New South Wales Rugby League season 1987
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| New South Wales Rugby League season 1987 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 13 |
| Premiers |  Manly-Warringah (5th title) |
| Minor premiers | Manly-Warringah (6th title) |
| Matches played | 162 |
| Points scored | 5294 (average 32.679 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,658,354 (average 10,237 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Ross Conlon (196 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) |  Terry Lamb (16 tries) |
The 1987 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the eightieth 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 1987 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] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manly-Warringah |
24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 553 | 356 | +197 | 41 |
| 2 |  Eastern Suburbs |
24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 390 | 353 | +37 | 35 |
| 3 |  Canberra |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 441 | 325 | +116 | 34 |
| 4 | Balmain |
24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 469 | 349 | +120 | 33 |
| 5 |  South Sydney |
24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 310 | 342 | -32 | 31 |
| 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 353 | 316 | +37 | 30 |
| 7 |  Parramatta |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 417 | 411 | +6 | 28 |
| 8 |  Cronulla-Sutherland |
24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 390 | 433 | -43 | 27 |
| 9 |  St. George |
24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 394 | 409 | -15 | 26 |
| 10 |  North Sydney |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 368 | 401 | -33 | 26 |
| 11 |  Illawarra |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 372 | 449 | -77 | 20 |
| 12 |  Penrith |
24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 274 | 399 | -125 | 17 |
| 13 |  Western Suburbs |
24 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 339 | 527 | -188 | 16 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
 Balmain Tigers |
12-15 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs |
5 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Greg McCallum | 22,134 | ||
 Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
25-16 |  Canberra Raiders |
6 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 15,852 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Canberra Raiders |
46-12 | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
12 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 24,744 | ||
 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
10-6 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
13 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Greg McCallum | 36,399 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
24-32 | Canberra Raiders |
20 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 26,790 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
18-8 | Canberra Raiders |
27 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 50,201 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
[edit] Manly's Plotted Premiership
Manly dominated the 1987 season with a 12-match winning sequence between May and July and Bob Fulton's elusive goal of coaching a side to Grand Final victory began to look a possibility.
The path to glory had been four years in the making. In 1983 Fulton had returned to the club as coach, the second year running that they lost to Parramatta and he set about pursuing a stable of players needed to win a premiership.
The sole survivors of the 1983 loss to Parramatta were Noel Cleal and club captain, Paul Vautin. Cleal had by now developed into one of the most menacing forwards in the game and although Vautin had been largely overlooked by the Australian selectors, his leadership of the Sea-Eagles was an integral factor in the club's success.
In 1984 young halfback Des Hasler who had spent several seasons warming the bench at Penrith trialled with the club, became a mainstay of the Manly side and achieved Test selection the following year. 1986 Rothmans medallist, winger-turned-hooker, Mal Cochrane a reliable goalkicker and a deceptive open runner was also an asset to the side.
The forwards were led by 1986 Kangaroo Tour prop Phil Daley and English import, Castleford's Kevin Ward who was flown back out to Australia specifically for the grand final. Manly's masterstroke was the signing of former Rugby Union international Michael O'Connor from St George who was regarded as one of the most gifted attacking backs in the game.
Their opponents were to be the Canberra Raiders who, after 5 years of competition, had reached their first Grand Final.
[edit] Pre match entertainment
50,201 fans were on hand to watch the last rugby league match played at the SCG. Network 10 televised a memorable pre-match entertainment involving a symbolic building of a huge model of the Sydney Harbour Bridge by representatives of the Navy's apprentices.
[edit] Match report
| Manly-Warringah | Position | Canberra |
|---|---|---|
| Dale Shearer | FB | Gary Belcher |
| David Ronson | WG | Chris Kinna |
| Darrell Williams | CE | Mal Meninga |
| Michael O'Connor | CE | Peter Jackson |
| Stuart Davis | WG | Matthew Corkery |
| Cliff Lyons | FE | Chris O'Sullivan |
| Des Hasler | HB | Ivan Henjak |
| Paul Vautin (c) | LK | Dean Lance (c) |
| Ron Gibbs | SR | Ashley Gilbert |
| Noel Cleal | SR | Gary Coyne |
| Kevin Ward | PR | Sam Backo |
| Mal Cochrane | HK | Steve Walters |
| Phil Daley | PR | Brent Todd |
| Mark Pocock | Reserve | Kevin Walters |
| Paul Shaw | Reserve | Terry Regan |
| Bob Fulton | Coach | Don Furner and Wayne Bennett |
From the outset Manly's Cliff Lyons attempted to find gaps out wide in Canberra's defence and kept the Raiders hemmed in on their own side of half-way with his astute kicking. Lyons stepped inside the Raiders' defence and after a seventy-metre burst found Noel Cleal stampeding on to the ball but Ceal's final pass to Des Hasler was ruled forward. Another promising Manly raid broke down when Lyons' reverse pass to O'Connor was put to ground.
In the 27th minute Lyons eventually broke through on his third threatening attempt. Scurrying from a scrum win on the Canberra quarter-line, Lyons brushed off the tackle of Chris O'Sullivan and stepped inside Gary Belcher to score.
The Sea Eagles led 6-0 at half-time, with a crushing ball-and-all tackle by Belcher on Dale Shearer at the Canberra tryline preventing the lead being greater.
From the restart kick-off Belcher fielded the ball in his in-goal but was penalised for shepherding behind Chris O'Sullivan as he ran the ball out. It was a gift penalty for Michael O'Connor to take Manly to an 8-0 lead.
The Sea Eagles kept the pressure on Canberra by charging down two attempted clearing kicks by a tiring Mal Meninga. Only occasionally did the Raiders break through. After a run by Peter Jackson, Manly's Phil Daley was penalised for a high tackle and Meninga's goal finally put Canberra on the scoreboard.
Fatigue and the heat began to take a toll. Meninga was replaced after 15 minutes of the second half and Manly's Gibbs, Cleal and Cochrane all went down hurt at different stages as the pace of the match slowed. Soon after a successful penalty goal from O'Connor, a Dale Shearer crossfield kick was grounded over the line by O'Connor in the Paddington corner. The Manly centre seemed to have been in front of Shearer's kick but the converted try cemented Manly's lead, 16-2.
A brief hope of a fightback loomed after an ingeniously constructed "trojan horse" move by Canberra. Chris O'Sullivan went down "injured" after being tackled and then miraculously popped up in the next passage of play to take the inside pass from Ivan Henjack and score. Gary Belcher converted to narrow the scores to 16-8.
Ron Gibbs' return from the head-bin helped snap the Sea Eagles out of their complacency. Daley's tackle on Canberra replacement Terry Regan and Dale Shearer's try-saving tackle on Ashley Gilbert three minutes from full-time ended any chance of a Canberra fightback. Paul Vautin led the charge back up-field with Hasler being bundled into the corner post after a run-around movement with O'Connor.
Right on full-time, O'Connor landed his fifth goal after the Raiders were penalised in front of their own posts. The 18-8 scoreline was a fair indication of Manly's supremacy on the day and a just result considering the Sea Eagles' consistency throughout the year.
For Manly coach and treasured son Bob Fulton, premiership glory in a nine-year coaching career was finally achieved. For the dual Canberra coaches it marked a milestone. It was a sad ending to the long coaching career of Don Furner, the man who brought Canberra into the competition. For his partner Wayne Bennett, the tactician behind the side, it was a disappointing exit but another door was about to open on his own stellar coaching career with Brisbane and Queensland.
Manly Sea Eagles 18 (Tries: O'Connor, Lyons. Goals: O'Connor 5)
Canberra Raiders 8 (Tries: O'Sullivan. Goals: Meninga, Belcher).
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Cliff Lyons.
[edit] Manly vs Wigan
Having won the premiership, the Manly side travelled to England to play British Champions Wigan on the 7th of October. This was only the second match of its kind, since the first time the Australian and British premiers faced off in 1976. 36,895 spectators turned out at Central Park, Wigan to see the Sea Eagles go down 8 to 2.
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1987 The World of Rugby League.
- Pace, Class and Lots of Guts Soaring Sea Eagles.
