New South Wales Rugby League season 1986
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| New South Wales Rugby League season 1986 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 13 |
| Premiers |  Parramatta (4th title) |
| Minor premiers | Parramatta (3rd title) |
| Matches played | 163 |
| Points scored | 5212 (average 31.975 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,705,156 (average 10,461 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Terry Lamb (210 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) |  Phil Blake (13 tries) Garry Schofield (13 tries) |
The 1986 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the seventy-ninth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with thirteen contesting during the season for the Winfield Cup, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, one from greater New South Wales and one from the Australian Capital Territory. During the season, NSWRL teams also competed for the 1986 National Panasonic Cup.
Contents |
[edit] Teams
 Balmain Tigers |
 Canberra Raiders |
 Canterbury Bulldogs |
 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
 Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
 Illawarra Steelers |
 Manly Sea Eagles |
 North Sydney Bears |
 Parramatta Eels |
 Penrith Panthers |
 South Sydney Rabbitohs |
 St. George Dragons |
 Western Suburbs Magpies |
[edit] Season summary
Parramatta completed a perfect season winning the pre-season competition, the midweek Panasonic Cup, finishing the regular season as minor premiers, winning the Grand Final and farewelling their international long time stars Mick Cronin and Ray Price as victorious champions.
The Parramatta Eels defeated Canterbury-Bankstown 4-2 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the first try-less and the lowest ever scoring Grand Final.
[edit] Advertising
1986 saw the NSWRL's agency, John Singleton Advertising produce an ad themed around the Gladiators photo and the then premiership trophy. The finished 60 second ad. is presented in an A/V style with moving footage and stills from the 1963 Grand Final showing the Provan and Summons embrace and stills shots of other 1970s champions including Bob Fulton, Arthur Beetson and John Sattler interspersed with 1985 season images.
The theme is of past heroes "who played it tough but played it fair" and the ad. closes with the question as to who this year will claim the "The Greatest Prize of All" - being the original Winfield Cup Trophy, featuring the Gladiator statue.
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parramatta |
24 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 446 | 280 | +166 | 37 |
| 2 |  South Sydney |
24 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 353 | 318 | +35 | 36 |
| 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown |
24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 428 | 264 | +164 | 35 |
| 4 | Manly-Warringah |
24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 476 | 379 | +97 | 33 |
| 5 | Balmain |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 403 | 387 | +16 | 30 |
| 6 |  North Sydney |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 362 | 416 | -54 | 30 |
| 7 |  St. George |
24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 360 | 402 | -42 | 29 |
| 8 |  Penrith |
24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 446 | 394 | +52 | 27 |
| 9 |  Eastern Suburbs |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 334 | 364 | -30 | 24 |
| 10 |  Cronulla-Sutherland |
24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 310 | 464 | -154 | 23 |
| 11 |  Canberra |
24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 391 | 413 | -22 | 21 |
| 12 |  Western Suburbs |
24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 372 | 538 | -166 | 21 |
| 13 |  Illawarra |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 310 | 372 | -62 | 18 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Playoff | ||||||||
 Balmain Tigers |
14 - 7 |  North Sydney Bears |
2 September 1986 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 10,788 | ||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
22 - 29 | Balmain Tigers |
6 September 1986 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Kevin Roberts | 17,597 | ||
 South Sydney Rabbitohs |
2 - 16 |  Canterbury Bulldogs |
7 September 1986 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 24,573 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| South Sydney Rabbitohs |
11 - 36 | Balmain Tigers |
13 September 1986 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Kevin Roberts | 27,035 | ||
 Parramatta Eels |
28 - 6 | Canterbury Bulldogs |
14 September 1986 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 32,499 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Canterbury Bulldogs |
28 - 16 | Balmain Tigers |
21 September 1986 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 32,341 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Parramatta Eels |
4 - 2 | Canterbury Bulldogs |
28 September 1986 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 45,843 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
| Parramatta | Position | Canterbury-Bankstown |
|---|---|---|
| P Taylor | FB | Phil Sigsworth |
| Mick Delroy | WG | Andrew Farrar |
| Mick Cronin | CE | Michael Hagan |
| Steve Ella | CE | Chris Mortimer |
| Eric Grothe, Sr. | WG | S O'Brien |
| Brett Kenny | FE | Terry Lamb |
| Peter Sterling | HB | Steve Mortimer (c) |
| Geoff Bugden | PR | Peter Tunks |
| Michael Moseley | HK | Mark Bugden |
| Terry Leabeater | PR | Peter Kelly |
| M Laurie | SR | Paul Dunn |
| John Muggleton | SR | Steve Folkes |
| Ray Price (c) | LK | Paul Langmack |
| Tony Chalmers | Bench | Geoff Robinson |
| Peter Wynn | Bench | David Boyd |
| John Monie | Coach | Warren Ryan |
Eels coach John Monie had stepped into the large shoes left by Jack Gibson in 1984 and was under pressure to ensure Parramatta did not fall short for a third year. Eels legends Ray Price and Mick Cronin were in their farewell seasons and the Eels fans at least wanted to see them go out on a winning note. Everything had augured well right through the season with a Parramatta victory in the pre-season competition, the midweek National Panasonic cup and the minor premiership.
The Bulldogs on the other hand were building a dynasty under the Warren Ryan-coached style of uncompromising defence that had changed the game. In prop Peter Kelly, hooker Mark Bugden and centre Andrew Farrar, Ryan possessed a number of defensive hitmen capable of carrying out his game plan.
The Grand Final was fifteen minutes old when Eels winger Mick Delroy was knocked out by a high shot from Farrar while Price suffered a constant barrage from Kelly throughout the first half. Referee Mick Stone at least initially appeared reluctant to send anyone off and Farrar and Kelly benefitted.
Stone also disallowed two near tries in the first half to Eels five-eighth Brett Kenny who was ultimately frustrated in his attempt to replicate the two tries per Grand Final statistic that he'd maintained in each of the 1981, 1982 and 1983 deciders.
It wasn't until Kelly was sin-binned for 10 minutes for a high tackle on Price that the Eels started to find gaps in the Bulldogs line. Two minutes before half time and still with 12 men Canterbury looked in trouble when Eric Grothe, Sr. set off down the sideline with a clear path. A desperate Steve Mortimer cover-defending run brought Grothe down metres from the tryline. A minute later Cronin opened the scoring for the Eels with a successful penalty goal.
Twelve minutes into the second half, Canterbury five-eighth Terry Lamb levelled the score with a penalty goal after Peter Sterling was penalised for a late tackle on Steve Mortimer.
With eighteen minutes remaining, Canterbury replacement forward David Boyd was penalised for a high tackle on Price who had by now suffered an hour of ferocious Bulldog attention. Price appeared concussed and the Parramatta trainers unsuccesfully tried to convince him to leave the field. Cronin kicked the resultant penalty and the Eels again took a 2-point lead.
After Canterbury fullback Phil Sigsworth was sent off for a high shot on Kenny, the 12 remaining Bulldogs lifted a level and continued with attacking surges. Farrar was stopped by the Eels defence centimetres from the line, Lamb missed an opportunity to level with another penalty attempt and then right on the bell Parramatta replacement forward Michael Moseley, in a career highlight moment, cut down Bugden as the Bulldogs hooker appeared certain to score.
Parramatta had taken on Canterbury at their own game - defence-focused trench warfare and managed to keep the game tryless and win the battle of attrition. In the process they halted Canterbury's hopes of three successive titles.
Parramatta 4 ( Goals: Cronin 2.)
Canterbury-Bankstown 2 (Goals: Lamb 1.)
Clive Churchill Medal: Peter Sterlng (Parramatta)
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1986 The World of Rugby League
- 1986 Winfield Cup TVC Youtube.
- Clarkson, Alan (1997). The Greatest Games We Ever Played (Essay Collection, ed. Geoff Prenter). Sydney: Ironbark Publishing.
