2013 NRL season
The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixteen teams during the regular season, which lasted from March to September, and resulted in the top eight finishing teams, who went on to contest the finals. The season culminated in the Grand Final, in which the Sydney Roosters defeated the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 26-18 to win their first NRL premiership since 2002.
The NRL season started with the 2013 NRL All Stars match, which was played in February. The 2013 Holden Cup, the NRL's Under-20s competition, also took place alongside the Premiership, with most matches held before the first grade competition. The Parramatta Eels picked up the wooden spoon for the second consecutive season after winning only five matches for the season.
Season summary
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks supplements saga
The 2013 NRL season was marred by a major investigation involving the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks' supplements program, which was alleged to have taken place during the 2011 season. Following an almost year-long investigation by ASADA and the NRL, a series of penalties were applied on the club, including, among others, the 12-month suspension of Shane Flanagan as the club's head coach, as well as a $1,000,000 fine and the deregistration of Trent Elkin as the club's trainer.Despite the off-field controversy, the Sharks were still able to reach the NRL finals for the second consecutive year, losing to eventual grand finalists Manly in the second week.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 7th consecutive year. A report conducted by Brand Finance valued the Penrith Panthers club at $46.2m, the highest of any Australian sporting brand, while the Brisbane Broncos had the highest brand equity.| Colours | Club | Season | Stadium | Head coach | Captain |
| Brisbane Broncos | 26th season | Suncorp Stadium | Anthony Griffin | Sam Thaiday | |
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 79th season | ANZ Stadium | Des Hasler | Michael Ennis | |
| Canberra Raiders | 32nd season | Canberra Stadium | David Furner→Andrew Dunemann | Terry Campese | |
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 47th season | Remondis Stadium | Peter Sharp | Paul Gallen | |
| Gold Coast Titans | 7th season | Skilled Park | John Cartwright | Nate Myles & Greg Bird | |
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 64th season | Brookvale Oval | Geoff Toovey | Jamie Lyon & Jason King | |
| Melbourne Storm | 16th season | AAMI Park | Craig Bellamy | Cameron Smith | |
| Newcastle Knights | 26th season | Hunter Stadium | Wayne Bennett | Kurt Gidley→Jarrod Mullen | |
| New Zealand Warriors | 19th season | Mt Smart Stadium | Matthew Elliott | Simon Mannering | |
| North Queensland Cowboys | 19th season | Dairy Farmers Stadium | Neil Henry | Johnathan Thurston & Matt Scott | |
| Parramatta Eels | 67th season | Parramatta Stadium | Ricky Stuart | Reni Maitua & Jarryd Hayne | |
| Penrith Panthers | 47th season | Centrebet Stadium | Ivan Cleary | Kevin Kingston | |
| St. George Illawarra Dragons | 15th season | WIN Jubilee Oval WIN Stadium | Steve Price | Ben Creagh | |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | 104th season | ANZ Stadium | Michael Maguire | John Sutton | |
| Sydney Roosters | 106th season | Allianz Stadium | Trent Robinson | Anthony Minichiello | |
| Wests Tigers | 14th season | Campbelltown Stadium Leichhardt Oval | Mick Potter | Robbie Farah |
Ladder
Ladder progression
| 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 | Sydney | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 40 |
| 2 | South Sydney | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 40 | 40 |
| 3 | Melbourne | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 35 | 37 |
| 4 | Manly-Warringah | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 35 |
| 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 32 |
| 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 30 |
| 7 | Newcastle | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 29 |
| 8 | North Queensland | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 |
| 9 | Gold Coast | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 |
| 10 | Penrith | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 |
| 11 | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 |
| 12 | Brisbane | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 |
| 13 | Canberra | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| 14 | St. George Illawarra | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 |
| 15 | Wests | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 16 | Parramatta | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
Finals series
For the second year the NRL uses the finals system previously implemented by the ARL competition from the 1990s to decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams. Both the seventh-placed Newcastle Knights and minor premiers Sydney Roosters return the finals after last featuring respectively in 2011 and 2010, whilst the other six teams were featured in the preceding finals series.Chart
Grand final
Regular season player statistics
The following statistics are of the conclusion of round 26.Top 5 point scorers
| Points | Player | Tries | Goals | Field Goals |
| 230 | James Maloney | 9 | 97 | 0 |
| 210 | Jamie Lyon | 14 | 77 | 0 |
| 204 | Adam Reynolds | 4 | 93 | 2 |
| 177 | Shaun Johnson | 10 | 67 | 3 |
| 170 | Cameron Smith | 2 | 81 | 0 |
Top 5 try scorers
| Tries | Player |
| 19 | James McManus |
| 19 | David Williams |
| 19 | David Simmons |
| 18 | Jorge Tafua |
| 17 | Michael Jennings |
| 17 | Sam Perrett |
| 17 | Billy Slater |
Top 5 goal scorers
| Goals | Player |
| 97 | James Maloney |
| 93 | Adam Reynolds |
| 81 | Cameron Smith |
| 77 | Jamie Lyon |
| 75 | Aidan Sezer |
2013 Transfers
Players
| Player | 2012 Club | 2013 Club |
| Gerard Beale | Brisbane Broncos | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Petero Civoniceva | Brisbane Broncos | Redcliffe Dolphins |
| Ben Te'o | Brisbane Broncos | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Josh Dugan | Canberra Raiders | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Bronson Harrison | Canberra Raiders | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Dimitri Pelo | Canberra Raiders | N/A |
| Trevor Thurling | Canberra Raiders | Retirement |
| Travis Waddell | Canberra Raiders | Newcastle Knights |
| Bryson Goodwin | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Luke MacDougall | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Retirement |
| Corey Payne | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Retirement |
| David Stagg | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Brisbane Broncos |
| Jonathan Wright | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Colin Best | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Retirement |
| Jeremy Smith | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Newcastle Knights |
| John Williams | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Retirement |
| Beau Champion | Gold Coast Titans | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Phil Graham | Gold Coast Titans | Retirement |
| Michael Henderson | Gold Coast Titans | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Scott Prince | Gold Coast Titans | Brisbane Broncos |
| Bodene Thompson | Gold Coast Titans | Wests Tigers |
| Darcy Lussick | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Parramatta Eels |
| Michael Oldfield | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Sydney Roosters |
| Dean Whare | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Penrith Panthers |
| Tony Williams | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
| Richie Fa'aoso | Melbourne Storm | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
| Rory Kostjasyn | Melbourne Storm | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Jaiman Lowe | Melbourne Storm | Retirement |
| Todd Lowrie | Melbourne Storm | New Zealand Warriors |
| Sika Manu | Melbourne Storm | Penrith Panthers |
| Dane Nielsen | Melbourne Storm | New Zealand Warriors |
| Anthony Quinn | Melbourne Storm | Newcastle Knights |
| Joel Edwards | Newcastle Knights | Canberra Raiders |
| Wes Naiqama | Newcastle Knights | Penrith Panthers |
| Junior Sa'u | Newcastle Knights | Melbourne Storm |
| Zeb Taia | Newcastle Knights | Super League: Catalans Dragons |
| Evarn Tuimavave | Newcastle Knights | Super League: Hull Kingston Rovers |
| Lewis Brown | New Zealand Warriors | Penrith Panthers |
| Micheal Luck | New Zealand Warriors | Retirement |
| James Maloney | New Zealand Warriors | Sydney Roosters |
| Ukuma Ta'ai | New Zealand Warriors | Super League: Huddersfield Giants |
| Cory Paterson | North Queensland Cowboys | Super League: Hull Kingston Rovers |
| Aaron Payne | North Queensland Cowboys | Retirement |
| James Segeyaro | North Queensland Cowboys | Penrith Panthers |
| Jordan Atkins | Parramatta Eels | Gold Coast Titans |
| Luke Burt | Parramatta Eels | Retirement |
| Nathan Hindmarsh | Parramatta Eels | Retirement |
| Justin Horo | Parramatta Eels | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
| Casey McGuire | Parramatta Eels | Retirement |
| Justin Poore | Parramatta Eels | Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats |
| Taulima Tautai | Parramatta Eels | Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats |
| Esikeli Tonga | Parramatta Eels | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
| Chris Armit | Penrith Panthers | Retirement |
| Travis Burns | Penrith Panthers | Super League: Hull Kingston Rovers |
| Danny Galea | Penrith Panthers | N/A |
| Michael Gordon | Penrith Panthers | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Michael Jennings | Penrith Panthers | Sydney Roosters |
| Luke Lewis | Penrith Panthers | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Shane Shackleton | Penrith Panthers | Retirement |
| Etu Uaisele | Penrith Panthers | N/A |
| Dayne Weston | Penrith Panthers | Melbourne Storm |
| Scott Geddes | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Retirement |
| Eddy Pettybourne | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Wests Tigers |
| Fetuli Talanoa | South Sydney Rabbitohs | N/A |
| Dave Taylor | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Gold Coast Titans |
| David Gower | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
| Ben Hornby | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Retirement |
| Jeremy Latimore | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Penrith Panthers |
| Josh Miller | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Retirement |
| Beau Scott | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Newcastle Knights |
| Dean Young | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Retirement |
| Braith Anasta | Sydney Roosters | Wests Tigers |
| Justin Carney | Sydney Roosters | Super League: Castleford Tigers |
| Joseph Leilua | Sydney Roosters | Newcastle Knights |
| Mose Masoe | Sydney Roosters | Penrith Panthers |
| Tom Symonds | Sydney Roosters | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
| Brad Takairangi | Sydney Roosters | Gold Coast Titans |
| Ray Cashmere | Wests Tigers | Retirement |
| Gareth Ellis | Wests Tigers | Super League: Hull F.C. |
| Chris Heighington | Wests Tigers | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Junior Moors | Wests Tigers | Melbourne Storm |
| Beau Ryan | Wests Tigers | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Tom Burgess | Super League: Bradford Bulls | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Clint Greenshields | Super League: Catalans Dragons | North Queensland Cowboys |
| David Fa'alogo | Super League: Huddersfield Giants | Newcastle Knights |
| Scott Moore | Super League: Huddersfield Giants | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Luke O'Donnell | Super League: Huddersfield Giants | Sydney Roosters |
| Sam Moa | Super League: Hull F.C. | Sydney Roosters |
| Brett Finch | Super League: Wigan Warriors | Melbourne Storm |
| Thomas Leuluai | Super League: Wigan Warriors | New Zealand Warriors |
| Jeff Lima | Super League: Wigan Warriors | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Sonny Bill Williams | Panasonic Wild Knights | Sydney Roosters |
| Lagi Setu | Hiatus | Melbourne Storm |