# 1998 NRL season

The 1998 NRL season was the 91st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the inaugural season of the newly formed National Rugby League (NRL). After the 1997 season, in which the Australian Rugby League and Super League organisations ran separate competitions parallel to each other, they joined to create a reunited competition in the NRL. The first professional rugby league club to be based in Victoria, the Melbourne Storm was introduced into the League, and with the closure of the Hunter Mariners, Western Reds and South Queensland Crushers, twenty teams competed for the premiership, which culminated in the 1998 NRL Grand Final between Brisbane and Canterbury-Bankstown. It was also the final season for the Illawarra Steelers and the St. George Dragons as their own clubs prior to their merger into the St. George-Illawarra Dragons for the 1999 NRL season

## Pre-season

The National Rugby League was formed after an agreement was reached between the two rivaling competitions from 1997, the Australian Rugby League and the Super League. In December 1997, the two parties formed a joint board to run the new Australian rugby league club competition. The vast majority of the 22 clubs that contested in 1997 across the split competitions also contested the first season of the National Rugby League, with the exception of the Hunter Mariners, the Western Reds and South Queensland.
The National Rugby League imposed a $3M salary cap on each of the clubs.

### Advertising

Super League's ad agency VCD in Sydney successfully kept the account post-reunification. The 1998 ad featured the song "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba with its theme of rising against adversity:
    I get knocked down! But I get up again; you're never gonna keep me down.
There was no visual performance of the song in the ad which returned to the standard rugby league imagery of big hits and crunching tackles to accompany the track.

## Teams

The closure of the Hunter Mariners, Western/Perth Reds and South Queensland Crushers, and the introduction of the Melbourne Storm meant that a total of twenty clubs contested the 1998 Premiership. Eleven of these clubs were from Sydney, but an agreement between the Australian Rugby League and Super League meant that many of these clubs were in danger of being cut from the competition by the 2000 season when, it was decided, only 14 clubs would be invited to contest the premiership.

## Regular season

Rounds 5 and 7: Brisbane Broncos set a new record for their biggest win, firstly 58-4 against North Queensland Cowboys, then 60-6 against North Sydney Bears, both games being played at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre. Round 8: 1997 ARL premiers, the Newcastle Knights played the 1997 Super League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane won 26-6 in Newcastle before a crowd of 27,119, cementing their position at the top of the ladder. Round 12: The record for the biggest comeback in premiership history was re-set by the North Queensland Cowboys who trailed 26–0 at half-time and came back to beat the Penrith Panthers 36–28. Round 24: Ivan Cleary's tally of 284 points set a new individual record for most points scored in a season in Australian club rugby league history; it has since been beaten.

### Ladder

1998 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Brisbane Broncos (P) | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 688 | 310 | +378 | 37 |
| 2 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 562 | 381 | +181 | 37 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 546 | 372 | +174 | 35 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 468 | 349 | +119 | 35 |
| 5 | North Sydney Bears | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 663 | 367 | +296 | 34 |
| 6 | Sydney City Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 680 | 383 | +297 | 32 |
| 7 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 564 | 429 | +135 | 30 |
| 8 | St. George Dragons | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 486 | 490 | -4 | 27 |
| 9 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 489 | 411 | +78 | 26 |
| 10 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 503 | 473 | +30 | 26 |
| 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 438 | 387 | +51 | 25 |
| 12 | Illawarra Steelers | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 476 | 539 | -63 | 23 |
| 13 | Balmain Tigers | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 381 | 463 | -82 | 19 |
| 14 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 525 | 580 | -55 | 18 |
| 15 | Auckland Warriors | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 417 | 518 | -101 | 18 |
| 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 361 | 556 | -195 | 18 |
| 17 | Adelaide Rams | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 393 | 615 | -222 | 14 |
| 18 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 339 | 560 | -221 | 10 |
| 19 | Gold Coast Chargers | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 289 | 654 | -365 | 8 |
| 20 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 371 | 802 | -431 | 8 |

### Ladder progression

* Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 10.
* 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
| | 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 |
| 1 | Brisbane Broncos | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 37 |
| 2 | Newcastle Knights | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 37 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 35 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 35 |
| 5 | North Sydney Bears | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
| 6 | Sydney City Roosters | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
| 7 | Canberra Raiders | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 30 |
| 8 | St George Dragons | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
| 9 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
| 10 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
| 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 |
| 12 | Illawarra Steelers | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 23 |
| 13 | Balmain Tigers | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| 14 | Penrith Panthers | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| 15 | Auckland Warriors | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 17 | Adelaide Rams | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| 18 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 19 | Gold Coast Chargers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 20 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |

## Finals series

The biggest surprise of the season was when the Melbourne Storm finished 3rd after the regular season in their first ever year, only to be knocked out by the Brisbane Broncos in the Semi-final. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs became the lowest placed team ever to make the Grand Final, after finishing 9th after the regular season. Canterbury-Bankstown did it tough though, coming from 16 points down twice in as many weeks. They came from 16-0 down to win 28-16 against the Newcastle Knights in the Semi-final, then 18-2 down with 11 minutes to go to make it 18-18 after regulation time, then going on to win 32-20 in extra time against arch-rivals the Parramatta Eels in the preliminary final.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd |
| Elimination and Preliminary Qualifying Finals |||||||
| Canberra Raiders | 17–4 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 28 August 1998 | Bruce Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 15,953 |
| St. George Dragons | 12–20 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 29 August 1998 | Jubilee Oval | Steve Clark | 16,833 |
| Parramatta Eels | 25–12 | North Sydney Bears | 29 August 1998 | Parramatta Stadium | Kelvin Jeffes | 16,033 |
| Melbourne Storm | 12–26 | Sydney City Roosters | 30 August 1998 | Olympic Park | Paul McBlane | 18,247 |
| Elimination and Qualifying Quarter-Finals |||||||
| North Sydney Bears | 2–23 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 4 September 1998 | North Sydney Oval | Bill Harrigan | 18,718 |
| Melbourne Storm | 24–10 | Canberra Raiders | 5 September 1998 | Olympic Park | Steve Clark | 12,592 |
| Newcastle Knights | 15–26 | Sydney City Roosters | 5 September 1998 | Marathon Stadium | Kelvin Jeffes | 26,482 |
| Brisbane Broncos | 10–15 | Parramatta Eels | 6 September 1998 | ANZ Stadium | Paul McBlane | 21,172 |
| Semi-Finals |||||||
| Newcastle Knights | 16–28 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 12 September 1998 | Sydney Football Stadium* | Steve Clark | 24,449 |
| Brisbane Broncos | 30–6 | Melbourne Storm | 13 September 1998 | Sydney Football Stadium* | Bill Harrigan | 20,354 |
| Grand Final Qualifiers |||||||
| Sydney City Roosters | 18–46 | Brisbane Broncos | 19 September 1998 | ANZ Stadium | Steve Clark | 28,374 |
| Parramatta Eels | 20–32 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 20 September 1998 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 36,841 |
* Note: Due to an agreement held between the NRL and SFS that required a set number of finals games to be held at the SFS, the semi-finals were both held at the SFS to meet the agreement despite neither "home" side being from Sydney.

### Grand Final

The 1998 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 1998 NRL season. It was the first grand final of the re-unified National Rugby League and featured minor premiers and the previous year's Super League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, who had finished the regular season 9th (out of 20) to make a top-ten play-off grouping.
It was to be the first grand final under the National Rugby League partnership's administration and the last to be played at the Sydney Football Stadium. It was also the first time these two sides had met in a grand final. Brisbane scored first, but by half time trailed Canterbury 10–12. However, Brisbane scored 28 unanswered points in the second half, winning 12–38 and equaling the second highest score for a team in grand final history.
* Sunday, 27 September 15:00 AEST (UTC+10)
| Brisbane Broncos | 38 – 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
| Tries: 7 De Vere 2' Campion 27' Carroll 41' Sailor 50' Tallis 59' Lee 68' Smith 75' Goals: 5 Lockyer 4', 43', 60', 69', 76' (5/7) | 1st: 10–12 2nd: 28–0 Report | Tries: 2 Grimaldi 21' Talau 30' Goals: 2 Halligan pen 11', 22' (2/3) |
* Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 40,857 Referee: Bill Harrigan Touch judges: Steve Betts, John McCormack Clive Churchill Medal: Gorden Tallis (Brisbane)

### Chart

| Preliminary Semi Finals | Preliminary Semi Finals | Preliminary Semi Finals | Qualifying and Elimination Finals | Qualifying and Elimination Finals | Qualifying and Elimination Finals | Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Preliminary Finals | Preliminary Finals | Preliminary Finals | | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| 30 Aug, Olympic Park | 30 Aug, Olympic Park | 30 Aug, Olympic Park | 5 Sept, Marathon Stadium | 5 Sept, Marathon Stadium | 5 Sept, Marathon Stadium | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Melbourne | 12 | 2 | Newcastle | 15 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Sydney City | 26 | | Sydney City | 26 | 12 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 12 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 12 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 19 Sept, ANZ Stadium | 19 Sept, ANZ Stadium | 19 Sept, ANZ Stadium | | | | |
| | | | | | | Newcastle | Newcastle | 16 | Sydney City | Sydney City | 18 | | | | |
| 28 Aug, Bruce Stadium | 28 Aug, Bruce Stadium | 28 Aug, Bruce Stadium | 5 Sept, Olympic Park | 5 Sept, Olympic Park | 5 Sept, Olympic Park | Canterbury | Canterbury | 28 | Brisbane | Brisbane | 46 | | | | |
| 7 | Canberra | 17 | Melbourne | Melbourne | 24 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Manly-Warringah | 4 | Canberra | Canberra | 10 | | | | | | | | 27 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 27 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 27 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Brisbane | Brisbane | 38 |
| 29 Aug, Jubilee Oval | 29 Aug, Jubilee Oval | 29 Aug, Jubilee Oval | 4 Sept, North Sydney Oval | 4 Sept, North Sydney Oval | 4 Sept, North Sydney Oval | | | | | | | Canterbury | Canterbury | 12 |
| 8 | St. George | 12 | North Sydney | North Sydney | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Canterbury | 20 | Canterbury | Canterbury | 23 | 13 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 13 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 13 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 20 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 20 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 20 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | | | | |
| | | | | | | Brisbane | Brisbane | 30 | Parramatta | Parramatta | | | | | 20 |
| 29 Aug, Parramatta Stadium | 29 Aug, Parramatta Stadium | 29 Aug, Parramatta Stadium | 6 Sept, ANZ Stadium | 6 Sept, ANZ Stadium | 6 Sept, ANZ Stadium | Melbourne | Melbourne | 6 | Canterbury | Canterbury | 32 | | | | |
| 4 | Parramatta | 25 | 1 | Brisbane | 10 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | North Sydney | 12 | | Parramatta | 15 | | | | | | | | | | |

## Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 24.
| Points | Player | Tries | Goals | Field Goals |
| 268 | Ivan Cleary | 13 | 108 | 0 |
| 229 | Jason Taylor | 5 | 104 | 1 |
| 226 | Darren Lockyer | 14 | 85 | 0 |
| 208 | Daryl Halligan | 5 | 94 | 0 |
| 174 | Andrew Johns | 7 | 71 | 4 |
| Tries | Player |
| 20 | Darren Smith |
| 20 | Michael Buettner |
| 20 | Steve Menzies |
| 19 | Nathan Blacklock |
| 18 | Trent Barrett |
| Goals | Player |
| 108 | Ivan Cleary |
| 104 | Jason Taylor |
| 94 | Daryl Halligan |
| 85 | Darren Lockyer |
| 72 | Clinton Schifcofske |

## Post season

Brisbane's consistent dominance over other teams at this period of time contributed to the National Rugby League's plans to cut the number of teams down to 14 in order to ensure competitiveness and the long-term financial success of the game. Despite the rationalization of the league, the Broncos have continued to dominate in the modern era of the league, winning two more premierships in 2000 and 2006, as well as reaching another two Grand Finals in 2015 and 2023.
Despite the inclusion of "national" in the new competition's name, both the Gold Coast and Adelaide clubs folded at the end of the 1998 season. A new Gold Coast side re-entered the competition nine years later in 2007.
1998 was the last season for the seventy-eight-year-old St. George Dragons and seventeen-year-old Illawarra Steelers clubs, which merged to form the NRL's first joint-venture team at the conclusion of the season, the St. George Illawarra Dragons, for inclusion in the 1999 Premiership.

## 1998 Transfers
### Players

| Player | 1997 Club | 1998 Club |
| Tim Brasher | Balmain Tigers | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Ellery Hanley | Balmain Tigers | Retirement |
| Glenn Morrison | Balmain Tigers | North Sydney Bears |
| Marcus Bai | Gold Coast Chargers | Melbourne Storm |
| Martin Bella | Gold Coast Chargers | Retirement |
| Des Clark | Gold Coast Chargers | Super League: Halifax Blue Sox |
| Brendan Hurst | Gold Coast Chargers | Sydney City Roosters |
| Jeremy Schloss | Gold Coast Chargers | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| John Cross | Illawarra Steelers | Penrith Panthers |
| Brett Rodwell | Illawarra Steelers | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Mark Carroll | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Super League: London Broncos |
| David Gillespie | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Retirement |
| Shannon Nevin | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Balmain Tigers |
| Scott Conley | Newcastle Knights | Gold Coast Chargers |
| Leo Dynevor | Newcastle Knights | Western Suburbs Magpies |
| Marc Glanville | Newcastle Knights | Super League: Leeds Rhinos |
| Adam Muir | Newcastle Knights | North Sydney Bears |
| Chris Caruana | North Sydney Bears | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Darren Fritz | North Sydney Bears | Western Suburbs Magpies |
| David Hall | North Sydney Bears | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Danny Williams | North Sydney Bears | Melbourne Storm |
| Troy Campbell | Parramatta Eels | Gold Coast Chargers |
| Chris Lawler | Parramatta Eels | Gold Coast Chargers |
| David Woods | Parramatta Eels | Penrith Panthers |
| Russell Wyer | Parramatta Eels | Retirement |
| Michael Eagar | South Queensland Crushers | Super League: Warrington Wolves |
| Jason Hudson | South Queensland Crushers | Gold Coast Chargers |
| John Jones | South Queensland Crushers | Retirement |
| Clinton O'Brien | South Queensland Crushers | Gold Coast Chargers |
| Mark Protheroe | South Queensland Crushers | Retirement |
| Steele Retchless | South Queensland Crushers | Super League: London Broncos |
| Clinton Schifcofske | South Queensland Crushers | Parramatta Eels |
| Craig Teevan | South Queensland Crushers | Gold Coast Chargers |
| Mat Toshack | South Queensland Crushers | Super League: London Broncos |
| Dave Watson | South Queensland Crushers | Super League: Sheffield Eagles |
| Craig Wilson | South Queensland Crushers | Illawarra Steelers |
| Jeff Orford | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Retirement |
| David Penna | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Parramatta Eels |
| Craig Simon | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Illawarra Steelers |
| Mark Bell | St. George Dragons | Super League: Wigan Warriors |
| Peter Clarke | Sydney City Roosters | Adelaide Rams |
| Ben Duckworth | Sydney City Roosters | Balmain Tigers |
| Sean Garlick | Sydney City Roosters | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Terry Hermansson | Sydney City Roosters | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Brandon Pearson | Sydney City Roosters | Canberra Raiders |
| Dale Shearer | Sydney City Roosters | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Jacin Sinclair | Sydney City Roosters | Balmain Tigers |
| Bill Dunn | Western Suburbs Magpies | Retirement |
| Des Hasler | Western Suburbs Magpies | Retirement |
| James Smith | Western Suburbs Magpies | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Cameron Blair | Adelaide Rams (Super League) | Retirement |
| Kevin Campion | Adelaide Rams (Super League) | Brisbane Broncos |
| Phil Blake | Auckland Warriors (Super League) | Retirement |
| Mark Horo | Auckland Warriors (Super League) | Retirement |
| Grant Young | Auckland Warriors (Super League) | Super League: London Broncos |
| Glenn Lazarus | Brisbane Broncos (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Anthony Mundine | Brisbane Broncos (Super League) | St. George Dragons |
| Noa Nadruku | Canberra Raiders (Super League) | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Quentin Pongia | Canberra Raiders (Super League) | Auckland Warriors |
| Richie Barnett | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Super League) | Sydney City Roosters |
| Tawera Nikau | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Keith Beauchamp | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Retirement |
| Anthony Brann | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Canberra Raiders |
| John Carlaw | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Darrien Doherty | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Adelaide Rams |
| Justin Dooley | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Sydney City Roosters |
| Brad Godden | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Super League: Leeds Rhinos |
| Noel Goldthorpe | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Adelaide Rams |
| Scott Hill | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Kevin Iro | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Auckland Warriors |
| Tony Iro | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Adelaide Rams |
| Brett Kimmorley | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Tim Maddison | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Paul Marquet | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Robbie McCormack | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Super League: Wigan Warriors |
| Neil Piccinelli | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Newcastle Knights |
| Willie Poching | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | St. George Dragons |
| Robbie Ross | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Troy Stone | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
| Richard Swain | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Nick Zisti | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Justin Loomans | North Queensland Cowboys (Super League) | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| David Alexander | Penrith Panthers (Super League) | Retirement |
| Steve Waddell | Penrith Panthers (Super League) | Retirement |
| Paul Bell | Perth Reds (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Damien Chapman | Perth Reds (Super League) | Super League: London Broncos |
| Shaun Devine | Perth Reds (Super League) | Retirement |
| Jeff Doyle | Perth Reds (Super League) | Retirement |
| Greg Fleming | Perth Reds (Super League) | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
| Dale Fritz | Perth Reds (Super League) | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Matt Fuller | Perth Reds (Super League) | Wakefield Trinity |
| Mark Geyer | Perth Reds (Super League) | Penrith Panthers |
| Darren Higgins | Perth Reds (Super League) | Super League: London Broncos |
| Tim Horan | Perth Reds (Super League) | Illawarra Steelers |
| Rodney Howe | Perth Reds (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Robbie Kearns | Perth Reds (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Barrie-Jon Mather | Perth Reds (Super League) | Super League: Castleford Tigers |
| Matthew Rodwell | Perth Reds (Super League) | St. George Dragons |
| Chris Ryan | Perth Reds (Super League) | Super League: London Broncos |
| Peter Shiels | Perth Reds (Super League) | Newcastle Knights |
| Russell Bawden | Super League: London Broncos | Melbourne Storm |
| Tony Martin | Super League: London Broncos | Melbourne Storm |
| Matt Munro | Super League: Oldham Bears | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Danny McAllister | Super League: Sheffield Eagles | Gold Coast Chargers |
| Tony Tatupu | Super League: Warrington Wolves | Auckland Warriors |

### Coaches

| Coach | 1997 Club | 1998 Club |
| Chris Anderson | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (Super League) | Melbourne Storm |
| Graham Murray | Hunter Mariners (Super League) | Super League: Leeds Rhinos |