Australian Rugby League 2003-2014 Quiz

Answer: Penrith

Penrith finished 12th in the 2002 season, and started 2003 poorly, with 3 losses from their first 4 matches. But they went onto take out the minor premiership and defeat the Roosters in the Grand Final, a match that will long be remembered for Scott Sattler's try-saving tackle on winger Todd Byrne, which many say was the turning point of the game.

Answer: Bulldogs

The Bulldogs finished 2nd, but suffered a surprise loss to the North Queensland Cowboys in round 1 of the finals. Due to their high finish they were given a second chance, and went on to beat the Roosters in the Grand Final in a classic encounter, 16-13, coming back from a half-time deficit of 13-6.

Answer: 4th and 5th

Wests Tigers (4th) beat their more fancied opponents St George Illawarra (who finished 2nd) in the first Semi Final by 20-12, and North Queensland (5th) defeated minor premiers Parramatta 29-0 to reach their first ever Grand Final. In the end the Tigers were too good for the Cowboys, winning 30-16.

Answer: No

The Storm, who had won the minor premiership by an amazing 8 competition points (4 wins clear of the Bulldogs in second) were beaten by Brisbane in an impressive defensive display, 15-8.

Answer: Gold Coast Titans

The Titans went very close to winning their debut match, going down to St George-Illawarra by just 2 points (20-18). They backed up with a win by the same margin the following week, beating the Sharks 18-16.

Answer: Yes

In 2007 and 2008, the Storm finished first and Manly second, with the two playing both Grand Finals. The only difference was the result; Melbourne won the 2007 Grand Final (although this was later stripped due to salary cap breaches) and Manly took out the 2008 title.

Answer: Parramatta Eels

Parramatta scraped into the final 8 with just 12 wins and a draw from 24 matches. They beat minor premiers St George-Illawarra (25-12), Gold Coast (27-2) and the Bulldogs (22-12) to make the decider. They lost the Grand Final 23-16 to the Storm, who were later stripped of the title due to salary cap breaches.

Answer: France

The Tri Series had been played at the end of each calendar year since 2006. The Four Nations tournament involves a qualifying team to be added to the 3 existing teams (Australia, New Zealand and England). Australia won the 2009 tournament with a dominant 46-16 win over England in the final.

Answer: False

The Roosters finished 6th and made an impressive run to the Grand Final. However, they were beaten by minor premiers St George-Illawarra, who took out their first title as a merged club with a 32-8 win (pre-merger St George last Grand Final win was in 1979).

Answer: NZ Warriors

In another season dominated by Manly and Melbourne, the Warriors looked out of contention when they lost their first final 40-10 to the Broncos. But by virtue of a second finals chance, they went on to beat the Storm 20-12 in the Preliminary Final to make the decider. In the end Manly were too good, winning 24-10.

Answer: 2nd

Th Storm were stripped of their 2007 and 2009 titles, meaning that the 1998 win over the Dragons was their only prior title. Their 14-4 defeat of the Bulldogs in the Grand Final was marred by a big brawl, which led to a lengthy suspension of Bulldogs forward James Graham for biting.

Answer: 7th

The Maroons turned around a game 1 defeat (14-6 in Sydney) to win game 2 (26-6) and game 3 (12-10) and continue this incredible run.

Answer: No

The Roosters met 4th placed Manly-Warringah in the decider, beating them 26-18.

Answer: North Queensland

This new 9-a-side competition (with nine minute match halves) took place in mid-February, just prior to the NRL season kick-off. The Cowboys beat the Broncos 16-7 in the final to take out the $500,000 prize.

Answer: 1971

South Sydney, despite being the most prolific premiership winning side, hadn't won for 34 years. The 2014 win was their 21st premiership. They finished the Grand Final win in style, piling on 16 points in the last 20 minutes to beat the Bulldogs 30-6. Clive Churchill medalist Sam Burgess played almost all of the match with a fractured cheekbone suffered in the first couple of tackles of the match.