The 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup was the ninth Rugby League World Cup tournament held and saw yet another change of format with competition stretched to cover almost three years. The national rugby league teams of Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea played each other on a home and away basis. These matches were fitted into the normal international programme of three-match test series between the nations, with a pre-designated match from each series counting as the world cup fixture.
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian Rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level Rugby League competition from 1982, when they, along with the Canberra Raiders, were admitted into the then Sydney Rugby League premiership until 1998 when they formed a new joint venture team, the St George Illawarra Dragons with the St George Dragons in 1999, before selling its remaining share in the club to WIN Corporation in 2018. Over those seventeen seasons the club received three wooden spoons, made the play-offs twice and had a total of three of its players selected to play for the Australia national rugby league team.
The Gold Coast Chargers were a professional rugby league club which played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership from 1988 to 1994, the Australian Rugby League premiership from 1995 to 1997, and the National Rugby League premiership in 1998. They first played under the name Gold Coast-Tweed Giants from 1988 to 1989, then Gold Coast Seagulls from 1990 to 1995, very briefly as the Gold Coast Gladiators and finally Gold Coast Chargers from 1996 to 1998.
Rod Wishart is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played the 1980s and 1990s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative goal-kicking winger, he played club football with the Illawarra Steelers and the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League.
Kevin David Walters is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
The 1988 Brisbane Broncos season was the first in the club's history. Coached by previous season grand final co-coach Wayne Bennett and captained by Australian national skipper Wally Lewis, the new venture team competed in the New South Wales Rugby League's 1988 Winfield Cup premiership. Despite a strong start to the season, Brisbane failed to make the finals. During the season the Broncos also competed in the 1988 Panasonic Cup.
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.
The 1989 Brisbane Broncos season was the second in the club's history. They competed in the NSWRL's 1989 Winfield Cup premiership and in their second year improved on their first, finishing the season in sixth position after losing their first ever play-off match against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. The Broncos did however claim their first piece of silverware by winning the mid-week knock-out 1989 Panasonic Cup competition.
The 1992 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership season was the eighty-fifth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen teams competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shield during the season which culminated in a grand final for the Winfield Cup between the Brisbane Broncos, making their grand final debut, and the St. George Dragons.
Terry Matterson is an Australian rugby league coach and former player. Matterson played in Australia's premiership for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters and the Brisbane Broncos, and was also selected to play in the State of Origin for New South Wales once in 1989. He was a goal-kicking lock and he played the majority of his club football for the Brisbane Broncos, with whom he won the 1992 and 1993 premierships, in addition to stints with the Eastern Suburbs Roosters and the London Broncos. He worked as a head coach in the Super League for the Castleford Tigers between 2005 and 2011. From October 2013 Matterson was the head coach of the United States.
The 1984 National Panasonic Cup was the 11th edition of the NSWRL Midweek Cup, a NSWRL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the NSWRL, the BRL, the CRL, the QRL and the NZRL.
The 1986 National Panasonic Cup was the 13th edition of the NSWRL Midweek Cup, a NSWRL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the NSWRL, the BRL, the CRL, Western Australia and Papua New Guinea.
The 1987 National Panasonic Cup was the 14th edition of the NSWRL Midweek Cup, a NSWRL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs from the NSWRL, the BRL, the CRL, Papua New Guinea and State Representative Teams.
The 1988 Panasonic Cup was the 15th edition of the NSWRL Midweek Cup, a NSWRL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the NSWRL, the BRL, the CRL and Papua New Guinea.
Frank Stanton, also known by the nickname of "Biscuits", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, a successful club, and national representative coach in the 1970s and 1980s. His playing and club coaching career was with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. He enjoyed success as coach of the Australian national side from 1978 to 1984, being at the helm in the period when the Kangaroos began to consistently dominate the other rugby league playing nations.
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 1991 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league test series played in Australia between Australia and New Zealand. The series, which started on 3 July in Melbourne and finished on 31 July in Brisbane, consisted of three test matches, with the third test doubling as a 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup tournament match. New Zealand did not play in any other matches while on tour.
The 1986 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team. Test matches were played in New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea. The tour began on 6 July in Auckland and finished on 17 August in Port Moresby, consisted of five test matches, with two of them counting towards the 1985-88 World Cup.
The 1988 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between New Zealand and Australia on 9 October 1988 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Australia won the final by 25 points to 12 in front of a New Zealand rugby league record attendance of 47,363. Australia, the defending champions, won the Rugby League World Cup for the 6th time.
Combined Brisbane (Bourke, Daunt, Harvey, Cook tries, Harvey 2 goals, Daunt field goal)
Port Moresby (PNG) (Ipu, Akuila tries, Akuila 2 goals)
NSW Country (Elwin goal)
St George (Mohr, Walford, Coyne tries, Walford goal)
Brisbane (Matterson 2, Tessmann tries, Matterson 2, G.French goals)
Canberra (Lazarus, K.Walters tries, Wood 2 goals, Stuart field goal)
South Sydney (Blake, Longbottom 2, Lyons, P.Roberts tries, Ellison 6 goals)
Penrith (McIndoe 2 tries, Baker 2 goals)
Parramatta (Sterling, Lauriie, Wynn tries, Fitzhenry 5 goals)
Balmain (Grant, Chalmers tries, Brooks 2 goals)
Canterbury-Bankstown (McCarthy 3, Lamb tries, Lamb 4 goals)
Newcastle (Quinton goal)
Cronulla-Sutherland (Picken, Docking, Wilson tries, Wilson 4, Watson goals)
Eastern Suburbs (Salvatori, Melrose tries, Smith goal)
Illawarra (Kissell, Heugh, Larder tries)
Western Suburbs 
North Sydney (McArthur, Maguire tries, McArthur 2 goals, Gale field goal)
Gold Coast (Close try, Eden goal)
Manly-Warringah (Ryan 2, Hasler, Williams tries, Shearer 3 goals)