1979 NSWRFL season

1979 NSWRFL season
Teams	12
Premiers	St. George (15th title)
Minor premiers	St. George (14th title)
Matches played	138
Points scored	4375 (total) 31.703 (per match)
Attendance	1,500,369 (total) 10,872 (per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Mick Cronin (253)
Top try scorer(s)	Mitch Brennan (16) Tom Mooney (16)

The 1979 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the seventy-second season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve clubs, including six of 1908's foundation teams and another six from around Sydney competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the St. George and Canterbury-Bankstown clubs. NSWRFL teams also competed in the 1979 Amco Cup.

Season summary

Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August, resulting in a top five of St. George, Parramatta, Cronulla, Wests and Canterbury who battled it out in the finals.

Parramatta's Ray Price was the 1979 season's Rothmans Medallist, and also won Rugby League Week's player of the year award.

The 1979 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Bob Fulton.

Teams

Balmain Tigers 72nd season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Ron Willey Captain: Allan McMahon	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 45th season Ground: Belmore Oval Coach: Ted Glossop Captain: George Peponis	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 13th season Ground: Endeavour Field Coach: Norm Provan Captain: Greg Pierce	Eastern Suburbs Roosters 72nd season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Captain/Coach: Bob Fulton
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 33rd season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Frank Stanton Captain: Max Krilich	Newtown Jets 72nd season Ground: Henson Park Coach: Warren Ryan Captain: Trevor Ryan→Ken Wilson	North Sydney Bears 72nd season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Tommy Bishop Captain: Keith Harris	Parramatta Eels 33rd season Ground: Cumberland Oval Coach: Terry Fearnley Captain: Ray Price
Penrith Panthers 13th season Ground: Penrith Park Coach: Len Stacker Captain: Gary Pethybridge	South Sydney Rabbitohs 72nd season Ground: Redfern Oval Coach: Jack Gibson Captain: various	St. George Dragons 59th season Ground: Kogarah Oval Coach: Harry Bath Captain: Steve Edge→Craig Young	Western Suburbs Magpies 72nd season Ground: Lidcombe Oval Coach: Roy Masters Captain: Tom Raudonikis

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	St. George	22	17	0	5	476	309	+167	34
2	Parramatta	22	16	0	6	490	317	+173	32
3	Cronulla-Sutherland	22	14	1	7	367	270	+97	29
4	Western Suburbs	22	14	0	8	396	312	+84	28
5	Canterbury-Bankstown	22	13	0	9	379	310	+69	26
6	Balmain	22	12	1	9	358	313	+45	25
7	Manly-Warringah	22	11	1	10	341	353	-12	23
8	Eastern Suburbs	22	9	1	12	250	321	-71	19
9	South Sydney	22	9	0	13	286	329	-43	18
10	Penrith	22	6	2	14	211	473	-162	14
11	Newtown Jets	22	6	0	16	321	423	-102	12
12	North Sydney	22	2	0	20	302	547	-245	4

Finals

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Minor Semi Finals
Parramatta	24-4	Cronulla-Sutherland	1 September 1979	Sydney Cricket Ground	Gary Cook	28,335
Western Suburbs	6-20	Canterbury-Bankstown	2 September 1979	Sydney Cricket Ground	Greg Hartley	22,104
Major Semi Finals
St. George	15-11	Parramatta	8 September 1979	Sydney Cricket Ground	Gary Cook	38,531
Cronulla-Sutherland	15-30	Canterbury-Bankstown	9 September 1979	Sydney Cricket Ground	Greg Hartley	24,132
Preliminary Final
Parramatta	14-20	Canterbury-Bankstown	15 September 1979	Sydney Cricket Ground	Greg Hartley	33,291
Grand Final
St. George	17-13	Canterbury-Bankstown	22 September 1979	Sydney Cricket Ground	Greg Hartley	50,911

Grand Final

St. George Dragons	Position	Canterbury-Bankstown
Brian Johnson	FB	Stan Cutler
Mitch Brennan	WG	Chris Anderson
Graeme Quinn	CE	Chris Mortimer
Robert Finch	CE	Peter Mortimer
Michael Sorridimi	WG	Steve Gearin
Tony Trudgett	FE	Garry Hughes
Steve Morris	HB	Steve Mortimer
Bruce Starkey	PR	Greg Cook
Steve Edge	HK	George Peponis (c)
Craig Young (c)	PR	Peter Smith
George Grant	SR	Graeme Hughes
Graeme Wynn	SR	Peter Cassilles
Rod Reddy	LK	Steve Folkes
Stephen Butler	Reserve	Mark Hughes
Harry Bath	Coach	Ted Glossop

St. George finished 22 rounds as minor premiers with 17 wins and were straight into the Grand Final after defeating Parramatta in the major semi. Their Grand Final opponents Canterbury, qualified after defeating Wests, Cronulla and Parramatta.

The pre-game talk had been about the match-up of opposing half-backs Steve Morris and Steve Mortimer and the game didn't disappoint, beginning with a 40-metre flying break on a last tackle by Morris from deep in Dragons territory before he was cut down in a classic covering tackle by Mortimer.

The first half belonged to St. George with new fullback Brian Johnson scoring an easy opening try after taking a pass 10 metres out from the Canterbury line. Soon after, Rod Reddy, who was subduing his opponents with his experience and ruthlessness, put Morris into a gap. 'Slippery' kicked ahead and the race was on. Mortimer had a head start and got there first but Morris tackled him into touch.

Soon afterwards Canterbury put a bomb up and toward the St. George in-goal. Brian Johnson was on hand to field the ball and returned it with a 60-metre run ended by a copybook tackle from his opposing fullback Stan Cutler. However the defence was opening up and it wasn't long before the Dragons scored their second try, with winger Mitch Brennan venturing infield and finding a gap courtesy of centre Robert Finch who slipped a short ball to Brennan 30 metres out. The strapping winger made a powerful run to score.

By now, Saints were carving Canterbury up with Morris, on his 20-metre line, putting Graeme Wynn into a gap. The lanky back rower ran 40 metres, leaving defenders in his wake. Next it was 'Rocket' Reddy's turn when Morris, Wynn and Reddy combined down the right flank and exposed the Bulldogs defence. 'Rocket' handled twice in scoring a try under the posts. At half time the score was St George 17 - Canterbury 2.

Canterbury fought back gamely after the break. Steve Gearin and then Peter Mortimer crossed, with two further tries being disallowed. The St. George defence rallied and held from that point until Stan Cutler scored a third try out wide late in the match. St. George's goal-kicking second rower George Grant was the difference on the day, kicking four to ensure a 17-13 victory. Grant had kicked brilliantly all season, scoring 211 points in 1979.

The Dave Brown Medal for the best player on field went to Steve Morris.

St. George 17 (Tries: Johnson, Brennan, Reddy. Goals: Grant 4.)

Canterbury-Bankstown 13 (Tries: Gearin, Mortimer, Cutler. Goals: Gearin 2.)

References

• Rugby League Tables - Season 1979 The World of Rugby League
• Results:1971-80 at rabbitohs.com.au
• 1979 J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup at rleague.com
• NSWRFL season 1979 at rugbyleagueproject.com
• 1979 Grand Final at Dragons History site