2010 National Rugby League | |
---|---|
Teams | 16 |
Premiers | St. George Illawarra (1st title) |
Minor premiers | St. George Illawarra (2nd title) |
Matches played | 201 |
Attendance | 3491890 |
Top points scorer(s) | Michael Gordon (270) |
Player of the year | Todd Carney (Dally M Medal) |
Top try-scorer(s) |
Akuila Uate (21) Shaun Kenny-Dowall (21) |
The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 3 October at ANZ Stadium. Sixteen teams competed for the 2010 Telstra Premiership whilst the third season of the National Youth Competition was also in progress.
The 2010 season was marred by the Melbourne Storm's admission in April of systematically breaching the NRL salary cap. As part of the NRL's imposed penalties, the Storm were deducted all 8 competition points earned at the time of the announcement, and were barred from earning points for the rest of the season, guaranteeing them the wooden spoon. The club was also stripped of all titles earned during the period they were in breach, including their 2007 and 2009 premierships and their 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships, and later also their 2010 World Club Challenge title.
2010's NRL premiership was won by the season's minor premiers the St George Illawarra Dragons, the first title for the joint venture club. The Dragons became the first minor premiers since the Penrith Panthers in 2003 to complete the minor premiership and premiership double.
During the pre-season the Melbourne Storm defeated the Leeds Rhinos 18-10 in the 2010 World Club Challenge. The inaugural All Stars match took place on 13 February at Skilled Park, Gold Coast, where the Indigenous All Stars team won 16–12.