As the stars finally realigned on the field in 2009, NRL stars found themselves maligned for their deeds off it as a string of atrocities did their best to ruin a thrilling season.

Parramatta superstar Jarryd Hayne left jaws dropped as he dazzled defences and fans alike with a run of sustained dominance rarely seen in the game – his consistency only matched by the parade of players forced to explain their reasons for bringing the game into disrepute.

No-one seemed immune to the troubled run, with one of two men designated to be the face of the game – Manly star Brett Stewart – unable to make it to the season kick-off before finding himself before the courts.

It was somewhat fitting that his partner in the NRL’s advertising campaign – Melbourne’s Greg Inglis – bookended the season with his own ordeal, the Storm powerhouse left to defend himself against assault charges with both case still awaiting outcomes.

There was little let-up in between either, the year reaching its zenith at the Sydney Roosters when in the space of a matter of weeks prop Nate Myles earned himself an extended stint on the sidelines for defecating in a hotel foyer before coach Brad Fittler was forced to fine himself $10,000 after being found heavily intoxicated by police trying to gain entry to another person’s hotel room.

Is it any surprise the Roosters finished last and Fittler now finds himself without a job?

On-field, the game went from strength to strength, helped in no small part by the emergence of Dally M medal winner Hayne as a genuine superstar.

He carried the Eels to the NRL grand final, but not even he could deny Melbourne on that first Sunday in October, the Storm confirming their standing as the most dominant side in recent history with their second premiership in three seasons.

Together with Queensland’s fourth-straight series win and Australia’s recovery from their shock World Cup loss to New Zealand to take out the Four Nations, and it appears normal service has again resumed.

BRISBANE
The Broncos looked dead and buried when hammered 56-0 by Canberra in the nation’s capital in August, but did remarkably well to regroup and make in to the penultimate weekend of the season. That game marked the end of Karmichael Hunt’s stint in the 13-man game before his move to the AFL, and the ramifications are such that there are even rumours Test skipper Darren Lockyer could return to the No.1 jumper. But the same question that plagued Brisbane last off-season still lingers – do the Broncos have the cattle up front to seriously contend for the title, particularly with Dave Taylor now wearing a Souths jumper?

BULLDOGS
The success story of 2009 with rookie coach Kevin Moore taking the 2008 wooden spooners within one dodgy video referee decision of the minor premiership. The turmoil of 2008 seems a distant memory, and the loss of Hazem El Masri and Greg Eastwood has been compensated by the arrival of premiership-winner Steve Turner and Wests Tigers utility Dene Halatau. Veteran halfback Brett Kimmorley will be a year older, but if can replicate his 2009 form then Canterbury – as they will once again be known – look well placed to make a run at the big one.

CANBERRA
After shocking many with a sixth-placed finish in 2008, the Raiders matched expectations by finishing 13th this year. The carefree football of 12 months earlier was no more, with their reliance on the enigmatic Terry Campese failing to reap rewards. Campese’s rapid fire elevation to the NSW side was matched by his equally speedy dropping, and his confidence hit ran through the Raiders. But with emergence of the likes of Josh Dugan, Justin Carney, David Shillington and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, the future looks bright for the green machine.

GOLD COAST
Despite their finals fade-out, 2009 could well go down as the year the Titans finally emerged as a premiership force. The club shook the finals monkey from its back as it qualified for its first postseason, and despite back-to-back losses to Brisbane and Parramatta in September, it seems the Titans now have the belief they can match it with the big boys. Throw in the addition of former Test pivot Greg Bird, who will form one of the most potent halves combinations in teh competition alongside skipper Scott Prince, and Gold Coast looked well-placed to improve in 2010.

CRONULLA
Preliminary finalists one year, wooden spoon contenders the next – 2009 will go down as one to forget for the Sharks. The season held so much promise following the acquisition of star trio Trent Barrett, Reni Maitua and Anthony Tupou, but by season’s end Maitua was under suspension for using a banned drug, Barrett was nursing a fractured cheekbone and Tupou was struggling to hold his spot in the top grade. Throw in the off-field turmoil that cost chief executive Tony Zappia his job, and there were few positives for the Sharks this year. And with their 2010 recruits mostly fringe first graders, an immediate climb up the ladder will be a tough ask.

MANLY
The Sea Eagles never really stood a chance of going back-to-back the moment Brett Stewart’s season was rocked by a sexual assault charge. The long-term knee injury that followed his brief return merely confirmed their fate, and it was little surprise to see them get belted in their only finals outing against Melbourne. With skipper Matt Orford now gone, Manly’s 2010 hopes will largely depend on how successful either teenager Kieran Foran or 21-year-old Trent Hodkinson are in assuming the No.7 jumper.

MELBOURNE
Two premierships from four grand finals appearances in as many years has confirmed this Melbourne side as one of the best the game has ever seen. Craig Bellamy’s squad keeps getting pillaged thanks to the constraints of the salary cap – with Dallas Johnson the latest victim – but somehow he keeps finding able replacements. Even from adversity – such as when Greg Inglis was suspended for two weeks following his assault charge – the Storm appeared to gather strength in 2009. What makes things even scarier for the Storm’s rivals is there appears no let up in sight with main cogs Inglis, Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk all locked up for the next few seasons.

NEWCASTLE
Another year of upheaval at the Knights eventually led to coach Brian Smith’s departure, yet still Newcastle managed to secure a finals berth. Halfback Jarrod Mullen finally started living up to the potential which saw him thrown a NSW jumper a few years ago and skipper Kurt Gidley remains one of the most versatile and consistent performers in the game. Those two will again need to shine for the Knights, but a repeat top-eight finish will require the likes of Chris Houston and Isaac De Gois to continue the improvement which saw them rate mentions in representative talks this year.

NORTH QUEENSLAND
The biggest disappointment of the 2009 season given there were high hopes with new coach Neil Henry on board. The arrival of Henry did little to alter the fact that the Cowboys will only go as far as Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen take them, despite one of the most impressive packs in the competition. That reliance on Thurston and Bowen will be tested in 2010 with Bowen to miss the first two months of the season, meaning he’ll be back just when Thurston enters the busy Origin period. Another potential distraction is Thurston’s future, with the playmaker sure to be in hot demand as he comes off contract.

PARRAMATTA
The fairytale story of 2009, Parramatta captured the imagination with their thrilling run to the grand final, thanks largely to the stunning string of performances from Jarryd Hayne. Looking a shadow of the player who represented his country in 2007 during the early rounds of the season, Hayne found his groove when moved to fullback to the point he was named international footballer of the year. The return of former Wallaby Timana Tahu has the blue and gold faithful excited about their 2010 prospects, but it could all come down to whether they rediscover the momentum and confidence of this year’s late surge.

PENRITH
You never knew quite what you were going to get with Penrith this season, and that inconsistency eventually led to a disappointing 11th-placed finish. Wade Graham and Luke Walsh showed glimpses that they could be the halves combination to take the club into the future, but by season’s end Graham found himself coming off th bench. One of the best junior nurseries in the game and with a pack containing internationals Petero Civoniceva, Luke Lewis, Trent Waterhouse and Frank Pritchard, more is expected of Penrith in 2010 and a slow start will again see the pressure mount on coach Matthew Elliott.

ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA
Has Wayne Bennett set himself up for a fall or what? Anything less than a premiership in 2010 will be a disappointment for Dragons fans given they exceeded all expectation to claim the minor premiership in their first year under the master coach. The straight-sets exit from the finals showed the red and whites were far from the finished product, with their attack found wanting at the business end of the season. Much of their improvement will have to come from within as only minor adjustments were made to the playing roster. But given the transformation undertaken by the most improved player in the game – five-eighth Jamie Soward – it appears anything is possible under Bennett.

SOUTH SYDNEY
Once again South Sydney will enter a season full of promise thanks to a recruiting drive that netted man mountain Dave Taylor, England power packet Sam Burgess and veteran prop Ben Ross. Put one of them alongside human turnstile Chris Sandow in defence and Souths could have the makings of a formidable outfit. The sacking of coach Jason Taylor thanks to his `karate kid’ shenanigans means the Bunnies will have to start afresh under veteran mentor John Lang, but what coach wouldn’t want to come out of retirement to oversee a squad with this much potential. The pressure is on however, with simply making the finals unlikely to be enough to satisfy the Rabbitohs faithful.

SYDNEY ROOSTERS
The 2010 season can’t come soon enough for the Roosters, because it means they can finally put the annus horribilus that was 2009 to bed. As if the wooden spoon wasn’t bad enough, there weren’t enough fingers and toes to keep count of the the number of times the club was dragged through the mud for off-field indiscretions. Veteran coach Brian Smith has replaced former favourite son Brad Fittler – whose fate was sealed with his late night hotel indiscretion – and Smith will have a improved squad at his disposal with Jason Ryles, Todd Carney and former Manly backrower Jared Waerea-Hargreaves having come on board.

WARRIORS
To say the experiment of bring halfback Stacey Jones out of retirement backfired would be one of the season’s biggest understatements. The halves that carried the Warriors to the final four in 2008 – Nathan Fien and Michael Witt – were both discarded to accommodate Jones, but the veteran playmaker struggled to rediscover his magic touch. Now he’s back in retirement and the Warriors are looking thin in the No.7, with former Cronulla bad boy Brett Seymour the only realistic option. The stripping of the captaincy from Steve Price gives strength to rumours all is not well at Mt Smart Stadium.

WESTS TIGERS
Another year and another missed finals series for the Tigers, whose only post-season appearance in the history of the joint-venture remains the 2005 premiership win. The Tigers got their best output from star playmaker Benji Marshall in the four seasons since the grand final win, but consistency remained the Tigers’ bugbear. The signing of Arana Taumata was made to ease the pressure on Marshall, but it is the potential recruitment of dual international Lote Tuqiri which could prove the difference between the top eight and another season of failure.

STATE OF ORIGIN
Having become the first side to register four straight series wins, Queensland looked well placed to be the first to make it five in a row. The representative future of Maroons skipper Darren Lockyer could have some impact, but with the likes of Scott Prince and Cooper Cronk waiting in the wings, there’s little respite for NSW. The Blues will take some heart from their game three win in Brisbane and Craig Bellamy’s decision to have one more tilt at bringing Queensland down, but can NSW come up with the goods when the series is on the line?

FOUR NATIONS
Australia reaffirmed themselves at the dominant force at international level, but the 46-16 win over England belied the competitiveness of the home side in the Four Nations final. If anything all that result did prove was that the Australian backline is virtually unstoppable once they get a run of possession. The 20-all draw with New Zealand in the tournament opener showed the Kiwis’ World Cup was no fluke, but they will want to make it back to the final when the tournament takes place in the southern hemisphere next year.

© AAP 2012

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