The 1999 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 1999 NRL season. It was contested by the competition's two newest clubs: the Melbourne Storm, competing in only its second year (having finished the regular season in 3rd place); and the St. George Illawarra Dragons, in their first year as a joint-venture club (having finished the regular season in 6th place), after both sides eliminated the rest of the top eight during the finals.
| 1999 NRL Grand Final | |||||||||||||
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 Stadium Australia, where the match was played | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 26 September 1999 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Stadium Australia | ||||||||||||
| Location | Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||
| Clive Churchill Medal | Brett Kimmorley (MEL) | ||||||||||||
| National anthem | Hugh Jackman | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Bill Harrigan | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 107,999 | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
| Broadcasters | |||||||||||||
| Commentators |
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A new rugby league world record crowd of 107,999 was at Stadium Australia for the game. The attendance, which saw 67,142 more people attend than had done so for the 1998 NRL Grand Final at the Sydney Football Stadium, broke the record attendance for a Grand Final, eclipsing the previous record of 78,065 set in 1965 when St. George defeated South Sydney 12–8 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It was the last time that the Clive Churchill Medal was presented in a case before it was changed the following season where it is presented separately with a ribbon being worn around the neck. Due to its competitive nature, It has been regarded as one of the greatest NRL grand finals of all time.[1]
Pre-match entertainment featured Hugh Jackman's rendition of the Australian national anthem.
Background
editThe 1999 NRL season was the 92nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be run by the National Rugby League. With the exclusion of the Adelaide Rams and Gold Coast Chargers, and the merger of the St. George Dragons and Illawarra Steelers, seventeen teams competed for the NRL Premiership during the 1999 season, which culminated in the first grand final to be played at Stadium Australia.
Melbourne Storm
editThe 1999 Melbourne Storm season was the second in the club's history. Coached by Chris Anderson and captained by Glenn Lazarus, they competed in the NRL's 1999 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 3rd (out of 17).
St. George Illawarra Dragons
editThe 1999 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the first in the newly formed joint-venture club's history. Coached by David Waite and Andrew Farrar, and captained by Paul McGregor, they competed in the NRL's 1999 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 6th place (out of 17).
Teams
edit| Melbourne Storm | Position | St. George-Illawarra Dragons | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Robbie Ross | 1 | 1 | Luke Patten | |
| Craig Smith | 2 | 2 | Jamie Ainscough | |
| Aaron Moule | 3 | 3 | Paul McGregor (c) | |
| Tony Martin | 4 | 4 | Shaun Timmins | |
| Marcus Bai | 5 | 5 | Nathan Blacklock | |
| Matt Geyer | 6 | 6 | Anthony Mundine | |
| Brett Kimmorley | 7 | 7 | Trent Barrett | |
| Glenn Lazarus (c) | 8 | 8 | Craig Smith | |
| Richard Swain | 9 | 9 | Nathan Brown | |
| Rodney Howe | 10 | 10 | Chris Leikvoll | |
| Stephen Kearney | 11 | 11 | Lance Thompson | |
| Paul Marquet | 12 | 12 | Darren Treacy | |
| Tawera Nikau | 13 | 13 | Wayne Bartrim | |
| Matt Rua | 14 | 14 | Craig Fitzgibbon | |
| Russell Bawden | 15 | 15 | Rod Wishart | |
| Ben Roarty | 16 | 16 | Brad Mackay | |
| Danny Williams | 17 | 17 | Colin Ward | |
| Chris Anderson | Coach |
David Waite & Andrew Farrar | ||
Match details
editSt. George Illawara were up 14–0 at half time, with a converted try and penalty goal to Craig Fitzgibbon, and a converted try to Nathan Blacklock. However, an Anthony Mundine knock-on over the try line early in the second half proved to be a major turning point in the match, with Melbourne running in tries through Tony Martin and Ben Roarty and winger Craig Smith kicking two penalty goals. An unconverted try to Dragons captain Paul McGregor couldn't stem Melbourne's momentum, with Craig Smith kicking the Storm to within four points of the Dragons at 18–14.
In the 77th minute the Storm forced the Dragons to a goal line dropout. Melbourne's halfback Brett Kimmorley then bombed to Craig Smith's wing. Dragons centre Jamie Ainscough, anticipating a Melbourne try, caught Smith in a head-high tackle over the try-line,[3] resulting in Smith being knocked unconscious and, in the process of falling to the ground, Smith knocking on. Referee Bill Harrigan requested video referee Chris Ward adjudicate on the decision.[4] The Melbourne Storm were granted a penalty try, drawing them level with the Dragons. Being a penalty try, the subsequent conversion was taken from directly in front of the posts. Matt Geyer was successful in the conversion and the Storm, for the first time in the match, pulled ahead of the Dragons and took out their first grand final 20–18.[5]
The Melbourne side thus became the quickest expansion team to win a premiership, eclipsing the Canterbury side who won the 1938 premiership in just their fourth season. It was the last game of champion prop and captain Glenn Lazarus, who retired after a remarkable fifth grand final victory (having won premierships with the Canberra Raiders in 1989 and 1990 and with the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 and 1993).
For traditional St. George fans the loss was hard to take. The club were unsuccessful in their four previous visits to the grand final (1985, 1992, 1993 and 1996) and had not won a premiership since 1979. It would not be until 2010 that they would return to another Grand Final, in which it would win its first premiership as a joint-venture.[6][7]
The grand final attracted a television viewership of over 600,000 in Melbourne, a traditional Australian Rules football stronghold.[8]
Scoreboard
editMelbourne Storm 
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20–18 |  St. George-Illawarra Dragons
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: 3 Martin  53'Roarty 57'Smith (penalty) 75'Goals: 4 Smith  pen 42', 59', pen 64' (3/4)Geyer 77' (1/1) |
1st: 0–14 2nd: 20–4 Report[2] |
Tries: 3 Fitzgibbon 13'Blacklock 29'McGregor 56'Goals: 3 Bartrim 15', 31' (2/3)Fitzgibbon pen 23' (1/1) |
Stadium Australia, Sydney
Attendance: 107,999[9] Referee: Bill Harrigan Touch judges: Colin White, John McCormack Clive Churchill Medal: Brett Kimmorley (Melbourne) |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "25 in 25: Ranking all the grand finals of the NRL era – cliffhangers, controversy and classics". The Roar. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ a b Middleton, David (2000). Rugby League 2000. Sydney: Harper Sports. ISBN 0732265576.
- ^ The consequences of a later, similar, head-high tackle would eventually cost Ainscough his career (see Gleeson, Martin, "On this Day: 26 August 2002: Wigan player has tooth removed – from arm", The Guardian.com, 22 August 2009).
- ^ Prichard, Greg (19 September 2012). "Ward given keys to make right call". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "1999 NRL Grand Final". rugbyleagueproject.org. Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson and Bill Bates. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
- ^ Crawford, Adrian (4 October 2010). "Dragons romp to sweet 16th". ABC News. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
- ^ Read, Brent (4 October 2010). "Wayne Bennett's Dragons blow away critics to end 31-year drought". The Australian. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
- ^ Cockerill, Ian (3 October 1999). "Eye of the Storm". The Sunday Age. p. 4. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
- ^ "1999 NRL Grand Final". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 March 2023.