The 2008 National Rugby League season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds, starting on 14 March, followed by four weeks of play-offs, culminating in a Grand Final on 5 October.
Times for Rounds 1–3 are Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time. Times for Round 4 and the remainder of the season are Australian Eastern Standard Time.
This round marked the first premiership round of the centenary season of rugby league in Australia.
Skilled Park on the Gold Coast becomes the 70th first-grade venue used and is filled to capacity for its first NRL match with the Gold Coast Titans against the North Queensland Cowboys.
The Titans' Jordan Atkins equalled the competition record of four tries on debut, emulating Johnno Stuntz (1908), Viv Farnsworth (1910), and Tony Nash (1942).
The Bulldogs suffered their worst collapse when they led Parramatta 20–0 at halftime to lose 28–20 at ANZ Stadium, while that comeback was Parramatta's second largest.
Brisbane's Corey Parker surpassed Darren Lockyer's and Michael De Vere's club record of most goals kicked in a match, scoring 10 goals out of 10.
Newcastle Knights and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles played out the first golden point game of the season.
The Melbourne Storm lost their 100th ever game and their first game at Olympic Park since round 24, 2006.
Both of National Rugby League season 2007's grand finalists, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm, were beaten this round both by one point by Newcastle and Cronulla.
All matches this round were won by home teams.
A new Suncorp Stadium attendance record for premiership games is set with 50,612.
Brisbane Broncos made it three wins from their first three matches of the season for the first time since 2003.
Newcastle Knights played their second consecutive golden point game but lost to the Parramatta Eels.
Melbourne Storm suffered their first back-to-back loss since rounds 3 and 4, 2006.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles got their biggest ever win over the New Zealand Warriors.
A new ANZ Stadium regular season attendance record (excluding double headers) was set when 36,526 came to the match between the Bulldogs and the Sydney Roosters.
Golden point is invoked for the third time in 2008, the Cronulla v St. George Illawarra match going to extra time.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are the remaining team to yet win a game after falling for their fourth consecutive game against the Manly Sea Eagles who managed to keep them tryless by 20 points to 2.
The Sydney Roosters' and the Bulldogs' match was labelled the "Grudge Match Of The Year" as many of the Roosters high profile players were former Bulldogs and it was their first clash since forward Willie Mason left the Bulldogs for the Roosters. However the match was one-sided as the Roosters scored a 28-point victory. Braith Anasta, a former Bulldog, was named man of the match while Mason scored two tries.
For the fifth time in their ten-year history, St. George Illawarra Dragons started the season with one win and four losses.
The New Zealand Warriors won their first match against the Bulldogs since the first week of the finals in 2003.
Canberra Raiders won the inaugural 1989 League Legends Cup against the Wests Tigers.
The Brisbane Broncos won their fourth straight match over the Newcastle Knights.
This premiership round was set down to celebrate the anniversary of the first round of the 1908 premiership. Teams wore jerseys reflecting their club or region's first season in the competition.
Corey Parker played his 150th career game for the Brisbane Broncos.
Cronulla play their first home game of the season after five rounds on the road when waiting for their home venue (Toyota Stadium) to be upgraded. It results in a golden point loss to Penrith.
The Newcastle Knights put their season back into the positive after defeating the Sydney Roosters, bouncing back from a 20-12 half time deficit by scoring four tries within the remaining ten minutes.
Melbourne win their twelfth straight match against Canberra after coming from 16-4 down at halftime.
This round saw a change in the lead on the competition ladder, with the Gold coast Titans edging ahead of the Brisbane Broncos.
South Sydney Rabbitohs lose their ninth consecutive match (from round 24, 2007), this time to the Brisbane Broncos. It was also Tonie Carroll's 200th game for the Broncos.
The Dragons bounce back from their four-game slump causing the Sydney Roosters' first back-to-back losses for this season.
Gold Coast recorded their fifth successive win, becoming the first of any Gold Coast team in the top grade ever to do so.
Wests Tigers extend their winning streak against Cronulla to nine.
The Newcastle Knights get their first win over the Gold Coast Titans with a thrilling 13-12 match.
Referee Ben Cummins was hit by a foam football thrown by angry Penrith fans after the Parramatta Eels 26-18 win over the Panthers.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs got their first win of the season.
This round was followed by the 2008 ANZAC Test in what was the first test match played at the Sydney Cricket Ground since 1986.
The 0-0 halftime scoreline during the Melbourne and Newcastle match was the fourth time in three years that the first half of an NRL match has been scoreless.
Melbourne's win over Newcastle places the 2007 minor premiership winning Storm to the top of the table for the first time in 2008. Meanwhile, last year's second finishing team, the Sea Eagles, entered the top four.
The 34 players selected for State of Origin are required to stand down for this round's club matches.
The Gold Coast Titans finally defeated the Bulldogs; the first Gold Coast team of any era - Giants, Seagulls, Chargers or Titans - to do so.
The Brisbane Broncos recorded their first back-to-back losses of the season.
The St. George Illawarra Dragons defeated Melbourne for the first time since 2004. Up to eight players from the usual Melbourne squad were omitted from the match due to State of Origin duties.
The Penrith Panthers made the top eight for the first time in 2008 by beating the Warriors.
The Warriors' loss to the Roosters was the first home game they lost in 2008.
Manly's Adam Cuthbertson is sent off during Manly's win over Canberra.
Denan Kemp equalled the club record for most tries in a match for the Brisbane Broncos with 4 tries, one of which was the match-winner scored after the final siren.
The Bulldogs became the first team for 2008 to be held scoreless in a match.
North Queensland's Luke O'Donnell is also sent off in the Cowboys loss to Penrith in golden point extra time.
Brett Finch played his 200th NRL game. He became only the 5th player to reach this milestone before reaching the age of 27.
Players selected for State of Origin were again absent from this round's fixtures.
South Sydney's rare win over the Warriors was their first win against them since 1999.
Wendell Sailor makes his return to the NRL with St. George Illawarra after a seven-year absence.
The Sydney Roosters fail to score against Manly for the second time in a row, losing 0-56 in Round 17, 2007.
For the first time, the Gold Coast Titans held their opposition scoreless with an 18-0 win over the Melbourne Storm at Skilled Park, in the process maintaining their undefeated home record in 2008.
For the first time since 2005, the Cronulla Sharks have managed to win three consecutive games.
The Cowboys lost their seventh consecutive match for the first time since 1999.
Both Friday night games were won by the home teams by one point which both avoided heading into extra time.
The Bulldogs suffered their second thrashing in five weeks, this time 18-58 by Canberra and is the most points the Bulldogs have ever conceded in 49 seasons (since 1959).
The Cowboys suffered their 8th loss in a row, this time going down 48-20 to the Melbourne Storm in Melbourne and are now in grave danger along with South Sydney for wooden spoon contenders.
The Roosters maintained their seven-year undefeated streak in Newcastle, grittingly winning 16-14.
The Sharks have ended Parramatta's clean run with their Toyota Park Stadium however, it resulted with Cronulla losing their key man and Blues five-eighth Greg Bird, injured in Cronulla's 16-14 win over Parramatta.
South Sydney earn their third win of the season in a tough affair with Gold Coast 24-23 with only a penalty goal from Isaac Luke putting them in front into full-time. Their win sees the Rabbitohs move out of last place for the first time this season after 15 rounds, slipping North Queensland to their long held position. This said, the Titans have never won at ANZ Stadium.
Once again, players selected for State of Origin duties were unable to play in this round.
The Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos played out the first draw of the season, and the sixth golden point game.
The Gold Coast Titans finally lost at home, going down to the St George Illawarra Dragons.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs equalled the second-biggest ever comeback in Rugby League History coming from 24 points down to win by a point against wooden spoon contenders the North Queensland Cowboys at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
The New Zealand Warriors defeated the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval for the first time in the Warriors' history.
The Parramatta Eels' win over the Melbourne Storm was their first since 2005, and first at home since 2001.
The Cronulla Sharks maintained their four-year unbeaten streak against the Canberra Raiders at Canberra Stadium.
The Dragons protected their five-year unbeaten streak in Newcastle with a 24–16 victory over the Knights, which was also St George Illawarra's seventh consecutive victory.
The Melbourne Storm won their 13th straight match against the Canberra Raiders, ensuring their coach Craig Bellamy is unbeaten as coach against his old club.
Penrith's win over Parramatta was somewhat soured when Penrith captain Petero Civoniceva was racially taunted by Eels fans at Parramatta Stadium.
For the second week in a row, the South Sydney Rabbitohs came back to win, this time coming from 18 points down early in the second half against the Bulldogs in extra time, scoring four consecutive games for the first time in 14 years.
The Gold Coast Titans beat the Sydney Roosters at the Sydney Football Stadium, in doing so becoming the first Gold Coast team of any era to do so.
The New Zealand Warriors condemned the North Queensland Cowboys to their record 10th loss in succession.
South Sydney won their fifth match in succession for the first time since 1994.
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles took outright top spot on the NRL Ladder after beating the Cronulla Sharks at Toyota Stadium.
The St George Illawarra Dragons were, for the second time in three years, denied a record-equalling 8th-straight victory when they succumbed to the Canberra Raiders, who won their first match at WIN Stadium since 1995.
Darren Lockyer made a successful comeback for the Brisbane Broncos, who suffered a defeat to the Bulldogs.
Wests Tigers captain Brett Hodgson, the only remaining player to have played for the now merged Western Suburbs Magpies club, played his last ever match at Campbelltown Stadium. The team wore the iconic black-and-white Magpies uniform to celebrate this occasion.
During the Monday night match with the Tigers, Melbourne Storm veteran Matt Geyer became the first Storm player to play 250 games for the club.
North Queensland's now eleventh consecutive loss is the worst such streak in the club's history.
The Manly Sea Eagles beat the Parramatta Eels despite losing captain/halfback Matt Orford, five-eighth Jamie Lyon and forwards Jason King and Luke Williamson. Lyon and King injured themselves early in the first half (Orford and Williamson had been ruled unfit to play before the game).
The Warriors posted just their third away win of 2008 by thumping the Bulldogs by 40 points to 22 to achieve their first win over the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.
Dragons prop Jason Ryles became the fourth player to be sent off this season for intentionally kicking Storm prop Jeff Lima. Melbourne's Billy Slater and Adam Blair and Dragons' Jamie Soward were also sin-binned for fighting. St. George Illawarra failed to score for the first time since Round 3, 2000 – a scoring streak of 219 matches.
Gavin Badger was dropped from refereeing for the following week as a result of several bad decisions in the Melbourne Storm – St. George Illawarra game.
All matches on this round were won by the home teams.
Top two sides Melbourne and Manly were beaten by 2 and 22 points respectively.
The St. George Illawarra Dragons defeated the Bulldogs for the first time since 2003.
There were four games with crowds under 10000.
The Sharks defeated the Dragons for the fourth consecutive time.
The Cowboys lost their 13th match in succession, leading up to a possible wooden spoon battle with the Bulldogs.
The Wests Tigers equalled their 2005 record for best victory (54-2) by beating the Bulldogs 56-4
Melbourne's victory over Manly was their first win at Brookvale Oval since 1999, and their third straight against the Sea-Eagles.
North Queensland ended a 13-game losing streak with a win over the Bulldogs.
The Canberra Raiders recorded their highest score in a match, beating the previous best of 68, set in 1993, it was the equal 3rd highest score in history and the highest score by any team since 2003 when Parramatta also scored 74. Raiders' five-eighth Terry Campese scores 36 points (four tries and 10 goals), a feat bettered only three times in history.
The Eels and Roosters contested the inaugural Jack Gibson Cup this round, with Parramatta claiming the trophy.
The St George Illawarra Dragons recorded their seventh-straight victory over the Brisbane Broncos, with ex-Bronco Wendell Sailor scoring his first NRL try since he switched to rugby union against his former club.
The Gold Coast Titans got one step closer to completing a clean sweep over the fellow Queensland teams in the competition this season, beating the North Queensland Cowboys.
Manly-Warringah conceded more than 40 points in a match for the first time since 2005. This was also South Sydney's highest score achieved under coach Jason Taylor.
Parramatta's win over the Wests Tigers brought them to eight consecutive wins against their opposing club.
After the completion of round 23, the Melbourne Storm reclaimed the top spot on the competition ladder, taking advantage of Manly's loss to Souths.
Panthers Vs Bulldogs became the longest match without extra time due to referee Gavin Badger's referrals to video referee Russell Smith.
For the second time this season, the Sydney Roosters were held scoreless, against a top four team.
For the second consecutive time at Suncorp Stadium, the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Titans were brought into golden point, with the Broncos taking out both games. This denied the Titans a complete clean sweep over their fellow Queensland teams.
The NRL schedule staged its first double-header since Round 1 of the 2004 season. ANZ Stadium featured both the Wests Tigers vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles match and the Bulldogs vs Parramatta Eels game in sequence with one another during Saturday night of 23 August 2008.
After trailing 19–6 at halftime, the Canberra Raiders tallied 34 points in the second half to stun the South Sydney Rabbitohs 25–40.
The New Zealand Warriors' poor record at Wollongong's WIN Stadium continued as they had not won at that ground since 1996.
Melbourne won their first match at CUA Stadium since 2003.
After nine previous meetings, the Cronulla Sharks defeated the Wests Tigers for the first time since 2003.
The Canterbury Bulldogs suffered their 7th straight loss in a game to farewell long time Bulldogs hooker Corey Hughes.
Wendell Sailor scored his first NRL hat-trick since 2001.
The Cowboys broke the Raiders top 4 hopes.
Steve Menzies played his last Premiership match at Brookvale Oval.
The Brisbane Broncos won their fifth match in a row at ANZ Stadium.
Wayne Bennett celebrated his last regular season game as the Broncos coach after 21 years of coaching the Brisbane Broncos since their opening season in 1988. Along with Bennett, the defender Tonie Carroll also celebrated playing his last regular season game for the Broncos after serving for twelve seasons and playing over 200 games for the maroon-and-golds. The Broncos also recorded their fifth straight win over the Knights, knocking them out of finals contention.
The Sydney Roosters' physical 10–0 win over St. George Illawarra Dragons saw them make the finals for the first time since 2004 when they finished off runners-up to the Bulldogs. It was also the first time the Roosters had held an opposing team scoreless since 2004.
The New Zealand Warriors finals-earning win over the Eels at Parramatta Stadium was their first win at Parramatta since the club's first season in 1995.
The Tigers levelled their all-time record against the Gold Coast Titans by beating them 28–12, having already beaten them 20–18 in round 11.
The Bulldogs picked up their first wooden spoon since 2002, when they were then controversially stripped of 37 points for their salary-cap breach.
The Melbourne Storm racked up their record third consecutive minor premiership for the first time in the NRL competition, taking hold of pole position in seasons 2006, 2007 and now 2008, a feat which hasn't been known since Manly did so in 1995, 96, and 97. The game was also to commemorate Melbourne's longest serving player, Matt Geyer, who played his last regular season game to defeat the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Olympic Park Stadium in Melbourne 42–4.
The Canberra Raiders scored 52 against the Bulldogs, the 2nd time in the season the Raiders had put 50 or more on the Bulldogs (following the 58-18 demolition job in Round 15), they became the 6th team in history to achieve this feat and the first team since Parramatta did it to Newtown in 1983. It was the 2nd time the Bulldogs had been on the receiving end of this feat, the other being in their debut season, 1935.
The Parramatta and Warriors games got 5,102 people, the lowest crowd of the season
The NRL employs the McIntyre Final Eight System.
In the qualifying finals, matches were played at the higher placed team's home ground. 1st and 2nd highest placed winning teams then proceeded to the preliminary finals.
In the semi finals, matches were played at the 3rd and 4th highest winning team's home ground, provided it had a capacity of 25,000. Eligible venues were: Stadium Australia, Sydney Football Stadium, Suncorp Stadium, Dairy Farmers Stadium, EnergyAustralia Stadium, Canberra Stadium, Telstra Dome, Melbourne Cricket Ground and Mount Smart Stadium.
In the preliminary finals, matches were played at the highest placed winning teams from the qualifying finals "home region" ground. For Sydney teams, Newcastle, St. George Illawarra and Canberra, this was the Sydney Football Stadium or Stadium Australia. For Brisbane and the Gold Coast - Suncorp Stadium, North Queensland - Dairy Farmers Stadium, Melbourne - the Telstra Dome or the MCG, and for New Zealand, Mt Smart Stadium.
Both Melbourne Storm and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles finished first and second for the second year running. Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand Warriors were the only other teams which had visited the finals series in the previous year.
The Broncos played in their 17th successive finals campaign, second only to St. George's streak of 23 seasons from 1951 to 1973.
The Sydney Roosters make a return to the finals after a three-year absence, their last being in 2004 when they were runners-up to the now wooden-spooned Bulldogs.
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks make a revisit to the finals series since 2005 and host a home final for the first time since 2001, in which they comfortably defeated the Canberra Raiders.
Both Melbourne and Manly faced sides that have defeated them during the season and hold some records against the top two teams this year. Manly took on the 7th ranked St. George Illawarra Dragons who defeated Manly at Brookvale Oval 20-18 in round 11 and have currently won four of their past six games at Brookvale Oval, while Melbourne faced the Warriors, who were recently outdone against the New Zealand club in Auckland by a mere 8-6 and are one of the two teams in the past three years that have defeated the Storm at Melbourne.
Cronulla's defeat over the Canberra Raiders gave them their seventh consecutive finals defeat, last achieving a finals victory in 2000.
The New Zealand Warriors' striking last-minute win over Melbourne made them the first 8th-placed team to defeat the season's minor premiers at their home ground in NRL history since the McIntyre System was introduced in 1999. This landmark win deserved them a home final against the Sydney Roosters.
For the second year running Manly had the week off whilst for the first time since 1999 Cronulla hosted a home preliminary final.
Both matches this weekend were NRL grand final rematches; the New Zealand Warriors faced the Sydney Roosters whom they lost to in the 2002 decider, whilst Melbourne travelled to Brisbane to take on their 2006 Grand Final nemesis the Broncos.
New Zealand become the first team to get to a preliminary final from 8th position, beating the Roosters 30-13.
After trailing for all but the last 46 seconds of the match, Melbourne got out of jail in a controversial match against the Brisbane Broncos with a Greg Inglis try and subsequently ended their season, and that of the Broncos' coaching career of Wayne Bennett, and went on to play Cronulla in the preliminary final.
The Sydney Football Stadium was allocated for both Preliminary Finals, due to both sides from the Sydney region the home stadium could have been allocated to either the Sydney Football Stadium, or the larger ANZ Stadium. It was stated that due to both clubs ranking in the lower half of average attendances for home games in 2008.
Melbourne, under stand-in captain Cooper Cronk defeated the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 28-0, keeping them scoreless for the first time since 2003. The Storm thus made it to their third consecutive Grand Final, joining the likes of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters, Balmain Tigers, St. George Dragons, Western Suburbs Magpies, Parramatta Eels, Canterbury Bulldogs, Canberra Raiders and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles to qualify for at least 3 rugby league Grand Finals in a row.Preliminary Finals at SFS
Grand Final
Manly's 40 to nil victory against Melbourne win in the 2008 Grand Final is the largest on record, surpassing the Eastern Suburbs' 38-0 win over St. George in 1975.
On the other hand, the runners-up Melbourne Storm became the first team since 1978 to be held scoreless in a Grand Final (when Cronulla suffered so 16-0 against Manly.)
