New South Wales Rugby League season 1989
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| New South Wales Rugby League season 1989 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 16 |
| Premiers |  Canberra (1st title) |
| Minor premiers |  South Sydney (17th title) |
| Matches played | 183 |
| Points scored | 5537 (average 30.257 per match) |
| Attendance | 2,040,375 (average 11,150 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Ricky Walford (146 points) Andy Currier (146 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Gary Belcher (17 tries) |
The 1989 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the eighty-second season of professional rugby league football in Australia. The teams remained unchanged from the previous season, with sixteen clubs competing for the Winfield Cup, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, two from greater New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one from the Australian Capital Territory. During the season, NSWRL teams also competed for the 1989 Panasonic Cup.
The Canberra Raiders won their first premiership, defeating the Balmain Tigers in the Grand Final.
Contents |
[edit] Teams
 Balmain Tigers |
 Brisbane Broncos |
 Canberra Raiders |
 Canterbury Bulldogs |
 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
 Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
 Gold Coast-Tweed Giants |
 Illawarra Steelers |
 Manly Sea Eagles |
 Newcastle Knights |
 North Sydney Bears |
 Parramatta Eels |
 Penrith Panthers |
 South Sydney Rabbitohs |
 St. George Dragons |
 Western Suburbs Magpies |
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Sydney |
22 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 390 | 207 | +183 | 37 |
| 2 |  Penrith |
22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 438 | 241 | +197 | 32 |
| 3 | Balmain |
22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 380 | 236 | +144 | 29 |
| 4 | Canberra |
22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 457 | 287 | +170 | 28 |
| 5 |  Brisbane |
22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 398 | 290 | +108 | 28 |
| 6 |  Cronulla |
22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 368 | 281 | +87 | 28 |
| 7 |  Newcastle |
22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 281 | 281 | 0 | 22 |
| 8 |  Parramatta |
22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 346 | 366 | -20 | 22 |
| 9 |  Canterbury |
22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 280 | 337 | -57 | 22 |
| 10 | St. George |
22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 330 | 356 | -26 | 20 |
| 11 |  Eastern Suburbs |
22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 348 | 346 | +2 | 19 |
| 12 |  Manly-Warringah |
22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 334 | 343 | -9 | 19 |
| 13 |  Western Suburbs |
22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 229 | 389 | -160 | 15 |
| 14 |  Gold Coast-Tweed |
22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 223 | 383 | -160 | 15 |
| 15 |  North Sydney |
22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 194 | 406 | -212 | 11 |
| 16 |  Illawarra |
22 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 256 | 503 | -247 | 5 |
[edit] Finals
Cronulla and Brisbane, having finished equal 5th, played off for a semi-final berth.
Despite being on fourth place on the ladder, Canberra went on to win the competition, the first club to do so, by winning their last nine games of the season.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Playoff | ||||||||
 Brisbane Broncos |
14-38 |  Cronulla Sharks |
29 August 1989 | Parramatta Stadium | Mick Stone | 9,047 | ||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
 Canberra Raiders |
31-10 | Cronulla Sharks |
2 September 1989 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 18,186 | ||
 Penrith Panthers |
12-24 |  Balmain Tigers |
3 September 1989 | Sydney Football Stadium | Mick Stone | 29,508 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Penrith Panthers |
18-27 | Canberra Raiders |
9 September 1989 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 20,314 | ||
 South Sydney Rabbitohs |
10-20 | Balmain Tigers |
10 September 1989 | Sydney Football Stadium | Mick Stone | 40,000 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| South Sydney Rabbitohs |
16-32 | Canberra Raiders |
17 September 1989 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 31,469 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Balmain Tigers |
14-19 | Canberra Raiders |
24 September 1989 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 40,500 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
| Canberra Raiders | Position | Balmain Tigers |
|---|---|---|
| Gary Belcher | FB | Garry Jack |
| Matthew Wood | WG | S O'Brien |
| Mal Meninga (c) | CE | Tim Brasher |
| Laurie Daley | CE | Andy Currier |
| John Ferguson | WG | James Grant |
| Chris O'Sullivan | FE | Mick Neil |
| Ricky Stuart | HB | Gary Freeman |
| Brent Todd | PR | Steve Roach |
| Steve Walters | HK | Benny Elias |
| Glenn Lazarus | PR | Steve Edmed |
| Dean Lance | SR | Paul Sironen |
| Gary Coyne | SR | Bruce McGuire |
| Bradley Clyde | LK | Wayne Pearce (c) |
| Paul Martin | Bench | Kevin Hardwick |
| Kevin Walters | Bench | Michael Pobjie |
| Steve Jackson | Bench | S Edwards |
| Tim Sheens | Coach | Warren Ryan |
A number of league writers referred to this as the greatest Grand Final ever [1]; whether so or not, Canberra displayed extraordinary focus and self belief to snatch a last minute victory.
The pre-match entertainment was provided by John Williamson. Canberra were making their second Grand Final appearance and bidding to become the first non-Sydney side to win the premiership. They were also looking to win from a finals fourth spot which had never before been done. Balmain had been bridesmaids in the 1988 decider and, boasting a Test-strength pack, were favourites to win.
Balmain led 12-2 at half time, having scored two tries against the run of play. The first came from an intercept by winger James Grant after Raiders prop Brent Todd lost possession in a heavy tackle. The second was a great team effort with Paul Sironen steaming over under the posts after lead-up work from English import Andy Currier and Grant, all starting from a kick ahead by Currier after he had received a perfect offload from Steve Roach.
Canberra had looked marginally the better side in the first half and coach Tim Sheens spoke effectively to his players at the break, stressing that they could be considered unlucky to be trailing. Fifteen minutes into the second half "Chicka" Ferguson set up the Raiders' first try when he escaped an attempted tackle by Currier, passed to Belcher, who also beat Currier to score. The gap was narrowed to 12-8.
Twice in the last twenty minutes Balmain nearly wrapped up the match. Michael Neil was ankle-tapped five metres from the line in a desperate dive by Mal Meninga. Then the Tigers' captain Wayne Pearce lost the ball with the line wide open and Tim Brasher unmarked.
Warren Ryan's decision with fifteen minutes left to firstly replace the enforcer Roach with defender Kevin Hardwick and then Sironen with Michael Pobjie may have been the turning point in the game. Ryan effectively set out to defend a six point lead, a tactic which ultimately backfired. Benny Elias' field attempt hit the cross bar, after he'd earlier had one charged down by Meninga. However with 90 seconds to go and it seemingly all over for the Raiders, the evergreen Ferguson scored the try of his life. Chris O'Sullivan sent up a searching bomb, Laurie Daley was there to palm the ball to Ferguson who stepped back inside past three converging defenders to score close to the posts, enabling an easy conversion for Meninga to level.
With Canberra's confidence mounting, the game became the first Grand Final to go into same-day extra time. At this point the Sironen/Roach replacements became crucial with neither able to resume the field for the extra period.
Garry Jack knocked on two minutes into the third period and from the scrum Canberra's five-eighth O'Sullivan kicked a field goal. Minutes from the finish, Raiders replacement Jackson received the ball fifteen metres from the line and made for the tryline, beating two men and then carrying a further three with him. As he was being brought down he reached out to place the ball one-handed on the line.
It was Canberra's first ever premiership; the first Grand Final won by an out-of-Sydney club; the first that went to extra time; and the first team to win from 4th position. The nineteen year old Bradley Clyde was a deserved man of the match.
Canberra 19 (Tries: Belcher, Ferguson, Jackson; Goals: Meninga 3; Fld Goal: O'Sullivan 1)
Balmain 14 (Tries: Grant, Sironen; Goals: Currier 3 )
Clive Churchill Medal: Bradley Clyde (Canberra)
[edit] World Club Challenge
On the 4th of October, Canberra played British champions Widnes at Old Trafford, Manchester. The Raiders lost 18 to 30 in front of 30,768.
[edit] Season advertising
1989 was a watershed year for the New South Wales Rugby League's advertising commencing an association with Tina Turner that would last until 1995. In those years the NSWRL, its ad agency Hertz Walpole and promotions consultant Brian Walsh would fundamentally change the image and popular perception of the game in Australia.
Agency copywriter Paul Knights inspired by the brutal simplicity of the game, saw a link to the lyrics in Tina Turner's 1987 hit What You Get Is What You See written by Terry Britten & Graham Lyle. Negotiations were assisted by the fact that her Australian manager Roger Davies was familiar with the game and the rights deal was easily done.
There was initially no intention to film Tina performing the song but at the last minute an availability appeared in her schedule. The agency and a production crew were despatched to England along with the NSWRL's General Manager John Quayle bearing bags of balls, jumpers and branded goalpost pads. Leading players Cliff Lyons and Gavin Miller were both in England at the time and made themselves available for the film and promotional stills shoot with Tina. In the finished ad the Tina footage is interspersed with the usual big hits and crowd scenes plus shots of the star players of the time in pre-season training. Lyons appears in the commercial in a hammy locker room shot with Tina.
Initial questions about the relevance of Tina to the Australian game were displaced when the up tempo, sexy ad appeared and the long running and successful association began.
[edit] References
- Clarkson, Alan (1997). The Greatest Games We Ever Played (Essay Collection, ed Geoff Prenter). Sydney: Ironbark Publishing.
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1989 The World of Rugby League.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ [Clarkson, The Greatest Games We Ever Played p133]
