The two-referee system saves the referees some running back and forth to get into position as possession changes and also improves watchfulness over the ruck.

The St. George Illawarra Dragons, under new coach Wayne Bennett finished the regular season with their first minor premiership title as a joint venture club.

[5] Keen to speak to its grass roots following in light of the AFL's aggressive expansion in rugby league's suburban heartland the NRL and its agency MJW Hakuhodo created a TVC which tells the story of junior rugby league players enjoying the game and perhaps becoming stars of the future.

The clubs in the League for 2009 remained unchanged for the third consecutive year, with sixteen participating in the regular season: ten from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand.

Just two foundation clubs from the 1908 New South Wales Rugby Football League season played in this competition: the Roosters and the Rabbitohs.

Four teams made a return to the 2009 finals from 2008, grand finalists Melbourne Storm, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles along with the Brisbane Broncos and St George Illawarra Dragons.

The Newcastle Knights made the finals for the first time since 2006 and their first since the departure of club legend Andrew Johns.

[7] 2009's regular season attendance figures were the highest recorded in Australian rugby league history, with a total of 3,081,849.