1997 Queensland Cup

Last updated

1997 Queensland Cup
DurationMarch 29 – September 6, 1997
Teams14
Premiers Redcliffe colours.svg Redcliffe Dolphins (1st title)
Minor premiers Wynnum-Manly Colours.svg Wynnum Seagulls (1st title)
Matches played135
Points scored5,945
Top points scorer(s) Wests Panthers Colours.svg Tony Devlin (183)
Player of the year Wests Panthers Colours.svg Alan Wieland
Top try-scorer(s) Wynnum-Manly Colours.svg Jabin Picker (25)
  1996
1998  

The 1997 Queensland Cup season was the 2nd season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition.

Contents

The competition, then known as the Channel Nine Queensland Cup for sponsorship purposes, was contested by fourteen teams over a 23-week-long season (including finals) which was eventually won by the Redcliffe Dolphins, who defeated the Easts Tigers 18–16 in the Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium.

Teams

The number of teams in the Queensland Cup was reduced from 16 to 14 teams in 1997. The Burleigh Bears joined the competition, becoming the first Gold Coast-based side, while the Bundaberg Grizzlies, Mackay Sea Eagles and Sunshine Coast Falcons all withdrew.

ColoursClubHome ground(s)
Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg
Burleigh Bears Pizzey Park
Cairns Cyclones Colours.svg
Cairns Cyclones Barlow Park
Central Comets colours.svg
Central Capras Browne Park
Balmain colours.svg
Easts Tigers Langlands Park
Ipswich Colours.svg
Ipswich Jets North Ipswich Reserve
Hunter colours.svg
Logan City Scorpions Meakin Park
Norths Devils colours.svg
Norths Devils Bishop Park
Brothers Colours.svg
Pine Rivers Brothers Bray Park
Port Moresby Vipers Colours.svg
Port Moresby Vipers Lloyd Robson Oval
Redcliffe colours.svg
Redcliffe Dolphins Dolphin Oval
Western Suburbs colours.svg
Souths Magpies Davies Park
Toowoomba Clydesdales colours.svg
Toowoomba Clydesdales Athletic Oval
Wests Panthers Colours.svg
Wests Panthers Purtell Park
Wynnum-Manly Colours.svg
Wynnum Seagulls Kougari Oval

Ladder

1997 Queensland Cup
PosTeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts
1 Wynnum-Manly Colours.svg Wynnum Seagulls 181413498235+26329
2 Redcliffe colours.svg Redcliffe Dolphins (P)181404573271+30228
3 Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers 181314521328+19227
4 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Burleigh Bears 181314427347+8027
5 Wests Panthers Colours.svg Wests Panthers 181224468271+19726
6 Central Comets colours.svg Central Capras 181026455398+5722
7 Norths Devils colours.svg Norths Devils 18909460346+11418
8 Port Moresby Vipers Colours.svg Port Moresby Vipers 18909433518-8518
9 Cairns Cyclones Colours.svg Cairns Cyclones 187110318352-3415
10 Toowoomba Clydesdales colours.svg Toowoomba Clydesdales 186111312354-4213
11 Western Suburbs colours.svg Souths Magpies 186111315424−10913
12 Brothers Colours.svg Pine Rivers Brothers 186012391524-13312
13 Ipswich Colours.svg Ipswich Jets 181116276657−3813
14 Hunter colours.svg Logan City Scorpions 180117226648−4221

Finals series

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
DateVenue
Week 1 Semi-finals
Wests Panthers Colours.svg Wests Panthers 38 – 10 Central Comets colours.svg Central Capras 9 August 1997 Purtell Park
Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers 14 – 8 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Burleigh Bears 9 August 1997 Langlands Park
Wynnum-Manly Colours.svg Wynnum Seagulls 12 – 17 Redcliffe colours.svg Redcliffe Dolphins 11 August 1997 Kougari Oval
Week 2 Semi-finals
Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Burleigh Bears 8 – 14 Wests Panthers Colours.svg Wests Panthers 16 August 1997 Pizzey Park
Wynnum-Manly Colours.svg Wynnum Seagulls 8 – 14 Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers 16 August 1997 Kougari Oval
Week 3 Semi-finals
Wynnum-Manly Colours.svg Wynnum Seagulls 6 – 12 Wests Panthers Colours.svg Wests Panthers 23 August 1997 Purtell Park
Redcliffe colours.svg Redcliffe Dolphins 18 – 14 Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers 24 August 1997 Dolphin Oval
Preliminary Final
Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers 22 – 14 Wests Panthers Colours.svg Wests Panthers 30 August 1997 Langlands Park
Grand Final
Redcliffe colours.svg Redcliffe Dolphins 18 – 16 Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers 6 September 1997 Suncorp Stadium

Grand Final

Saturday, 6 September
Redcliffe Dolphins Redcliffe colours.svg 18 – 16 Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers
Tries:
James Hinchey 2
Anthony Singleton 1
Goals:
Anthony Singleton 3
1st: 6 - 12
2nd: 12 - 4
Tries:
1 Rob Braun
1 Dale Williams
1 Leon Yeatman
Goals:
2 Scott Sipple
Suncorp Stadium
Referee: Stuart Berndt
Redcliffe DolphinsPositionEasts Tigers
Adam Mogg FB Leon Yeatman
Cameron Hurren WG Rob Braun
Bevan Canning CE Chris Beattie
George Wilson CE Travis Baker
Aaron Douglas WG Peter Turner
Anthony Singleton FE Scott Sipple
Peter Robinson (c) HB Brett McPherson
Grant Cleal PR Graham Cotter
Richard Ackerman HK Dale Williams
Troy Lindsay PR Scott Neilson
Ian Graham SR Doug Evans
James Hinchey SR Mark Sessarago (c)
Tony Gould LK Jeff Wakefield
Russell LahiffBenchPhil Lockwood
Chris Essex BenchSteve Mills
Wayne MillerBench Jamie Day
Selwyn TobyBenchAaron Smith
John BoxsellCoachGavin Payne

Redcliffe, who finished the season in 2nd place, qualified for their second straight Grand Final after going undefeated in the finals series. Easts, who finished 3rd, were defeated by Redcliffe in Week 3 of the finals and later qualified for the Grand Final after defeating Wests in the preliminary final. The two sides had first met in Round 13 of the regular season, with Easts running out 30-6 winners.

First half

Easts opened the scoring through fullback Leon Yeatman, who broke a number of tackles on a 20-metre run to the try line. The Tigers would soon extend their lead through hooker Dale Williams, who dummied and broke a tackle to score. Following the try, Williams and Dolphins' hooker Richard Ackerman were both sent to the sin bin. Redcliffe got on the board just before the break, after five-eighth Anthony Singleton crossed easily from dummy half.

Second half

After the intermission, an early Easts' try to winger Rob Braun extended the Tigers' lead to 10 points. With 14 minutes left to play, the Dolphins finally cracked the Tigers' defence, with second rower James Hinchey scoring out wide. With less than a minute to play and on the last tackle of the set, the Dolphins' spread it wide again to Hinchey, who scored his second try of the game and levelled the scores. After the siren had sounded, Singleton converted the try from close to the sideline to give Redcliffe their first Queensland Cup premiership. [1]

Player statistics

End-of-season awards

Brisbane Rugby League

The Queensland Rugby League also decided to continue the tradition of crowning a Brisbane club premier as was tradition since 1922. The competition, which was run as a second-tier title, started with the Brisbane teams who missed the finals, with the finalists filtering in upon their elimination from the Queensland Cup finals. This was the last year a BRL Champion was crowned, after 76 seasons of football.

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
DateVenue
Week 1 Qualifying Finals
Western Suburbs colours.svg Souths Magpies 31 – 10 Brothers Colours.svg Pine Rivers Brothers
Week 2 Qualifying Finals
Norths Devils colours.svg Norths Devils 20 – 10 Western Suburbs colours.svg Souths Magpies
Minor Semi Final
Norths Devils colours.svg Norths Devils 16 – 10 Wynnum-Manly Colours.svg Wynnum Seagulls
Major Semi Final
Norths Devils colours.svg Norths Devils (score unknown) Wests Panthers Colours.svg Wests Panthers
Preliminary Final
Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers 22 – 16 Norths Devils colours.svg Norths Devils
Grand Final
Redcliffe colours.svg Redcliffe Dolphins 35 – 6 Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers Suncorp Stadium

Source: [2]

See also

References

  1. "Set of Six: Best Queensland Cup grand final comebacks".
  2. "Rugby League – Welcome to Roger's Website" . Retrieved 15 August 2023.