos
data-sort-value="Graham, Nick"	Nick Graham	Super League: Wigan Warriors	Wests Tigers
data-sort-value="Walker, Andrew"	Andrew Walker	ACT Brumbies (Super 12)	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

External links

• NRL official website

Notes and References

1. News: abc.net.au . Bulldogs' accuser gives statement to police . ABC News . Australia . . 24 February 2004 . 6 March 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110629005311/http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/nsw/200402/s1051920.htm . 29 June 2011 . dead .
2. Web site: NRL salary cap guide | | ONE SPORT . https://web.archive.org/web/20121005184004/http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/663927 . dead . 5 October 2012 . tvnz.co.nz . 22 February 2006 . 18 August 2012 .
3. News: Masters . Roy . Attacking ploy beaten into submission . The Sydney Morning Herald . Australia . Fairfax Digital . 20 January 2005 . 27 December 2009.
4. News: Masters, Roy . Roy Masters (rugby league) . Knights clean up as Penrith discovers success is a wet cake of soap . . Australia . . 13 March 2004 . 6 March 2011.
5. News: Gould . Phil . Winning the war on error . The Sun-Herald . Australia . Fairfax . 4 April 2004 . 4 December 2009.
6. Web site: NRL 2004 - Results. Rugby League Project. 19 March 2018.
7. Web site: B&T magazine article 2004 . 5 June 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070926222814/http://www.bandt.com.au/news/f1/0c01e3f1.asp . 26 September 2007 . dead.
8. News: Proszenko. Adrian. Gallen set to smash record. 7 May 2012. The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 May 2012.
9. Web site: NRL confirms Townsville final. ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 13 September 2004. 28 July 2020.
10. Web site: Cowboys one win away from grand final. ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Katie. Franklin. 18 September 2004. 28 July 2020.