1987 New South Wales Rugby League | |
---|---|
Teams | 13 |
Premiers | ![]() |
Minor premiers | ![]() |
Matches played | 162 |
Points scored | 5,294 |
Attendance | 1,658,354 |
Top points scorer(s) | ![]() |
Player of the year | ![]() |
Top try-scorer(s) | ![]() |
The 1987 NSWRL season was the 80th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership's J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in the grand final between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Canberra Raiders who were the first club ever from outside Sydney to appear in a premiership decider. This season, NSWRL teams also competed for the 1987 National Panasonic Cup.
This was to be the last season that the moniker "New South Wales Rugby League" would be actually correct, as the following season two teams from Queensland would be introduced, heralding a new era of interstate club participation in the Winfield Cup premiership (although the name would not be changed to the Australian Rugby League until 1995). This would also ultimately lead to the decline of the historic Brisbane Rugby League premiership of Queensland.
Twenty-six regular season rounds were played from February through to August, resulting in a top five of Manly, Easts, Canberra, Balmain and Souths who battled it out in the finals.
Parramatta's captain and halfback Peter Sterling made a clean sweep of the 1987 season's major awards, winning the Rothmans Medal and Dally M Award as well as being named Rugby League Week's player of the year. [1]
Western Suburbs moved their homeground to Campbelltown's Orana Park for the season, moving away from their home at Lidcombe Oval. [2]
1987 would be the last year in which the NSWRL used the Sydney Cricket Ground for regular weekly matches, including all finals and the grand final. From 1988 league headquarters would move next door to the SCG to the new 40,000 seat, A$68 million Sydney Football Stadium.
The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with thirteen contesting the premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, one from greater New South Wales and one from the Australian Capital Territory, though technically the ACT club, while known as the Canberra Raiders, actually played their home games at the Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan which is located on the NSW side of the ACT/NSW state border to the south of the city.
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 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Balmain Tigers | PAR +24 | CBY +3 | SOU +32 | CRO +7 | EAS −13 | CAN +8 | ILA +21 | NOR +20 | STG +14 | X | PEN −6 | WES +4 | MAN −34 | PAR +19 | CBY −3 | SOU −4 | CRO −6 | EAS 0 | CAN +28 | ILA +2 | NOR +14 | STG −4 | X | PEN +16 | WES −4 | MAN −18 | SOU −3 | |||
Canberra Raiders | CRO +17 | X | ILA +13 | NOR −2 | STG +8 | BAL −8 | PEN +7 | WES +35 | PAR −8 | MAN −8 | CBY −19 | SOU +4 | EAS −15 | CRO +26 | X | ILA +7 | NOR +6 | STG +17 | BAL −28 | PEN +18 | WES +18 | PAR −16 | MAN −2 | CBY +18 | SOU +24 | EAS +4 | EAS −9 | SOU +34 | EAS +8 | MAN −10 |
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | NOR +20 | BAL −3 | PEN +6 | WES +10 | PAR −12 | MAN +12 | X | SOU −4 | CRO +16 | EAS −2 | CAN +19 | ILA −13 | STG −25 | NOR −6 | BAL +3 | PEN +10 | WES +16 | PAR +16 | MAN −30 | X | SOU +2 | CRO +12 | EAS −2 | CAN −18 | ILA +12 | STG −2 | ||||
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | CAN −17 | NOR +6 | STG +8 | BAL −7 | PEN +2 | WES +12 | PAR +2 | MAN +5 | CBY −16 | SOU +10 | X | EAS −2 | ILA +20 | CAN −26 | NOR −10 | STG −4 | BAL +6 | PEN +20 | WES 0 | PAR +12 | MAN −22 | CBY −12 | SOU −6 | X | EAS −4 | ILA −20 | ||||
Eastern Suburbs Roosters | X | ILA +6 | NOR +1 | STG +42 | BAL +13 | PEN −11 | WES −13 | PAR +12 | MAN −8 | CBY +2 | SOU −10 | CRO +2 | CAN +15 | X | ILA +14 | NOR +1 | STG −7 | BAL 0 | PEN +1 | WES +9 | PAR −30 | MAN +10 | CBY +2 | SOU −14 | CRO +4 | CAN −4 | CAN +9 | MAN −4 | CAN −8 | |
Illawarra Steelers | SOU +23 | EAS −6 | CAN −13 | X | NOR −14 | STG +4 | BAL −21 | PEN −10 | WES +20 | PAR +8 | MAN −10 | CBY +13 | CRO −20 | SOU −15 | EAS −14 | CAN −7 | X | NOR +2 | STG −17 | BAL −2 | PEN −2 | WES +10 | PAR −3 | MAN −11 | CBY −12 | CRO +20 | ||||
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | STG 0 | PEN +24 | WES +11 | PAR +22 | X | CBY −12 | SOU −10 | CRO −5 | EAS +8 | CAN +8 | ILA +10 | NOR +8 | BAL +34 | STG +14 | PEN +2 | WES +1 | PAR +8 | X | CBY +30 | SOU +3 | CRO +22 | EAS −10 | CAN +2 | ILA +11 | NOR −2 | BAL +18 | X | EAS +4 | X | CAN +10 |
North Sydney Bears | CBY −20 | CRO −6 | EAS −1 | CAN +2 | ILA +14 | X | STG +2 | BAL −20 | PEN −9 | WES −4 | PAR −7 | MAN −8 | SOU −4 | CBY +6 | CRO +10 | EAS −1 | CAN −6 | ILA −2 | X | STG +3 | BAL −14 | PEN +3 | WES +2 | PAR +17 | MAN +2 | SOU +8 | ||||
Parramatta Eels | BAL −24 | WES −16 | X | MAN −22 | CBY +12 | SOU +13 | CRO −2 | EAS −12 | CAN +8 | ILA −8 | NOR +7 | STG +1 | PEN +13 | BAL −19 | WES +19 | X | MAN −8 | CBY −16 | SOU −4 | CRO −12 | EAS +30 | CAN +16 | ILA +3 | NOR −17 | STG +18 | PEN +26 | ||||
Penrith Panthers | WES +10 | MAN −24 | CBY −6 | SOU −7 | CRO −2 | EAS +11 | CAN −7 | ILA +10 | NOR +9 | STG −8 | BAL +6 | X | PAR −13 | WES −8 | MAN −2 | CBY −10 | SOU −2 | CRO −20 | EAS −1 | CAN −18 | ILA +2 | NOR −3 | STG 0 | BAL −16 | X | PAR −26 | ||||
South Sydney Rabbitohs | ILA −23 | STG −5 | BAL −32 | PEN +7 | WES +3 | PAR −13 | MAN +10 | CBY +4 | X | CRO −10 | EAS +10 | CAN −4 | NOR +4 | ILA +15 | STG +9 | BAL +4 | PEN +2 | WES 0 | PAR +4 | MAN −3 | CBY −2 | X | CRO +6 | EAS +14 | CAN −24 | NOR −8 | BAL +3 | CAN −34 | ||
St. George Dragons | MAN 0 | SOU +5 | CRO −8 | EAS −42 | CAN −8 | ILA −4 | NOR −2 | X | BAL −14 | PEN +8 | WES +34 | PAR −1 | CBY +25 | MAN −14 | SOU −9 | CRO +4 | EAS +7 | CAN −17 | ILA +17 | NOR −3 | X | BAL +4 | PEN 0 | WES +19 | PAR −18 | CBY +2 | ||||
Western Suburbs Magpies | PEN −10 | PAR +16 | MAN −11 | CBY −10 | SOU −3 | CRO −12 | EAS +13 | CAN −35 | ILA −20 | NOR +4 | STG −34 | BAL −4 | X | PEN +8 | PAR −19 | MAN −1 | CBY −16 | SOU 0 | CRO 0 | EAS −9 | CAN −18 | ILA −10 | NOR −2 | STG −19 | BAL +4 | X | ||||
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 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF |
Bold – Home game X – Bye Opponent for round listed above margin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 553 | 356 | +197 | 41 |
2 | ![]() | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 390 | 353 | +37 | 35 |
3 | ![]() | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 441 | 325 | +116 | 34 |
4 | ![]() | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 469 | 349 | +120 | 33 |
5 | ![]() | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 310 | 342 | -32 | 31 |
6 | ![]() | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 353 | 316 | +37 | 30 |
7 | ![]() | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 417 | 411 | +6 | 28 |
8 | ![]() | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 390 | 433 | -43 | 27 |
9 | ![]() | 24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 394 | 409 | -15 | 26 |
10 | ![]() | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 368 | 401 | -33 | 26 |
11 | ![]() | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 372 | 449 | -77 | 20 |
12 | ![]() | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 274 | 399 | -125 | 17 |
13 | ![]() | 24 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 339 | 527 | -188 | 16 |
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 | ![]() | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 35 | 37 | 39 | 39 | 41 |
2 | ![]() | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 35 | 35 |
3 | ![]() | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
4 | ![]() | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 33 |
5 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 31 |
6 | ![]() | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 30 |
7 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 |
8 | ![]() | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
9 | ![]() | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 |
10 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
11 | ![]() | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 |
12 | ![]() | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 |
13 | ![]() | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 |
Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
![]() | 12–15 | ![]() | 5 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Greg McCallum | 22,134 | ||
![]() | 25–16 | ![]() | 6 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 15,852 | ||
Semi-finals | ||||||||
![]() | 46–12 | ![]() | 12 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 24,744 | ||
![]() | 10–6 | ![]() | 13 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Greg McCallum | 36,399 | ||
Preliminary final | ||||||||
![]() | 24–32 | ![]() | 20 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 26,790 | ||
Grand final | ||||||||
![]() | 18–8 | ![]() | 27 September 1987 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Mick Stone | 50,201 |
1987 | NSWRL Grand Final|||||||||||||
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Date | 27 September 1987 | ||||||||||||
Stadium | Sydney Cricket Ground | ||||||||||||
Location | Moore Park, New South Wales | ||||||||||||
Clive Churchill Medal | Cliff Lyons (MAN) | ||||||||||||
National anthem | Julie Anthony | ||||||||||||
Referee | Mick Stone | ||||||||||||
Attendance | 50,201 | ||||||||||||
Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
Broadcasters | |||||||||||||
Commentators |
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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, Bob 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.
50,201 fans were on hand on an unseasonably warm day, with the temperature peaking at 31.1°C [2] [4] to watch the last rugby league grand final played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and the first to involve a club from outside the Sydney area.
Network 10 televised a memorable pre-match entertainment themed to commence celebrations of New South Wales' 200th birthday. The ceremony involving a symbolic building of a huge model of the Sydney Harbour Bridge by representatives of the Navy's apprentices, while singer John Williamson performed his song "True Blue". There were repeated playing of the Bicentennial jingle "making this State great." [4] Australian soprano Julie Anthony sang Advance Australia Fair before kickoff. [4]
Ten's commentary team for the game was Rex Mossop and Graeme Hughes with David Fordham the sideline reporter and special comments from Australian and New South Wales representatives Peter Sterling and Wayne Pearce. [5]
The sole survivors of the Manly's 1983 loss to Parramatta were Noel Cleal and club captain, Paul Vautin. Vautin had been largely overlooked by the Australian selectors (including being surprisingly overlooked for the 1982 Kangaroo tour after representing both Australia and Queensland earlier that year). Vautin's leadership of the Sea-Eagles was an integral factor in the club's success, though there was allegedly tension between Vautin and Cleal in 1987. Despite still recovering from broken arm suffered on the successful 1986 Kangaroo tour, the Manly club board had wanted Fulton to make Cleal the captain to replace Vautin. Fulton however retained Vautin as captain with Cleal as his deputy. In 1984 young halfback Des Hasler, who had spent several seasons warming the bench at Penrith trialed with the club and became a mainstay of the Manly side having achieved Test selection against New Zealand in 1985 as well as being a 1986 Kangaroo Tourist. 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 Vautin, "Crusher" Cleal, "Rambo" Ron Gibbs, Kangaroo Tour prop Phil Daley and Great Britain international, Castleford's Kevin Ward, who was flown back out to Australia specifically for the grand final. [2] Manly's masterstroke was the signing of former rugby union international centre Michael O'Connor from St. George who was the current NSW Origin and Australian test goal kicker.
Their opponents were to be the Canberra Raiders who, after 5 years of competition, had reached their first grand final. The Raiders were co-coached by Kangaroos coach Don Furner and Queensland coach Wayne Bennett who had jointly won the Dally M Coach of the Year award for their efforts in lifting the Raiders from easy beats to premiership contenders. The team included players such as captain Dean Lance, Queensland and Kangaroo Tour fullback Gary Belcher, centres Mal Meninga (himself a test veteran who had returned after breaking his arm against Manly earlier in the year) and Peter Jackson, hooker Steve Walters and front rowers Sam Backo and New Zealand test player (and former NZ Water Polo international) Brent Todd with a young Kevin Walters also on the bench. Also sitting on the Raiders bench for the game as emergencies were young Glenn Lazarus and Laurie Daley, though neither would be used in the grand final.
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Position | Canberra Raiders | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Number | Number | Name | |
Dale Shearer | 1 | Fullback | 1 | Gary Belcher |
David Ronson | 2 | Wing | 2 | Chris Kinna |
Darrell Williams | 3 | Centre | 3 | Mal Meninga |
Michael O'Connor | 4 | Centre | 4 | Peter Jackson |
Stuart Davis | 5 | Wing | 5 | Matthew Corkery |
Cliff Lyons | 6 | Five eighth | 6 | Chris O'Sullivan |
Des Hasler | 7 | Half back | 7 | Ivan Henjak |
Phil Daley | 13 | Prop forward | 13 | Brent Todd |
Mal Cochrane | 12 | Hooker | 12 | Steve Walters |
Kevin Ward | 11 | Prop forward | 11 | Sam Backo |
Ron Gibbs | 10 | Second row | 10 | Gary Coyne |
Noel Cleal | 9 | Second row | 9 | Ashley Gilbert |
Paul Vautin (c) | 8 | Lock forward | 8 | Dean Lance (c) |
Paul Shaw | 20 | Replacement | 20 | Kevin Walters |
Mark Pocock | 24 | Replacement | 16 | Terry Regan |
Bob Fulton | Coach | Don Furner and Wayne Bennett | ||
RLP [2] |
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 Cleal'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.
Manly continued to put pressure on the Raiders defence with both speedsters Michael O'Connor and Dale Shearer trying to catch the Raiders out with long range kicks to their in-goal area in front of the SCG hill, but both were only just beaten to the ball each time by Gary Belcher and Gary Coyne respectively.
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 Belcher to score.
Just before half time, Ron Gibbs was sent to the head bin for a brief period, replaced by Paul Shaw. [6]
The Sea Eagles led 6-0 at half-time, with a ball-and-all tackle by Belcher on Dale Shearer just two metres from 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 O'Connor to take Manly out 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 on the players, though one of the more surprising efforts was Manly's English prop Kevin Ward who ran and tackled strongly all day. Meninga, who had only played 60 minutes of football since breaking his arm in a game against Manly almost two months earlier, was replaced by Kevin Walters 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 (for his part, Cochrane still can't remember the second half). Soon after a successful penalty goal from O'Connor, a Dale Shearer cross field kick from the Raiders 22m line was grounded over the line by O'Connor in the Paddington corner. While Manly winger David Ronson was thought to be offside (though he didn't get involved in the play, he was still within 10 metres of O'Connor), many claim that the Manly centre should have been ruled offside as he got the ball "rather quickly" (television replays would prove inconclusive as there was no footage of where O'Conner was when Shearer kicked). However, referee Mick Stone ruled that Manly's international centre was onside and O'Connor was awarded the try. He converted his own try (giving him 4/4 goals at that point) and Manly had a premiership winning 16-2 lead.
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 Henjak and score. With Meninga off the ground, 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. The Manly centre also had a try taken off him just minutes after his previous try when Mick Stone ruled a pass from Cliff Lyons had gone forward.
Right on full-time, O'Connor landed his fifth goal from five attempts after the Raiders were penalised in front of their own posts for being offside after a tap-kick restart. 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. Manly captain Paul Vautin saying "Canberra almost produced a fairytale finish, but unfortunately the last couple of pages were ripped out... we were the best team today and we had been all year." [7]
Manly became the first team other than Canterbury-Bankstown or Parramatta to win the grand final during the 1980s (Manly had been beaten grand finalists in 1982 and 1983, losing both times to Parramatta).
For Manly coach 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 club 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 the Brisbane Broncos and a continuing career as Queensland Origin coach.
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles ![]() | 18 – 8 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Tries:2 Lyons ![]() O'Connor ![]() Goals:5 O'Connor ![]() | 1st: 6–0 2nd: 12–8 Report [6] | Tries:1 O'Sullivan ![]() Goals:2 Meninga ![]() Belcher ![]() |
Sydney Cricket Ground Attendance: 50,201 [2] Referee: Mick Stone [8] Clive Churchill Medal: Cliff Lyons (Manly) [9] |
Having won the premiership, the Manly side travelled to England to play British Champions Wigan on 7 October. This was only the second match of its kind, being the first time the Australian and British premiers faced off since 1976. 36,895 spectators turned out at Central Park in Wigan, to see the Sea Eagles go down 8–2 in a tryless game which saw Ron Gibbs sent off in his last game for Manly following a high tackle on Wigan centre Joe Lydon.
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 26.
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
| Top 5 goal scorers
|
Malcolm Norman Meninga is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Australian national team and a former professional rugby league footballer. Meninga is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the game's history. He enjoyed a long career in both Australia and England, playing mainly as a goal-kicking centre. After retiring, Meninga has enjoyed success as a coach, and is currently the head coach of Australia.
Laurie William Daley AM, also known by the nicknames of "Lozza" and "Loz", is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former player who played as a centre and five-eighth in the late 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s.
Paul Vautin, nicknamed Fatty, is an Australian football commentator and former professional rugby league footballer, captain and coach. He has provided commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league since joining the network in 1992 and also hosted The Footy Show from its beginnings in 1994 opposite co-host Peter Sterling, until 2017. An Australian Kangaroos test and Queensland State of Origin representative lock or second-row forward, Vautin played club football in Brisbane with Wests, before moving to Sydney in 1979 to play with Manly-Warringah, whom he would captain to the 1987 NSWRL premiership. He also played for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, and in England for St Helens.
Craig Bellamy is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL), and a former professional rugby league footballer. He is known as one of the greatest coaches in NRL history.
Michael David O'Connor is an Australian former rugby league and rugby union footballer who represented Australia in both codes. He played for the Wallabies in 13 Tests from 1979 to 1982 and then the Kangaroos in 17 Tests from 1985 to 1990. O'Connor played club football in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons from 1983 until 1986, and later the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles from 1987 until his retirement at the end of 1992, becoming captain of Manly in 1990, as well as winning the 1987 Winfield Cup with the Sea Eagles.
Gary Belcher is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former player. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership for the Souths Magpies and in the NSWRL Premiership for the Canberra Raiders. He also played in England for Castleford. Belcher's position of choice was fullback, though he began his career in the centres.
Noel Harvey "Crusher" Cleal is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A destructive second-row for the Manly Sea Eagles, he also represented New South Wales in the State of Origin Series and the Australian national rugby league team.
The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of male players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne, and Auckland also participate. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales a team from Perth also participated. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League. The competition includes both junior representative teams of NRL and NSW Cup clubs that do not field a team in the NRL competition.
Cliff Lyons is an indigenous Australian former international rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Clive Churchill Medallist and two-time Dally M Medallist, he made 309 first-grade appearances with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, winning grand finals with them in 1987 and 1996. Lyons also represented New South Wales and Australia, being part of the successful 1990 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France.
Kenneth Richard "Arko" Arthurson AM is an Australian rugby league football identity. Affectionately known as "The Godfather of Manly", he played, coached and was later an administrator at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles club in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. Later he ran the NSWRL, and then the Australian Rugby League during the 1990s' Super League war, resigning in 1997 as part of the peace process for creating the unified National Rugby League.
The 1994 NSWRL season was the eighty-seventh season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs, including 14 from within the borders of New South Wales plus two from Queensland, competed for the J J Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a grand final match for the Winfield Cup trophy between the Canberra Raiders and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
The 1990 New South Wales Rugby League season was the eighty-third season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the premiership season, which culminated in a grand final between the previous season's premiers, the Canberra Raiders and the Penrith Panthers, who were making their grand final debut.
The 1989 NSWRL season was the 82nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League's J.J. Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup Premiership during the season, which culminated in a grand final between Balmain and Canberra. This season NSWRL teams also competed for the 1989 Panasonic Cup. This would be the last time a mid-season competition was played concurrent with the regular season. From 1990 it would become a pre-season competition.
The history of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles dates back to 1932 when the Manly-Warringah Junior Rugby Football League was founded. In 1947 the New South Wales Rugby Football League included two additional teams: Manly-Warringah DRLFC and Parramatta DRLFC. The new club adopted the nickname "Sea Eagles" and went on to compete in every season of top-level rugby league until merging with the nearby North Sydney Bears to form the Northern Eagles club at the end of 1999. After three years the joint-venture team was disbanded with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles returning as a sole entity once more to the National Rugby League.
Alan Thompson is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition from 1973 to 1984 and coached the club in 1989. He primarily played at Five-eighth.
The 1987 World Club Challenge was the second game of its kind to be played between Britain's and Australia's domestic rugby league champion clubs. Chairman of Britain's 1986–87 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan, Maurice Lindsay, invited Australia's 1987 NSWRL season premiers, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles to Wigan for the game. After this memorable match, the World Club Challenge was decided to be made an official annual feature on the rugby league calendar.
Mal Cochrane is an Indigenous Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. Cochrane primarily played at hooker.
The 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France was the sixteenth Kangaroo tour in which the Australian national rugby league team plays a number of tour matches against British and French teams, in addition to the Test matches. The next Kangaroo tour was staged in 1990.
The 1989 Kangaroo Tour of New Zealand was a mid-season tour of New Zealand by the Australia national rugby league team. The Australians played six matches on tour, including a three test series against the New Zealand national rugby league team. The tour began on 4 July and finished on 23 July.
The 1987 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 41st in the club's history since their entry into the then New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1947.