# 2009 NRL Under-20s season

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.

## Ladder

National Youth Competition season 2009vte :
| 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 (P) | 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

Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.
National Youth Competition season 2009vte :
| | 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

The NYC finals series adopts the McIntyre final eight system just like its first grade counterpart, the National Rugby League.
| Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Manly | 28 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Canberra Raiders | 32 | | | | 1W | St. George Illawarra | 12 | | | |
| | | | 4W | Canberra Raiders | 34 | | Wests Tigers | 36 | | | |
| 2 | St. George Illawarra | 48 | 2L | Wests Tigers | 42 | | | | | | |
| 2 | St. George Illawarra | 48 | 2L | Wests Tigers | 42 | | | | Wests Tigers | Wests Tigers | 22 |
| 7 | NZ Warriors | 24 | | | | | | | Wests Tigers | Wests Tigers | 22 |
| 7 | NZ Warriors | 24 | | | | | | | Melbourne Storm | Melbourne Storm | 24 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm | 54 | | | | 2W | Melbourne Storm | 40 | | | |
| 6 | South Sydney | 18 | 3W | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | | Brisbane Broncos | 16 | | | |
| | | | 1L | Manly | 10 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Wests Tigers | 22 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 46 | | | | | | | | | |
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | 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

| 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.
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
### Leading try scorers

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

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

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

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

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

* 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

* 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
### Toyota Cup Player of the Year

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

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 |