- 1986 NSWRL season
-
1986 NSWRL season Teams 13 Premiers 
Parramatta (4th title)Minor premiers Parramatta (3rd title)Matches played 163 Points scored 5212 (total)
31.975 (per match)Attendance 1,705,156 (total)
10,461 (per match)Top try scorer(s) 
Phil Blake (13)
Garry Schofield (13)The 1986 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the seventy-ninth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Parramatta Eels and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. This season, NSWRL teams also competed for the 1986 National Panasonic Cup.
Contents
Season summary
This season saw the opening of the new Parramatta Stadium[1] and on 29 June the final game was played at the old Sydney Sports Ground: Eastern Suburbs Roosters v North Sydney Bears.[2]
In total twenty-six regular season rounds were played from March till September, resulting in a top five of Parramatta, Souths, Canterbury, Manly and Balmain who battled it out in the finals. Parramatta completed a perfect season, winning the pre-season competition, the midweek Panasonic Cup, finishing the regular season as minor premiers, winning the Grand Final and farewelling their international long time stars Mick Cronin and Ray Price as victorious champions.
The 1986 season's Rothmans Medallist was Manly-Warringah forward, Mal Cochrane. Parramatta's halfback, Peter Sterling was given the Dally M Award as well as Rugby League Week's player of the year award. The Coca-Cola Rugby League Coach-of-the-Year award was given to George Piggins who took South Sydney to the finals in his first year as coach.[3]
The new management and marketing direction that had been undertaken by the NSWRL in the 1980s meant that at the end of this season the League was able to announce a profit of $3.7 million and an increase in attendance of 22%.[4]
At the end of the season several players from the Premiership were selected for the 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France.
Teams
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.
Advertising
1986 saw the NSWRL's agency, John Singleton Advertising produce an ad themed around the Gladiators photo and the then premiership trophy. The finished 60 second ad. is presented in an A/V style with moving footage and stills from the 1963 Grand Final showing the Provan and Summons embrace and stills shots of other 1970s champions including Bob Fulton, Arthur Beetson and John Sattler interspersed with 1985 season images.
The theme is of past heroes "who played it tough but played it fair" and the ad. closes with the question as to who this year will claim the "The Greatest Prize of All" - being the Winfield Cup Trophy, featuring the "Gladiators" statue.
Ladder
Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts 1 Parramatta24 16 1 7 2 446 280 +166 37 2 
South Sydney24 15 2 7 2 353 318 +35 36 3 
Canterbury24 15 1 8 2 428 264 +164 35 4 Manly24 14 1 9 2 476 379 +97 33 5 Balmain24 13 0 11 2 403 387 +16 30 6 
North Sydney24 13 0 11 2 362 416 -54 30 7 
St. George24 12 1 11 2 360 402 -42 29 8 
Penrith24 11 1 12 2 446 394 +52 27 9 
Eastern Suburbs24 10 0 14 2 334 364 -30 24 10 
Cronulla24 9 1 14 2 310 464 -154 23 11 
Canberra24 8 1 15 2 391 413 -22 21 12 
Western Suburbs24 8 1 15 2 372 538 -166 21 13 
Illawarra24 7 0 17 2 310 372 -62 18 Finals
Home Score Away Match Information Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd Playoff 
Balmain Tigers14-7 
North Sydney Bears2 September 1986 Sydney Cricket Ground Mick Stone 10,788 Qualifying Finals 
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles22-29 Balmain Tigers6 September 1986 Sydney Cricket Ground Kevin Roberts 17,597 
South Sydney Rabbitohs2-16 
Canterbury Bulldogs7 September 1986 Sydney Cricket Ground Mick Stone 24,573 Semi Finals South Sydney Rabbitohs11-36 Balmain Tigers13 September 1986 Sydney Cricket Ground Kevin Roberts 27,035 
Parramatta Eels28-6 Canterbury Bulldogs14 September 1986 Sydney Cricket Ground Mick Stone 32,499 Preliminary Final Canterbury Bulldogs28-16 Balmain Tigers21 September 1986 Sydney Cricket Ground Mick Stone 32,341 Grand Final Parramatta Eels4-2 Canterbury Bulldogs28 September 1986 Sydney Cricket Ground Mick Stone 45,843 Grand Final
Parramatta Position Canterbury Paul Taylor FB Phil Sigsworth Mick Delroy WG Andrew Farrar Mick Cronin CE Michael Hagan Steve Ella CE Chris Mortimer Eric Grothe, Sr. WG Steve O'Brien Brett Kenny FE Terry Lamb Peter Sterling HB Steve Mortimer (c) Geoff Bugden PR Peter Tunks Michael Moseley HK Mark Bugden Terry Leabeater PR Peter Kelly Mark Laurie SR Paul Dunn John Muggleton SR Steve Folkes Ray Price (c) LK Paul Langmack Peter Wynn Bench Geoff Robinson Tony Chalmers Bench David Boyd John Monie Coach Warren Ryan Eels coach John Monie had stepped into the large shoes left by Jack Gibson in 1984 and was under pressure to ensure Parramatta did not fall short for a third year. Eels legends Ray Price and Mick Cronin were in their farewell seasons and the Eels fans at least wanted to see them go out on a winning note. Everything had augured well right through the season with a Parramatta victory in the pre-season competition, the midweek National Panasonic cup and the minor premiership.
The Bulldogs on the other hand were building a dynasty under the Warren Ryan-coached style of uncompromising defence that had changed the game. In prop Peter Kelly, hooker Mark Bugden and three-quarter Andrew Farrar, Ryan possessed a number of defensive hitmen capable of carrying out his game plan.
Parramatta's Mick Cronin required a police escort to the match after being stuck in a traffic jam.[5]
The Grand Final was fifteen minutes old when Eels winger Mick Delroy was knocked out by a high shot from Farrar while Price suffered a constant barrage from Kelly throughout the first half. Referee Mick Stone at least initially appeared reluctant to send anyone off and Farrar and Kelly benefitted.
Stone also disallowed two near tries in the first half to Eels five-eighth Brett Kenny who was ultimately frustrated in his attempt to replicate the two tries per Grand Final statistic that he'd maintained in each of the 1981, 1982 and 1983 deciders.
It wasn't until Kelly was sin-binned for 10 minutes for a high tackle on Price that the Eels started to find gaps in the Bulldogs line. Two minutes before half time and still with 12 men Canterbury looked in trouble when Eric Grothe, Sr. set off down the sideline with a clear path. A desperate Steve Mortimer cover-defending run brought Grothe down metres from the tryline. A minute later Cronin opened the scoring for the Eels with a successful penalty goal.
Twelve minutes into the second half, Canterbury five-eighth Terry Lamb levelled the score with a penalty goal after Peter Sterling was penalised for a late tackle on Steve Mortimer.
With eighteen minutes remaining, Canterbury replacement forward David Boyd was penalised for a high tackle on Price who had by now suffered an hour of ferocious Bulldog attention. Price appeared concussed and the Parramatta trainers unsuccessfully tried to convince him to leave the field. Cronin kicked the resultant penalty and the Eels again took a 2-point lead.
After Canterbury fullback Phil Sigsworth was sent off for a high shot on Kenny, the 12 remaining Bulldogs lifted a level and continued with attacking surges. Farrar was stopped by the Eels defence centimetres from the line, Lamb missed an opportunity to level with another penalty attempt and then right on the bell Parramatta forward Michael Moseley, in a career highlight moment, cut down Bugden as the Bulldogs hooker appeared certain to score.
Parramatta had taken on Canterbury at their own game - defence-focused trench warfare and managed to keep the game tryless and win the battle of attrition. In the process they halted Canterbury's hopes of three successive titles in the first try-less and the lowest ever scoring Grand Final.
Parramatta 4
Goals: Cronin 2Canterbury-Bankstown 2
Goals: Lamb 1Clive Churchill Medal: Peter Sterling (Parramatta)
References
- ^ MacDonald, John (1986-10-09). "The season of change, upsets and challenges". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media): pp. 36. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=smh&clsPage=1&docID=news861009_0145_4770. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
- ^ "Sydney Football Stadium Magic Moments". sydneycricketground.com.au. Sydney Cricket & Sports Ground Trust. http://www.scgt.nsw.gov.au/MM-SFS.html. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ Tait, Paul (1986-09-24). "Award to Piggins". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia): pp. 52. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jWspAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y-YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1786,5956470. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
- ^ Clemes, Michael D. (2002). New Zealand Case Studies in Strategic Marketing. Thomson Learning Nelson. pp. 185. ISBN 0864694199, 9780864694195.
- ^ "Fans turn Parra blue and gold". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia: Fairfax Digital). 2009-10-02. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/fans-turn-parra-blue-and-gold-20091003-ggpe.html. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1986 The World of Rugby League
- 1986 Winfield Cup TVC Youtube.
- Clarkson, Alan (1997). The Greatest Games We Ever Played (Essay Collection, ed. Geoff Prenter). Sydney: Ironbark Publishing.
- Results:1981-90 at rabbitohs.com.au
- 1986 J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup at rleague.com
- NSWRL season 1986 at rugbyleagueproject.com
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NRL era Categories:- 1986 in rugby league
- 1986 in Australian sport
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