Wollongong is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound of the sea'. Wollongong lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 85 kilometres south of central Sydney. Wollongong had an estimated urban population of 302,739 at June 2018, making it the third-largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle and the tenth-largest city in Australia by population. The city's current Lord Mayor is Tania Brown who was elected in 2024.
The St. George Dragons are an Australian rugby league football club from the St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until the 1997 ARL season, as well as the unified 1998 National Rugby League season. On 23 September 1998, the club formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers, creating the St. George Illawarra Dragons team which competed in the 1999 NRL season and continues to compete in the league today. As a stand-alone club, it fields teams in the NSWRL underage men's and women's competitions, Harold Matthews Cup, S.G. Ball, and Tarsha Gale Cup.
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 until 1998. On 13 December 1980, they were the first non-Sydney based team to be admitted into the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, with the Canberra Raiders being admitted later ensuring an even number of teams in the competition for the start of their first season, 1982. Over their seventeen years in the top grade, 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 Western Reds were a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they entered into the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival Super League competition in 1997, where they rebranded themselves as the Perth Reds. However, by the end of the year the Reds had become a casualty of the Super League War peace deal and were shut down. The name Reds was named after the native Red Kangaroos. The Reds entered a state of limbo for the next decade but were revived as a lower-level club in 2006 by the WARL and ARL, under the name WA Reds.
Ryan Girdler is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australia international representative goal-kicking centre, he played his club football for the Illawarra Steelers and the Penrith Panthers, winning the 2003 NRL Premiership with the Panthers.
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.
Dean Young is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach of the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL) and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s.
The Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland announced on 3 November 2005 that Scotland would be sending 166 athletes to compete in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, supported by 70 officials. This is a smaller team than the country fielded at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, when Scotland sent 207 athletes and 85 officials, winning 6 Gold, 8 Silver and 16 Bronze medals.
The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since 1999 after a joint-venture was formed between the St. George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers. The club officially formed as the game's first joint-venture club on 23 September 1998 and remains the only inter-city team in the NRL. The team has its headquarters and leagues clubs in both Wollongong and the Sydney suburb of Kogarah, and trains and plays games regularly at WIN Stadium in Wollongong, as well as at Jubilee Oval in Kogarah. From 1999 to 2006 the club was jointly owned by the St. George Dragons 50% and Illawarra Steelers 50%. In 2006 WIN Corporation purchased 50% of the Illawarra Steelers stake in the club before purchasing the rest of the Illawarra Steelers' share in August 2018.
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.
The 1989 Panasonic Cup was the 16th 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. This was the final season of the competition, which was replaced by the Tooheys Challenge Cup the following year.
Benjamin Barba is an Australian former professional dual code rugby league & rugby union footballer who last played for St Helens in the Super League. He primarily played as a fullback or five-eighth.
The Port Kembla Blacks were a Rugby League team from Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia that competed in the Illawarra Rugby League competition from 1914 to 2008 before moving to the Group 7 Rugby League competition from 2013 to 2017.
The 1997 Illawarra Steelers season was the sixteenth in the club's history. The side made its second appearance in the play-offs, the first ending with the infamous 1992 semi-finals 4-0 loss to the St. George Dragons. Whilst making the finals, the season ultimately ended up as a disappointment, losing in the first week to the Gold Coast Chargers. Many expected them to win this match easily as they had beaten their opponents comfortably 28-6 the week before.
The 1997 Illawarra Steelers season was the sixteenth in the club's history. The side made its second appearance in the play-offs, the first ending with the infamous 1992 semi-finals 4-0 loss to the St. George Dragons. Whilst making the finals, the season ultimately ended up as a disappointment, losing in the first week to the Gold Coast Chargers. Many expected them to win this match easily as they had beaten their opponents comfortably 28-6 the week before.
The Kiama Knights are an Australian rugby league football team based in Kiama, a coastal town of the Illawarra and South Coast regions. The club was formed in 1914 as one of the founding members of South Coast Rugby League, and continue to participate in this league's local competition.
The Dapto Canaries are an Australian rugby league football team based in the Wollongong suburb of Dapto. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and have competed in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership since its inception in 1911.
The Western Suburbs Red Devils are an Australian rugby league football team based in Figtree, a suburb of Wollongong. The club is a member of the Country Rugby League and compete in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership. The club play out of Figtree Oval, Figtree. Wests wear red and blue jerseys and have won 16 premierships. Wests Illawarra Leagues club is a thriving club in Unanderra.
South East Australian Football Club is a Brisbane based club competing in the Queensland Amateur Football Association 'A' competition fielding Seniors & Reserves teams. Previously they were known as the Logan City Australian Football Club.
This article provides information on the Reserve Grade, Second Grade or B Grade Grand Finals of Rugby League competitions held on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The Match Details sub-section details the individual point-scorers in a match, where known.
Bob Millward
