2020 NRL season
The 2020 NRL season is the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
| 2020 National Rugby League | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 12 – 23 March, 2020 (suspension) 28 May – 25 October, 2020 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Matches played | 41 |
| Points scored | 1,498 |
| Average attendance | 2,717 |
| Attendance | 111,411 |
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year.
- Notes
- 1 Used as a home ground between Rounds 3-9 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Pre-season
The pre-season featured a returning Nines competition held at HBF Park in Perth, Australia on 14 & 15 February, replacing the competition previously held in Auckland, New Zealand.[12] The All Stars match was played on 22 February at Cbus Super Stadium, returning to the contest's original venue.[13] The 2020 World Club Challenge in St Helens, England saw the NRL premiers Sydney Roosters defeat the Super League champions St. Helens, making them the first club to win consecutive World Club Challenges.
Regular season
The NRL announced that the Grand Final would be hosted at the Sydney Cricket Ground while the main venue for the decider, ANZ Stadium, undergoes an $810m redevelopment.[14] The last Grand Final to be played at the SCG was in 1987.
State of Origin is scheduled to be played in Adelaide for the first time, with Game 1 of the 2020 series to be played at Adelaide Oval,[15] but is likely to be scrapped due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.[16]
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The 2020 season has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was formally declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020, one day prior to the scheduled start of the premiership season. The first round of play continued almost unimpeded, although crowd numbers were impacted by fears surrounding the virus.
Round 2 matches were played in empty stadiums for the first time in the league's history, in response to government restrictions on non-essential public gatherings of 500 or more people.[17] The match between the Sydney Roosters and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, which was originally meant to be played at Central Coast Stadium, was shifted to Leichhardt Oval.[18] International restrictions on travel made in New Zealand, whereby all arrivals would be required to self-isolate for two weeks, resulted in the New Zealand Warriors temporarily setting up base in Kingscliff, New South Wales, having already come to Australia to play their Round 1 match. Their Round 2 game against Canberra was played at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast, instead of at the Warriors' home ground in Auckland.[19]
During Round 2, speculation that the season would be suspended, if not cancelled, grew. Circumstances surrounding the virus were evolving at a rapid rate, and the future beyond Round 2 was unknown. Many ideas to ensure the season could continue, including moving all players and matches to a single location in Central Queensland where they could continue to play in self-isolation.[20]
On 23 March, the NRL suspended the season indefinitely for the first time in the competition's history, in response to tightening government restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19.[21] In the following weeks, matches that were scheduled to be played at regional venues were cancelled, as was the Magic Round.[22][23][24][25]
On 9 April, the NRL announced its intentions to restart the competition on 28 May, with most details still to be determined.[26] The decision was one of three recommendations to come out of Project Apollo, which was created by the NRL's innovations committee to analyse potential solutions to restart the season. The other recommendations included ensuring that a full State of Origin series be played, and keeping with a one-match grand final. However, the NRL would need Federal and State governments, as well as broadcasters Fox and Nine, on board with the plan. The structure of the restarted season would also largely depend on what government restrictions were in place by the end of May.[27]
During the pandemic, the NRL brought in strict new biosecurity measures to protect those in the game, including a code-wide request that players be vaccinated against the common flu, as "any player that has any respiratory illness... potentially will take the whole team out."[28][29] The NSW Government did not enforce the compulsory vaccination agreement,[29] whereas the Queensland Government stood by the vaccination measures previously agreed to by the NRL that 100% of players would be flu-vaccinated prior to the competition restarting.[30] Only players who had been vaccinated, or had genuine medical grounds exempting them, were permitted to play or train in Queensland.[31]
By 22 April, the NRL had obtained government approval to restart the season on 28 May.[32] On 28 April 2020, the NRL announced that the competition would be a 20-round competition, which would allow each team to play each other once with 5 extra fixtures. Points earned in the first two rounds will still be counted. State of Origin will now be played in November after the season's conclusion, while the Grand Final will now be played on 25 October at the Sydney Cricket Ground.[33]
During late April and early May, general government restrictions began to ease in Australia due to successful efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Queensland State Government has allowed the three Queensland-based sides to train and play at home, the announcement meaning they will not have to base themselves in New South Wales.[34] The Melbourne Storm were forced to move to Albury in NSW to begin their training, with Victoria's government waiting longer to begin easing restrictions, but were able to return to AAMI Park the following week.[35] On 2 May, the New Zealand Warriors were permitted by both Federal governments to enter Australia the following day. They entered two weeks of self-isolation in the regional city of Tamworth, where they were permitted to train to avoid any unfair disadvantage.[36] Current international travel restrictions mean the side will have to remain in Australia for an indefinite period of time, however talks of a Trans-Tasman 'bubble', in which travel between Australia and New Zealand will be exclusively permitted, leaves the possibility open for the Warriors to return to New Zealand and play home matches there later in the season.[37]
It was announced that the remainder of the games would be played with just one referee.[38] The referees threatened to strike as a result of this.[39] However, an agreement was reached on 22 May for the one-ref system to be used.[40]
It was determined that the new draw would be 20 rounds long (including the two already played), as opposed to the 25 originally planned. This would allow every team to play each other once, plus another five games each. The full draw was released on 21 May, with just six venues to be used for Rounds 3 to 9.[41] The Warriors will move to Gosford to play at Central Coast Stadium, the Titans will play home games at Suncorp Stadium with the Broncos, and the NSW teams and Canberra have been divided between Bankwest Stadium, Campbelltown Stadium, and Central Coast Stadium in a way that no stadium hosts more than one match in a day. The Cowboys and Storm will host games at their normal home grounds, Queensland Country Bank Stadium and AAMI Park respectively. Venues to be used beyond Round 9 will be determined at a later date.[42]
Results
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane Broncos | NQL 7 |
SOU 4 |
PAR 28 |
SYD 59 |
MAN 2 |
NEW 21 |
GCT 18 |
NZL | ||||||||||||||||
| Canberra Raiders | GCT 18 |
NZL 14 |
MEL 16 |
NEW 16 |
WTI 8 |
MAN 8 |
PAR 1* |
SGI | ||||||||||||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | PAR 6 |
NQL 8 |
MAN 26 |
SGI 20 |
SYD 36 |
CRO 2 |
WTI | SOU | ||||||||||||||||
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | SOU 4 |
MEL 2 |
WTI 12 |
NQL 10 |
SGI 14 |
CBY 2 |
MAN | GCT | ||||||||||||||||
| Gold Coast Titans | CAN 18 |
PAR 40 |
NQL 30 |
WTI 5 |
SOU 20 |
SGI 12 |
BRI 18 |
CRO | ||||||||||||||||
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | MEL 14 |
SYD 1 |
CBY 26 |
PAR 3 |
BRI 2 |
CAN 8 |
CRO | NEW | ||||||||||||||||
| Melbourne Storm | MAN 14 |
CRO 2 |
CAN 16 |
SOU 14 |
NEW 14 |
PEN 7 |
NZL 44 |
SYD | ||||||||||||||||
| Newcastle Knights | NZL 20 |
WTI 18 |
PEN 0* |
CAN 16 |
MEL 14 |
BRI 21 |
NQL 12 |
MAN | ||||||||||||||||
| New Zealand Warriors | NEW 20 |
CAN 14 |
SGI 18 |
PEN 26 |
NQL 11 |
SOU 28 |
MEL 44 |
BRI | ||||||||||||||||
| North Queensland Cowboys | BRI 7 |
CBY 8 |
GCT 30 |
CRO 10 |
NZL 11 |
WTI 16 |
NEW 12 |
PAR | ||||||||||||||||
| Parramatta Eels | CBY 6 |
GCT 40 |
BRI 28 |
MAN 3 |
PEN 6 |
SYD 14 |
CAN 1* |
NQL | ||||||||||||||||
| Penrith Panthers | SYD 6 |
SGI 4 |
NEW 0* |
NZL 26 |
PAR 6 |
MEL 7 |
SOU 8 |
WTI | ||||||||||||||||
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | CRO 4 |
BRI 4 |
SYD 16 |
MEL 14 |
GCT 20 |
NZL 28 |
PEN 8 |
CBY | ||||||||||||||||
| St. George Illawarra Dragons | WTI 10 |
PEN 4 |
NZL 18 |
CBY 20 |
CRO 14 |
GCT 12 |
SYD 14 |
CAN | ||||||||||||||||
| Sydney Roosters | PEN 6 |
MAN 1 |
SOU 16 |
BRI 59 |
CBY 36 |
PAR 14 |
SGI 14 |
MEL | ||||||||||||||||
| Wests Tigers | SGI 10 |
NEW 18 |
CRO 12 |
GCT 5 |
CAN 8 |
NQL 16 |
CBY | PEN | ||||||||||||||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF |
Bold – Home game
X – Bye
* – Golden point game
Opponent for round listed above margin
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 158 | 88 | +70 | 12 |
| 2 |  |
7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 143 | 98 | +45 | 11 |
| 3 |  |
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 201 | 69 | +132 | 10 |
| 4 |  |
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 148 | 83 | +65 | 10 |
| 5 |  |
7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 169 | 120 | +49 | 9 |
| 6 |  |
7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 128 | 97 | +31 | 8 |
| 7 |  |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 95 | 75 | +20 | 8 |
| 8 |  |
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 144 | 134 | +10 | 6 |
| 9 |  |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 141 | 134 | +7 | 6 |
| 10 |  |
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 175 | 169 | +6 | 6 |
| 11 |  |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 106 | 126 | −20 | 4 |
| 12 |  |
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 106 | 146 | −40 | 4 |
| 13 |  |
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 96 | 193 | −97 | 4 |
| 14 |  |
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 79 | 182 | −103 | 4 |
| 15 |  |
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 92 | 209 | −117 | 4 |
| 16 |  |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 70 | 128 | −58 | 2 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 11 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 13 | | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 14 | | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 15 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 16 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
2020 Transfers
Players
Source:[43]
Coaches
| Coach | 2019 Club | 2020 Club |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Holbrook |  |
|
References
- "Brisbane makes history with Glenn captaincy appointment". NRL.com. 24 January 2020.
- "Bulldogs to move games to Bankwest Stadium and Perth". NRL.com. 23 July 2019.
- "Sharks moving to Kogarah for 2020 home games". NRL.com. 18 September 2019.
- "Justin Holbrook Appointed As Gold Coast Titans Head Coach". Titans.com.au. 31 July 2019.
- "Adam O'Brien appointed Head Coach of Newcastle Knights". NewcastleKnights.com.au. 2 September 2019.
- "Warriors end Kearney's tenure after heavy defeat". NRL.com. 20 June 2020.
- "North Queensland Stadium Secures Naming Rights In New Six-Year Deal". MinistryOfSport.com.au. 13 December 2019.
- "Blake Solly's open letter about the redevelopment of ANZ Stadium". Rabbitohs.com.au. 12 June 2019.
- "Rabbitohs announce Adam Reynolds as captain for Season 2020". Rabbitohs.com.au. 25 February 2020.
- "McInnes officially named Dragons captain". Dragons.com.au. 20 January 2020.
- "Wests Tigers confirm captains for 2020 season". WestsTigers.com.au. 6 February 2020.
- "NRL Nines confirmed for 2020 return in Perth". NRL.com. 22 October 2019.
- "All Stars returns to where it all began on Gold Coast". NRL.com. 29 August 2019.
- "SCG to host NRL grand final after ANZ refurbishment". NRL.com. 12 June 2019.
- "Adelaide to host Holden State of Origin game in 2020". NRL.com. 19 August 2019.
- Badel, Peter; Meyn, Travis (3 April 2020). "Coronavirus pandemic will stop State of Origin from heading to South Australia in 2020". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- Brad Walter (13 March 2020). "NRL looking at bigger picture with move to closed stadiums". National Rugby League. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- "Live updates: NRL says Round 2 still going ahead as Phil Gould puts heat on 'vulnerable' administration". Fox Sports Australia. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- NRL.com (15 March 2020). "Warriors to stay in Australia after NZ announces travel restrictions". National Rugby League. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- "Inside the 1392-room rural QLD village which could host ALL 16 NRL clubs – and save the season". Fox Sports Australia. 18 March 2020.
- "NRL suspends season". National Rugby League. 23 March 2020.
- "Wagga Wagga match to be moved back to Canberra". Raiders.com.au. 17 March 2020.
- "Wests Tigers confirm cancellation of Tamworth fixture". WestsTigers.com.au. 15 April 2020.
- "Panthers game in Bathurst cancelled". PenrithPanthers.com.au. 17 April 2020.
- "NRL cancels Magic Round Brisbane 2020". NRL.com. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- Newton, Alicia; Suttor, Paul (9 April 2020). "May 28: ARL Commission announces date for NRL to restart". National Rugby League. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- "Telstra Premiership to resume". National Rugby League. 9 April 2020.
- Walshaw, Nick (4 May 2020). "NRL anti-vaxxer refuses flu shot request". Daily Mercury. News Corp Australia.
- Omnisport (11 May 2020). "Coronavirus: Flu vaccine NRL's decision in New South Wales". Yahoo Sports. Yahoo News Network. Archived from the original on 15 May 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- Craddock, Robert (12 May 2020). "The government, not the NRL merchants who make rules on the run, is in charge of Queensland". The Courier Mail. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- Walsh, Matt (11 May 2020). "No anti-vax exemption for Qld NRL players". ESPN. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- NRL says it has government approval for 28 May restart of coronavirus-hit competition ABC News 22 April 2020
- Newton, Alicia (28 April 2020). "NRL announces 20 round competition for 2020". NRL.com. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- "Queensland approves NRL return". National Rugby League. 1 May 2020.
- Cotton, Ben (11 May 2020). "Melbourne Storm allowed to train at AAMI Park". Zero Tackle.
- "Warriors granted permission for Australian arrival". National Rugby League. 2 May 2020.
- Long, David (29 April 2020). "Warriors could play NRL games in New Zealand inside trans-Tasman bubble". Stuff.co.nz.
- "NRL to revert to one referee, agrees to rule changes for the rest of the 2020 season". ABC. 13 May 2020.
- "'Outrageous': One-referee plan for NRL sparks strike threat". SMH. 13 May 2020.
- "Single referee system to proceed". National Rugby League. 22 May 2020.
- "NRL draw for 2020: Rescheduled season full of rivalries". NRL. 21 May 2020.
- "Venues released for 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership". NRL. 19 May 2020.
- "2020 Signings Tracker". NRL.com.