The 2002 NRL season was the 95th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fifth to be run by the National Rugby League. The season was affected by the competition-leading Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' salary cap breach finding, which saw them relegated to the bottom of the NRL ladder. As a result, the New Zealand Warriors won their first minor premiership and made it to the grand final for the first time, playing against foundation club the Sydney Roosters who won the match and collected their first premiership in 27 years.

2002 National Rugby League
Duration15 March – 6 October 2002
Teams15
Premiers Sydney (12th title)
Minor premiers New Zealand (1st title)
Matches played189
Points scored9083
Average attendance14,054
Attendance2,656,198
Top points scorer(s) Hazem El Masri (254)
Dally M Medal Andrew Johns
Top try-scorer(s) Nigel Vagana (23)
← 2001
2003 →

Pre-season

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In February 2002 the National Rugby League's Director of Legal and Business Affairs, David Gallop, was appointed chief executive officer of the NRL, succeeding David Moffett.

The legendary Broncos and Maroons halfback, Allan Langer, returned from England to play his final season of professional football with the Brisbane club. In doing so he became the NRL's oldest player for the 2002 season at 36 years and 60 days.[1]

The return of South Sydney

edit

Following the club's departure from the NRL after the 1999 season, there was a continuing push from both fans and the wider rugby league community to reinstate the South Sydney Rabbitohs into the NRL competition. After two unsuccessful years of lobbying, South Sydney finally received a court ruling in their favour in 2001. On 15 March 2002, the South Sydney club opened the NRL season with a home match against long-time rivals, the Sydney Roosters, losing badly, 40-6.

It turned out to be a tough year for South Sydney, winning only five matches from 24 played.

Teams

edit

The number of teams contesting the Premiership increased for the 2002 season from 14 to 15 due to the re-inclusion of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. It was the first time the number of Premiership teams had increased since the 1995 ARL season when the introduction of the Auckland Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys, South Queensland Crushers and Western Reds saw the number of teams increase from 16 to 20.

Brisbane Broncos
15th season
Ground: Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Gorden Tallis
Bulldogs
68th season
Ground: Sydney Showground
Coach: Steve Folkes
Captain: Steve Price
Canberra Raiders
21st season
Ground: Canberra Stadium
Coach: Matthew Elliott
Captain: Simon Woolford
Melbourne Storm
5th season
Ground Olympic Park Stadium
Coach: Mark Murray
Captain: Robbie Kearns
New Zealand Warriors
8th season
Ground: Mt Smart Stadium
Coach: Daniel Anderson
Captain: Stacey Jones & Monty Betham
Newcastle Knights
15th season
Ground: Newcastle International Sports Centre
Coach: Michael Hagan
Captain: Andrew Johns
North Queensland Cowboys
8th season
Ground: Willows Sports Complex
Coach: Murray HurstGraham Murray
Captain: Paul Bowman
Northern Eagles
3rd season
Ground: Brookvale Oval & Central Coast Stadium
Coach: Peter Sharp
Captain: Steve Menzies
Parramatta Eels
56th season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Nathan Cayless
Penrith Panthers
36th season
Ground: Penrith Stadium
Coach: John Lang
Captain: Craig Gower
Sharks
38th season
Ground: Shark Park
Coach: Chris Anderson
Captain: David Peachey
South Sydney Rabbitohs
93rd season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Craig Coleman
Captain: Adam Muir
St. George Illawarra Dragons
4th season
Ground: Kogarah Oval & WIN Stadium
Coach: Andrew Farrar
Captain: Trent Barrett
Sydney Roosters
95th season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Ricky Stuart
Captain: Brad Fittler
Wests Tigers
3rd season
Ground: Campbelltown Stadium & Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Terry Lamb
Captain: Darren Senter

Regular season

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In 2002, as in 2001, the NRL's advertising was handled by Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney. As in the previous season, there was no big budget season launch advertising campaign. The NRL focussed on stretching its marketing spending throughout the season with newspaper ads promoting individual rounds and clubs, and with simple TV ads to promote key games.

The Bulldogs won 17 games in a row and had an unbeaten run of 18 games, the most in the club's history. However they were deducted 37 premiership points for a gross salary cap breaches, the most points deducted in premiership history. That left the club with just four competition points attained from the two byes earlier in the season. Four more competition points followed since the salary cap scandal, all from wins in the last two rounds of the season.

The New Zealand Warriors won the club's first Minor Premiership in its 8-year history and also made it to their first Grand Final. The Warriors were not in first place almost during the entire season, only taking top spot on the ladder at the conclusion of Round 26.

John Hopoate ran 3,976 metres with the ball in 2002, more than any other player in the competition.[2]

At the end of the season NRL referees' coach Peter Louis resigned from his position.[3]

As of 2023, 2002 is the most recent season in which the Melbourne Storm did not qualify for the finals due to not winning enough games, though in 2010 they were sentenced to finish last due to salary cap breaches which prevented the club from earning any premiership points that season.[4]

Bulldogs salary cap breach

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In mid-2002, the Canterbury club were found guilty of serious and systemic breaches of the salary cap. NRL Chief Executive David Gallop described the violation as "exceptional in both its size and its deliberate and ongoing nature". The club received a $500,000 fine, and was stripped of 37 of its 41 competition points accumulated up to Round 23.[5] The latter action was particularly harmful, as the club were poised to take the Minor Premiership and had won 17 consecutive matches (the second highest in Australian club rugby league history at the time). The deduction of the 37 competition points meant that the Canterbury side would win the wooden spoon, as the South Sydney Rabbitohs had already accumulated 12 competition points by the end of Round 24.

The deduction of Canterbury's points also enabled the Canberra Raiders to make the finals with a points differential of -170, the poorest such record of any finalist in the competition's history, and the Raiders only won one game outside of Canberra for the entire season. It also enabled the New Zealand Warriors to secure their first minor premiership in the club's history.

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 F1 F2 F3 GF
Brisbane Broncos NQL
+36
CBY
0
SYD
+14
CRO
+2
CAN
+2
PEN
+4
NEW
+6
SOU
+26
NTE
+38
X SGI
−8
WTI
+14
PAR
−4
NQL
+44
X NZL
−10
SGI
+12
PEN
+18
WTI
+32
PAR
+20
MEL
+28
SYD
−10
NZL
−14
NEW
−30
CAN
+34
CBY
−7
PAR
+10
X SYD
−4
Canberra Raiders MEL
−4
SOU
−8
WTI
+5
NEW
−46
BRI
−2
NTE
−24
PAR
−38
CRO
+26
SGI
0
SOU
−6
NQL
+12
NTE
+12
X CRO
−10
CBY
−40
PEN
+12
SYD
−30
NEW
+6
NQL
−16
NZL
+8
X WTI
+20
SYD
−26
CBY
+4
BRI
−34
MEL
+9
NZL
−16
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs WTI
−6
BRI
0
SGI
+19
SOU
+26
MEL
+16
NZL
+8
CRO
+20
X PEN
+3
CRO
+26
NTE
+18
SOU
+10
PEN
+14
X CAN
+40
PAR
+14
NTE
+20
SGI
+2
SYD
+12
NEW
+1
NQL
+8
NZL
−8
PAR
+18
CAN
−4
MEL
+8
BRI
+7
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks SGI
+6
MEL
+6
PEN
+8
BRI
−2
WTI
+6
NEW
−44
CBY
−20
CAN
−26
PAR
−30
CBY
−26
PEN
−2
NZL
−22
SGI
+21
CAN
+10
NQL
+30
X NZL
+12
PAR
+1
NTE
+22
SOU
+16
SYD
+14
NEW
+50
WTI
+16
NQL
+22
X SYD
−12
SYD
−12
SGI
+16
NZL
−6
Melbourne Storm CAN
+4
CRO
−6
NQL
+28
PAR
+2
CBY
−16
SGI
+8
NZL
−10
NEW
−8
SYD
−28
PAR
−2
NZL
−16
X NEW
−21
SGI
0
SOU
+38
NTE
−14
WTI
+6
SYD
+38
X PEN
−20
BRI
−28
NQL
+10
PEN
+32
WTI
−10
CBY
−8
CAN
−9
Newcastle Knights NTE
+26
NQL
+32
NZL
+18
CAN
+46
SYD
+16
CRO
+44
BRI
−6
MEL
+8
X NZL
−22
SOU
+26
X MEL
+21
PAR
+14
WTI
−16
SOU
+18
PAR
+6
CAN
−6
PEN
+16
CBY
−1
SGI
+8
CRO
−50
NTE
+14
BRI
+30
PEN
+2
SGI
−18
SGI
−4
SYD
−26
New Zealand Warriors X SYD
+7
NEW
−18
NQL
+30
NTE
+58
CBY
−8
MEL
+10
WTI
+22
SOU
+7
NEW
+22
MEL
+16
CRO
+22
NQL
+28
SOU
+36
SGI
−10
BRI
+10
CRO
−12
X PAR
+16
CAN
−8
PEN
+14
CBY
+8
BRI
+14
SYD
−44
NTE
−2
WTI
+16
CAN
+16
X CRO
+6
SYD
−22
North Queensland Cowboys BRI
−36
NEW
−32
MEL
−28
NZL
−30
SOU
+12
SYD
−46
PEN
+10
PAR
−1
WTI
+24
PEN
−30
CAN
−12
SGI
+8
NZL
−28
BRI
−44
CRO
−30
SGI
−27
X NTE
−16
CAN
+16
NTE
+12
CBY
−8
MEL
−10
X CRO
−22
SOU
+2
PAR
+9
Northern Eagles NEW
−26
X SOU
−24
SYD
+6
NZL
−58
CAN
+24
WTI
−18
SGI
+4
BRI
−38
X CBY
−18
CAN
−12
WTI
+24
SYD
−27
PEN
+4
MEL
+14
CBY
−20
NQL
+16
CRO
−22
NQL
−12
PAR
+9
SGI
+2
NEW
−14
PAR
−13
NZL
+2
PEN
−40
Parramatta Eels PEN
+58
WTI
−6
X MEL
−2
SGI
0
SOU
+8
CAN
+38
NQL
+1
CRO
+30
MEL
+2
SYD
−14
X BRI
+4
NEW
−14
SYD
0
CBY
−14
NEW
−6
CRO
−1
NZL
−16
BRI
−20
NTE
−9
SOU
+54
CBY
−18
NTE
+13
WTI
+12
NQL
−9
BRI
−10
Penrith Panthers PAR
−58
SGI
−8
CRO
−8
WTI
−16
X BRI
−4
NQL
−10
SYD
−4
CBY
−3
NQL
+30
CRO
+2
SYD
+10
CBY
−14
WTI
+4
NTE
−4
CAN
−12
SOU
−7
BRI
−18
NEW
−16
MEL
+20
NZL
−14
X MEL
−32
SOU
+16
NEW
−2
NTE
+40
South Sydney Rabbitohs SYD
−34
CAN
+8
NTE
+24
CBY
−26
NQL
−12
PAR
−8
X BRI
−26
NZL
−7
CAN
+6
NEW
−26
CBY
−10
SYD
−36
NZL
−36
MEL
−38
NEW
−18
PEN
+7
WTI
+14
SGI
−38
CRO
−16
WTI
−46
PAR
−54
SGI
−42
PEN
−16
NQL
−2
X
St. George Illawarra Dragons CRO
−6
PEN
+8
CBY
−19
X PAR
0
MEL
−8
SYD
−4
NTE
−4
CAN
0
WTI
+11
BRI
+8
NQL
−8
CRO
−21
MEL
0
NZL
+10
NQL
+27
BRI
−12
CBY
−2
SOU
+38
WTI
+34
NEW
−8
NTE
−2
SOU
+42
X SYD
−16
NEW
+18
NEW
+4
CRO
−16
Sydney Roosters SOU
+34
NZL
−7
BRI
−14
NTE
−6
NEW
−16
NQL
+46
SGI
+4
PEN
+4
MEL
+28
X PAR
+14
PEN
−10
SOU
+36
NTE
+27
PAR
0
WTI
+2
CAN
+30
MEL
−38
CBY
−12
X CRO
−14
BRI
+10
CAN
+26
NZL
+44
SGI
+16
CRO
+12
CRO
+12
NEW
+26
BRI
+4
NZL
+22
Wests Tigers CBY
+6
PAR
+6
CAN
−5
PEN
+16
CRO
−6
X NTE
+18
NZL
−22
NQL
−24
SGI
−11
X BRI
−14
NTE
−24
PEN
−4
NEW
+16
SYD
−2
MEL
−6
SOU
−14
BRI
−32
SGI
−34
SOU
+46
CAN
−20
CRO
−16
MEL
+10
PAR
−12
NZL
−16
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 F1 F2 F3 GF

Bold – Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder

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The Warriors received A$100,000 prize money for finishing the regular season as minor premiers.[6]

Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1   New Zealand Warriors 24 17 0 7 2 688 454 +234 38
2   Newcastle Knights 24 17 0 7 2 724 498 +226 38
3   Brisbane Broncos 24 16 1 7 2 672 425 +247 37
4   Sydney Roosters (P) 24 15 1 8 2 621 405 +216 35
5   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 15 0 9 2 653 597 +56 34
6   Parramatta Eels 24 10 2 12 2 531 440 +91 26
7   St George Illawarra Dragons 24 9 3 12 2 632 546 +86 25
8   Canberra Raiders 24 10 1 13 2 471 641 -170 25
9   Northern Eagles 24 10 0 14 2 503 740 -237 24
10   Melbourne Storm 24 9 1 14 2 556 586 -30 23
11   North Queensland Cowboys 24 8 0 16 2 496 803 -307 20
12   Penrith Panthers 24 7 0 17 2 546 654 -108 18
13   Wests Tigers 24 7 0 17 2 498 642 -144 18
14   South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 5 0 19 2 385 817 -432 14
15   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 20 1 3 2 707 435 +272 81

1 The Bulldogs were deducted 37 premiership points due to gross salary cap breaches.

Ladder progression

edit
  • 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 in 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   New Zealand 2 4 4 6 8 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 24 26 26 28 30 30 32 34 36 36 36 38
2   Newcastle 2 4 6 8 10 12 12 14 16 16 18 20 22 24 24 26 28 28 30 30 32 32 34 36 38 38
3   Brisbane 2 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 19 21 21 23 25 25 27 29 31 33 35 35 35 35 37 37
4   Sydney 2 2 2 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 16 18 19 21 23 23 23 25 25 27 29 31 33 35
5   Sharks 2 4 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 34
6   Parramatta 2 2 4 4 5 7 9 11 13 15 15 17 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 22 22 24 26 26
7   St George Illawarra 0 2 2 4 5 5 5 5 6 8 10 10 10 11 13 15 15 15 17 19 19 19 21 23 23 25
8   Canberra 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 4 5 5 7 9 11 11 11 13 13 15 15 17 19 21 21 23 23 25
9   Northern Eagles 0 2 2 4 4 6 6 8 8 10 10 10 12 12 14 16 16 18 18 18 20 22 22 22 24 24
10   Melbourne 2 2 4 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 11 13 13 15 17 19 19 19 21 23 23 23 23
11   North Queensland 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 4 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 12 14 14 14 16 16 18 20
12   Penrith 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 4 6 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 12 12 14 14 16 16 18
13   Wests 2 4 4 6 6 8 10 10 10 10 12 12 12 12 14 14 14 14 14 14 16 16 16 18 18 18
14   South Sydney 0 2 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 14
15   Bulldogs 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 39 41 4 6 8


Finals series

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

Coincidentally, the finalists for 2002 were almost the same as the previous season, with the exception of the Bulldogs being replaced by Canberra. Had the Bulldogs not been deducted competition points, they would have become the minor premiers and completed the replication, with Canberra moving down to 9th.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Qualifying Finals
  Sydney Roosters 32 – 20   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 13 September 2002 Aussie Stadium Paul Simpkins 25,366
  Brisbane Broncos 24 – 14   Parramatta Eels 14 September 2002 ANZ Stadium Sean Hampstead 19,115
  Newcastle Knights 22 – 26   St George Illawarra Dragons 14 September 2002 Energy Australia Stadium Bill Harrigan 21,051
  New Zealand Warriors 36 – 20   Canberra Raiders 15 September 2002 Ericsson Stadium Tim Mander 25,800
Semi-finals
  St George Illawarra Dragons 24 – 40   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 21 September 2002 Aussie Stadium Bill Harrigan 31,783
  Sydney Roosters 38 – 12   Newcastle Knights 22 September 2002 Aussie Stadium Sean Hampstead 23,816
Preliminary Finals
  Brisbane Broncos 12 – 16   Sydney Roosters 28 September 2002 Aussie Stadium Bill Harrigan 28,251
  New Zealand Warriors 16 – 10   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 29 September 2002 Telstra Stadium Tim Mander 45,782

Chart

edit
Qualifying finalsSemifinalsPreliminary finalsFinal
1  New Zealand36
8  Canberra201W  New Zealand16
4W  St. George Illawarra24  Cronulla10
2  Newcastle222L  Cronulla40
  New Zealand8
7  St. George Illawarra26
  Sydney30
3  Brisbane242W  Brisbane12
6  Parramatta143W  Sydney38  Sydney16
1L  Newcastle12
4  Sydney32
5  Cronulla20

Grand Final

edit

The 2002 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2002 NRL season. It took place on Sunday, 6 October 2002, at Sydney's Telstra Stadium. 80,130 people saw the Sydney Roosters beat the New Zealand Warriors 30–8. The Clive Churchill Medalist was Craig Fitzgibbon of the Sydney Roosters. The match was also broadcast live in the United States by Fox Sports World.[7]

2002 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 6 October
19:00 AEST (UTC+10)
New Zealand Warriors   8 – 30   Sydney Roosters
Tries: 1
Jones   46'
Goals: 2
Cleary   pen 29', 47' (2/2)
1st: 2–6
2nd: 6–24
Report[8]
Tries: 5
Hegarty   23'
Wing   57'
Fitzgibbon   65'
Flannery   71'
Fletcher   74'
Goals: 5
Fitzgibbon   25', 59', 66', 71', 76' (5/5)
Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 80,130[9]
Referee: Bill Harrigan
Touch judges: Steve Richards, Shayne Hayne
Clive Churchill Medal: Craig Fitzgibbon (Sydney)


Player statistics

edit

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

2002 Transfers

edit

Players

edit
Player 2001 Club 2002 Club
Darren Burns   Brisbane Broncos   Super League: Warrington Wolves
Mark Corvo   Brisbane Broncos   Super League: Salford City Reds
Luke Priddis   Brisbane Broncos   Penrith Panthers
Wendell Sailor   Brisbane Broncos Queensland Reds (Super 12)
Kevin Walters   Brisbane Broncos Retirement
Anthony Colella   Canberra Raiders   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Andrew McFadden   Canberra Raiders   Parramatta Eels
Lesley Vainikolo   Canberra Raiders   Super League: Bradford Bulls
Luke Williamson   Canberra Raiders   Northern Eagles
Darren Britt   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs   Super League: St. Helens
Steven Hughes   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Retirement
Adam Peek   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Craig Polla-Mounter   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Retirement
Rod Silva   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Retirement
Barry Ward   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs   Super League: St. Helens
Matt Daylight   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Retirement
Shannon Donato   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks   Penrith Panthers
Adam Dykes   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks   Parramatta Eels
Jason Ferris   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks   Northern Eagles
Martin Lang   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks   Penrith Panthers
Nathan Long   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks   Northern Eagles
Paul McNicholas   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Russell Richardson   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Mat Rogers   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks New South Wales Waratahs (Super 12)
Sean Ryan   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks   Super League: Hull F.C.
Luke Stuart   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Russell Bawden   Melbourne Storm   Super League: London Broncos
Tasesa Lavea   Melbourne Storm   Northern Eagles
Ben Roarty   Melbourne Storm   Penrith Panthers
Brad Watts   Melbourne Storm   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Darren Albert   Newcastle Knights   Super League: St. Helens
Troy Fletcher   Newcastle Knights Retirement
Glenn Grief   Newcastle Knights   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Paul Marquet   Newcastle Knights   Super League: Warrington Wolves
Richie Blackmore   New Zealand Warriors Retirement
Jason Death   New Zealand Warriors   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Geoff Bell   North Queensland Cowboys   Penrith Panthers
Brett Hetherington   North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Danny Moore   North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Julian O'Neill   North Queensland Cowboys   Super League: Wigan Warriors
Lee Oudenryn   North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Mark Shipway   North Queensland Cowboys   Northern Eagles
Damien Smith   North Queensland Cowboys Retirement
Kyle Warren   North Queensland Cowboys   Super League: Castleford Tigers
Greg Ebrill   Northern Eagles   Super League: Salford City Reds
Wayne Evans   Northern Eagles   Super League: London Broncos
Brett Kimmorley   Northern Eagles   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Andrew King   Northern Eagles   South Sydney Rabbitohs
William Leyshon   Northern Eagles   Melbourne Storm
Karl Lovell   Northern Eagles   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Adam Muir   Northern Eagles   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Mark O'Meley   Northern Eagles   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Paul Stringer   Northern Eagles   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Geoff Toovey   Northern Eagles Retirement
Steve Trindall   Northern Eagles   Wests Tigers
Ben Walker   Northern Eagles   Super League: Leeds Rhinos
PJ Marsh   Parramatta Eels   New Zealand Warriors
Jason Taylor   Parramatta Eels Retirement
David Westley   Parramatta Eels   Northern Eagles
Matt Adamson   Penrith Panthers   Super League: Leeds Rhinos
Robbie Beckett   Penrith Panthers   Super League: Halifax Blue Sox
Steve Carter   Penrith Panthers   Super League: Widnes Vikings
Craig Greenhill   Penrith Panthers   Super League: Hull F.C.
Andrew Hinson   Penrith Panthers   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Peter Jorgensen   Penrith Panthers Northampton Saints (English rugby union)
Duncan MacGillivray   Penrith Panthers   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Frank Puletua   Penrith Panthers   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Matthew Rieck   Penrith Panthers   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Matthew Rodwell   Penrith Panthers   Super League: Warrington Wolves
David Woods   Penrith Panthers   Super League: Halifax Blue Sox
Jamie Ainscough   St. George Illawarra Dragons   Super League: Wigan Warriors
Wayne Bartrim   St. George Illawarra Dragons   Super League: Castleford Tigers
Jamie Fitzgerald   St. George Illawarra Dragons   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Wade Forrester   St. George Illawarra Dragons   Northern Eagles
Andrew Hart   St. George Illawarra Dragons   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Paul McGregor   St. George Illawarra Dragons Retirement
Craig Smith   St. George Illawarra Dragons   Super League: Wigan Warriors
Darren Treacy   St. George Illawarra Dragons   Super League: Salford City Reds
Colin Ward   St. George Illawarra Dragons   Penrith Panthers
Quentin Pongia   Sydney Roosters   Villeneuve Leopards (Elite One Championship)
Ian Rubin   Sydney Roosters Retirement
Matt Sing   Sydney Roosters   North Queensland Cowboys
John Carlaw   Wests Tigers   New Zealand Warriors
Owen Craigie   Wests Tigers   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Craig Field   Wests Tigers   Pia Donkeys (French Rugby League Championship)
Lee Murphy   Wests Tigers Retirement
John Simon   Wests Tigers Retirement
Tyran Smith   Wests Tigers   Canberra Raiders
Shane Walker   Wests Tigers   Melbourne Storm
Shane Rigon   Super League: Bradford Bulls   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Ben Kusto   Super League: Huddersfield Giants   Parramatta Eels
Luke Felsch   Super League: Hull F.C.   St. George Illawarra Dragons
Tony Grimaldi   Super League: Hull F.C.   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Robert Mears   Super League: Leeds Rhinos   Wests Tigers
Brett Mullins   Super League: Leeds Rhinos   Sydney Roosters
Glen Air   Super League: London Broncos   Wests Tigers
Shane Millard   Super League: London Broncos   St. George Illawarra Dragons
Justin Brooker   Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Andrew Gee   Super League: Warrington Wolves   Brisbane Broncos
David Kidwell   Super League: Warrington Wolves   Sydney Roosters
Allan Langer   Super League: Warrington Wolves   Brisbane Broncos
Danny Nutley   Super League: Warrington Wolves   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Ian Sibbit   Super League: Warrington Wolves   Melbourne Storm
Matthew Johns   Super League: Wigan Warriors   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Ken McGuinness Toowoomba Clydesdales (Queensland Cup)   North Queensland Cowboys
Chris Caruana N/A   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Joe Galuvao N/A   Penrith Panthers

Coaches

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Coach 2001 Club 2002 Club
John Lang   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks   Penrith Panthers

References

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  1. ^ Toohey, Barry (2 February 2011). "Still some bite in old Mad Dog". The Daily Telegraph. Australia: News Limited. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  2. ^ Proszenko, Adrian (6 May 2012). "Gallen set to smash record". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  3. ^ Steve Mascord and Brad Walter (6 September 2002). "Search for new refs chief to replace Louis". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  4. ^ Crawley, Paul (1 March 2015). "Predicted NRL top eight: Melbourne Storm and Manly Sea Eagles miss out". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  5. ^ Tunnah, Helen (2002-08-24). "Rugby League: 37 nails in Bulldogs' kennel". The New Zealand Herald. APN Holdings NZ Limited. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  6. ^ NZPA (2002-10-05). "Sorry guys, the cheque's not in the mail". nzherald.co.nz. APN Holdings NZ Limited. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
  7. ^ "National Rugby League Grand Final, Live on Fox Sports World This Sunday". Business Wire. Los Angeles. 2003-10-03. ProQuest 446309241.
  8. ^ Middleton, David (21 April 2024). Rugby League 2003. Sydney: Harper Sports. pp. 182–183. ISBN 978-0732277536.
  9. ^ "2002 NRL Grand Final". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 March 2023.

Further reading

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