The 2009 NRL Under-20s season was the second season of the NRL Under-20s competition. The Competition, known as the Toyota Cup for sponsorship purposes, is solely for under-20 players. The draw and structure of the competition mirrors that of its first grade counterpart, the National Rugby League.

2009 National Youth Competition
Teams16
Premiers Melbourne (1st title)
Minor premiers Manly (1st title)
Matches played201
Points scored11082
Wooden spoon Cronulla (1st spoon)
Player of the Year Beau Henry
Top point-scorer(s) Jake Mullaney (308)
Top try-scorer(s) Jake Mullaney (27)
← 2008
2010 →

Season summary edit

Schedule edit

Ladder edit

Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24 19 1 4 2 879 417 +462 43
2   St. George Illawarra Dragons 24 19 0 5 2 758 461 +297 42
3   Melbourne Storm 24 19 0 5 2 833 597 +236 42
4   Wests Tigers 24 15 1 8 2 709 588 +121 35
5   Brisbane Broncos 24 15 0 9 2 698 551 +147 34
6   South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 13 1 10 2 776 568 +208 31
7   New Zealand Warriors 24 13 1 10 2 725 612 +113 31
8   Canberra Raiders 24 11 2 11 2 706 685 +21 28
9   North Queensland Cowboys 24 12 0 12 2 668 683 -15 28
10   Newcastle Knights 24 9 1 14 2 596 756 -160 23
11   Canterbury Bulldogs 24 9 1 14 2 649 867 -218 23
12   Parramatta Eels 24 8 0 16 2 604 698 -94 20
13   Penrith Panthers 24 8 0 16 2 573 755 -182 20
14   Gold Coast Titans 24 8 0 16 2 542 738 -196 20
15   Sydney Roosters 24 6 0 18 2 443 736 -293 16
16   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 4 0 20 2 391 838 -447 12

Ladder progression edit

Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.

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   Manly 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 14 16 18 20 22 24 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 37 39 39 41 43
2   St. George Illawarra 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 18 20 22 24 26 28 28 30 32 32 34 36 38 40 42
3   Melbourne 2 4 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 16 18 20 22 24 24 24 26 28 30 32 32 34 36 38 40 42
4   Wests Tigers 0 2 4 6 6 6 8 8 10 12 12 13 15 17 19 19 21 23 25 27 27 29 31 31 33 35
5   Brisbane 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 4 6 8 10 12 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 32 32 34
6   South Sydney 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 8 10 10 10 11 13 13 15 17 17 19 19 21 23 25 27 29 29 31
7   New Zealand 0 0 2 4 4 6 6 6 8 10 10 11 13 15 17 19 19 21 21 23 23 25 27 29 31 31
8   Canberra 2 4 6 8 8 8 8 8 10 12 14 15 17 19 20 22 24 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 28 28
9   North Queensland 2 2 4 4 4 6 6 8 8 8 10 12 12 12 12 14 16 18 18 20 22 22 24 24 26 28
10   Newcastle 0 0 2 2 4 4 4 6 8 8 8 9 11 11 13 13 13 13 15 15 17 19 19 21 21 23
11   Bulldogs 0 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 14 15 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 19 19 21 21 23 23 23
12   Parramatta 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 8 10 10 10 12 12 14 16 16 16 16 16 16 18 20 20
13   Penrith 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 12 12 14 16 16 16 18 18 20 20 20 20 20 20
14   Gold Coast 2 4 6 6 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 12 12 14 16 16 16 16 18 18 18 18 18 20 20 20
15   Sydney 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 4 4 6 6 8 8 8 10 12 12 14 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
16   Cronulla 2 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 12 12 12 12 12 12

Finals series edit

The NYC finals series adopts the McIntyre final eight system just like its first grade counterpart, the National Rugby League.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee
Qualifying Finals
  Melbourne Storm 54-18   South Sydney Rabbitohs 11 September 2009, 5:30pm Etihad Stadium, Melbourne Gavin Reynolds
  Wests Tigers 22-46   Brisbane Broncos 12 September 2009, 4:15pm Skilled Park, Robina Chris Butler
  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 28-32   Canberra Raiders 12 September 2009, 6:15pm ANZ Stadium, Sydney Gavin Morris
  St. George Illawarra Dragons 48-24   New Zealand Warriors 13 September 2009, 1:45pm WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah Adam Devcich
Semi-finals
  Canberra Raiders 34-42   Wests Tigers 18 September 2009, 5:30pm Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Gavin Reynolds
  Brisbane Broncos 24-10   Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 19 September 2009, 5:30pm Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Adam Devcich
Preliminary Finals
  St. George Illawarra Dragons 12-36   Wests Tigers 25 September 2009, 5:30pm ANZ Stadium, Sydney Gavin Reynolds
  Melbourne Storm 40-16   Brisbane Broncos 26 September 2009, 5:30pm Etihad Stadium, Melbourne Adam Devcich
Grand Final
  Melbourne Storm 24-22   Wests Tigers 4 October 2009, 2:10pm ANZ Stadium, Sydney Gavin Reynolds

Grand Final edit

Melbourne Storm Position Wests Tigers
Gareth Widdop FB Jake Mullaney
Sam Joe WG Joel Jackson
Justin O'Neill CE Joel Wisbey
Pita Maile CE Jake Clarke
Matt Duffie WG Sama Sauvao
Dane Chisholm FE Robert Lui
Luke Kelly (c) HB Darren Nicholls (c)
Pulou Vaituutuu PR Andrew Fifita
James Woolford HK Chris Corby
Jesse Bromwich PR Aaron Woods
Rob Rochow SR Simon Dwyer
Theodore Stuart SR Jason Schirnack
Billy Rogers LK Matt Hyland
Jai Jones-Wiegold Bench Jay Florimo
Jordan McLean Bench Monikura Tikinau
Kevin Proctor Bench David Fifita
Fred Makimare Bench Rhys Curran
Brad Arthur Coach Grant Jones

English-born Melbourne young gun Gareth Widdop clinched the Toyota Cup grand final for the Storm with a 74th minute try and pressure conversion, his side downing the Wests Tigers 24-22 on Sunday.

Widdop finger-nailed a late grubber - his second try of the match - to draw his side level at 22-22 before calmly potting the conversion and delivering the second version of the national under-20s competition to Melbourne.

The Storm scored four of their five tries in the first half to lead 18-10 at the break before a burst of two four-pointers in three minutes from the Tigers took them to a 22-18 lead after 56 minutes.

The Tigers had looked to be coming home with a wet sail before Widdop, who missed three first-half conversions, made the difference in a match where the lead changed five times.

The match became a virtual showdown between two gun fullbacks as Wests Tigers tryscoring machine Jake Mullaney took his season tally to 29 tries from 27 games in 2009 with a double of his own.

The speedy Tigers fullback also scored a try on either side of halftime and set up five-eighth Robert Lui's four-pointer for the Tigers' second-half lead.

Melbourne, who finished third in the regular season, had held the ascendancy before that, and led 18-10 at the break with, ironically, Widdop's goal-kicking letting his side down.

The Storm had also been denied three times in the first half, twice with players held up, but scored tries through winger Matt Duffie, lock Billy Rogers, Gareth Widdop and centre Justin O'Neill.[1]


  Melbourne Storm 24 (Gareth Widdop 2, Matt Duffie, Billy Rogers, Justin O'Neill tries; Gareth Widdop 2/5 goals)

  Wests Tigers 22 (Jake Mullaney 2, Rhys Curran, Robert Lui tries; Jake Mullaney 3/4 goals)

Half-Time: Melbourne 18-10

Jack Gibson Medal:   Luke Kelly

Club and Player Statistics edit

Leading try scorers edit

Top 10 try scorers
Pos Name Tries Team
1 Jake Mullaney 29   Wests Tigers
2 Kane Morgan 26   South Sydney
3 Matt Duffie 25   Melbourne
4= Taioalo Vaivai 20   South Sydney
4= Joe Vickery 20   St. George Illawarra
6= Kane Linnett 18   St. George Illawarra
6= Gareth Widdop 18   Melbourne
8= Pakisonasi Afu 17   Bulldogs
8= Daly Cherry-Evans 17   Manly
8= Obe Geia 17   North Queensland
8= Beau Henry 17   St. George Illawarra
8= Shaun Johnson 17   New Zealand

Leading point scorers edit

Top 10 overall point scorers
Player Team T G FG Pts
1 Jake Mullaney   Wests Tigers 29 103 - 322
2 Gareth Widdop   Melbourne 18 111 - 294
3 Beau Henry   St. George Illawarra 17 90 - 248
4 Shaun Johnson   New Zealand 17 84 1 237
5= Mitchell Porter   Manly 8 76 - 184
5= Stirling Siejka   Penrith 5 82 - 184
7 Peter Mata'utia   Newcastle 12 64 - 176
8 Michael Picker   Canberra 10 63 - 166
9= Jordan Rankin   Gold Coast 5 64 - 148
9= Taioalo Vaivai   South Sydney 20 34 - 148
9= Troyden Watene   North Queensland 7 60 - 148

Leading goal scorers edit

Top 10 goal scorers
Pos Name Goals Team
1 Gareth Widdop 111   Melbourne
2 Jake Mullaney 103   Wests Tigers
3 Beau Henry 90   St. George Illawarra
4 Shaun Johnson 84   New Zealand
5 Stirling Siejka 82   Penrith
6 Mitchell Porter 76   Manly
7= Peter Mata'utia 64   Newcastle
7= Jordan Rankin 64   Gold Coast
9= Michael Picker 63   Canberra
9= Troyden Watene 60   North Queensland

Leading field goal scorers edit

Top 10 field goal scorers
Pos Name FG's Team
1 Daly Cherry-Evans 3   Manly
2 Darren Nicholls 2   Wests Tigers
3= Ben Cronin 1   North Queensland
3= Rhys Jack 1   Bulldogs
3= Shaun Johnson 1   New Zealand
3= Luke Kelly 1   Melbourne
3= Robert Lui 1   Wests Tigers
3= Ben Murray 1   Sydney
3= Shane Pumipi 1   Cronulla
3= Harry Siejka 1   Penrith
3= Ray Thompson 1   North Queensland

Biggest Wins edit

Top 10 biggest winning margins
Pos Winning Team Losing Team Round Score Margin
1   Manly   Cronulla 25 64-10 54
2=   Manly   New Zealand 2 52-4 48
2=   Manly   Bulldogs 17 64-16 48
2=   New Zealand   Gold Coast 22 52-4 48
2=   Parramatta   Cronulla 12 52-4 48
2=   St. George Illawarra   Sydney 17 58-10 48
7=   Manly   Sydney 23 56-10 46
7=   North Queensland   Cronulla 17 56-10 46
9   South Sydney   Gold Coast 8 50-6 44
10=   Manly   Sydney 13 42-0 42
10=   Wests Tigers   Bulldogs 26 58-16 42

Winning Streaks edit

Winning streak still active
Top 5 longest winning streaks
Pos Team First Win Round Last Win Round Games Won
1=   Brisbane 40-16 vs   Bulldogs 14 48-24 vs   Penrith 23 9
1=   St. George Illawarra 36-12 vs   Penrith 3 34-22 vs   Cronulla 11 9
3   Melbourne 40-26 vs   North Queensland 22 24-22 vs   Wests Tigers GF 8
4=   Manly 40-20 vs   Bulldogs 1 26-22 vs   North Queensland 7 7
4=   St. George Illawarra 34-22 vs   Melbourne 21 48-24 vs   New Zealand QF 7
  • QF = Qualifying Finals
  • GF = Grand Final

Losing Streaks edit

Losing streak still active
Top 5 longest losing streaks
Pos Team First Loss Round Last Loss Round Games Lost
1   Cronulla 24-16 vs   North Queensland 6 44-12 vs   Melbourne 20 13
2   Sydney 48-10 vs   South Sydney 20 58-26 vs   North Queensland 26 7
3=   Bulldogs 40-16 vs   Brisbane 14 28-16 vs   Gold Coast 19 6
3=   Canberra 28-14 vs   Penrith 19 28-24 vs   New Zealand 24 6
3=   Gold Coast 22-16 vs   Penrith 7 28-6 vs   St. George Illawarra 13 6
3=   Penrith 20-16 vs   Cronulla 1 34-30 vs   Brisbane 6 6

Awards edit

Toyota Cup Player of the Year edit

The winner of the award is decided by the most votes during the year as decided by the referee of each game on a 3-2-1 basis for each game played throughout the regular season.

Winner:

Toyota Cup team Of The Year edit

The Toyota Cup team of the Year is voted on by the 16 Toyota Cup coaches, with the players with the highest votes in each position selected.

Position Player Club
Fullback Malcolm Webster   South Sydney
Wing Joe Vickery   St. George Illawarra
Centre Taioalo Vaivai   South Sydney
Centre Siuatonga Likiliki   New Zealand
Wing Drury Low   Canberra
Five-Eight Robert Lui   Wests Tigers
Halfback Beau Henry   St. George Illawarra
Front Row Trent Merrin   St. George Illawarra
Hooker Travis Waddell   Canberra
Front Row Jesse Bromwich   Melbourne
Second Row Jake Marketo   St. George Illawarra
Second Row Jared Waerea-Hargreaves   Manly
Lock Jamie Buhrer   Manly
Bench Kieran Foran   Manly
Bench Joel Romelo   Penrith
Bench Gareth Widdop   Melbourne
Bench Daly Cherry-Evans   Manly

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Melbourne Storm defeat Wests Tigers 24-22 to win 2009 Toyota Cup". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 19 October 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.

External links edit