1991 NSWRL season

1991 NSWRL season
Teams	16
Premiers	Penrith (1st title)
Minor premiers	Penrith (1st title)
Matches played	183
Points scored	6376 (total) 34.842 (per match)
Attendance	2,413,218 (total) 13,187 (per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Daryl Halligan (196)
Top try scorer(s)	Alan McIndoe (19)

The 1991 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership season was the eighty-fourth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. This year the League experimented with a draft system for the first time.

Sixteen clubs competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in a replay of the previous year's grand final between the Canberra Raiders and the Penrith Panthers.

Season summary

The 1991 New South Wales Rugby League season started with controversy. For the first time a draft system which had been developed was put into operation. The draft allowed teams to recruit players on a roster system based on where the club finished the previous year. It ran in reverse order with the wooden spooners getting first choice and the premiers last. The draft lasted just the one season before being defeated in the courts by players and coaches opposed to its limitations.^[1]

In 22 rounds of regular season football which lasted from March till August, eventual premiers Penrith won 17 games, drew one and lost only four. The Panthers finished on 35 premiership points and took their first minor premiership ahead of Manly and Norths (both 29 points), Canberra on 28 with Wests sneaking in on 27 points after beating Canterbury 19–14 in a play off.

On 24 July it was revealed that the Canberra Raiders had substantially breached their $1.5 million salary cap for 1991.^[2]

The record for attendance at a match at Campbelltown Stadium was set this season with a crowd figure of 21,527 for a game between Western Suburbs and St. George. Also this season the NSWRL took a match between St. George and Balmain to the Adelaide Oval and it was met with success as 28,884 spectators turned out for the game on a cold and wet Friday night in June.

The 1991 season's Rothmans Medal was awarded to Canterbury-Bankstown's Ewan McGrady, who was also named as Rugby League Week's player of the year. The Dally M Award was won by St. George's Michael Potter, the first fullback to do so.

Teams

The number of teams competing remained unchanged for the third consecutive year, with sixteen clubs contesting the premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, two from greater New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one from the Australian Capital Territory.^[3]

Balmain Tigers 84th season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Alan Jones Captain: Ben Elias	Brisbane Broncos 4th season Ground: Lang Park Coach: Wayne Bennett Captain: Gene Miles	Canberra Raiders 10th season Ground: Bruce Stadium Coach: Tim Sheens Captain: Mal Meninga	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 57th season Ground: Belmore Oval Coach: Chris Anderson Captain: Terry Lamb
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 25th season Ground: Endeavour Park Coach: Allan Fitzgibbon Captain: Gavin Miller	Eastern Suburbs Roosters 84th season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Mark Murray Captain: Hugh McGahan	Gold Coast Seagulls 4th season Ground: Seagulls Stadium Coach: Malcolm Clift Captain: Wally Lewis	Illawarra Steelers 10th season Ground: Wollongong Stadium Coach: Graham Murray Captain: Chris Walsh & Dean Schifilliti
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 45th season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Graham Lowe Captain: Michael O'Connor	Newcastle Knights 4th season Ground: Marathon Stadium Coach: Allan McMahon → David Waite Captain: Sam Stewart	North Sydney Bears 84th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Steve Martin Captain: Tony Rea	Parramatta Eels 45th season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Mick Cronin Captain: Brett Kenny
Penrith Panthers 25th season Ground: Penrith Stadium Coach: Phil Gould Captain: Greg Alexander	South Sydney Rabbitohs 84th season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Frank Curry Captain: Michael Andrews	St. George Dragons 71st season Ground: Kogarah Oval Coach: Brian Smith Captain: Michael Beattie	Western Suburbs Magpies 84th season Ground: Campbelltown Sports Ground Coach: Warren Ryan Captain: Paul Langmack

Advertising

1991 again saw the NSWRL use Tina Turner's 1989 version of "The Best" in their advertising. The league's ad agency Hertz Walpole had sufficient extra footage from her 1990 visit to Sydney to add fresh images of Tina to other recent shots of the 1990 finals series and 1991 pre-season training images.

The finished 1991 ad in its full length version shows Tina performing the song in the glamorous surroundings of Boomerang, a palatial harbour-side Sydney mansion. She climbs the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a spectacular final helicopter pull-back shot shows her belting out the anthem from the apex of the bridge. In those days before public access via the commercial BridgeClimb operation this image was as fantastic notionally as it was visually.

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Penrith	22	17	1	4	483	250	+233	35
2	Manly-Warringah	22	14	1	7	391	299	+92	29
3	North Sydney	22	14	1	7	345	303	+42	29
4	Canberra	22	14	0	8	452	327	+125	28
5	Canterbury-Bankstown	22	13	1	8	424	374	+50	27
6	Western Suburbs	22	13	1	8	359	311	+48	27
7	Brisbane	22	13	0	9	470	326	+144	26
8	Illawarra	22	12	1	9	451	291	+160	25
9	St. George	22	11	3	8	388	320	+68	25
10	Cronulla-Sutherland	22	8	3	11	384	441	-57	19
11	Eastern Suburbs	22	9	1	12	337	487	-150	19
12	Balmain	22	8	1	13	351	412	-61	17
13	Newcastle	22	6	3	13	308	424	-116	15
14	South Sydney	22	7	0	15	370	513	-143	14
15	Parramatta	22	6	0	16	351	534	-183	12
16	Gold Coast	22	2	1	19	240	492	-252	5

Finals

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Playoff
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	14–19	Western Suburbs Magpies	27 August 1991	Parramatta Stadium	Bill Harrigan	17,022
Qualifying Finals
Canberra Raiders	22–8	Western Suburbs Magpies	31 August 1991	Sydney Football Stadium	Eddie Ward	24,792
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	16–28	North Sydney Bears	1 September 1991	Sydney Football Stadium	Bill Harrigan	32,878
Semi Finals
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	26–34	Canberra Raiders	7 September 1991	Sydney Football Stadium	Bill Harrigan	34,707
Penrith Panthers	16–14	North Sydney Bears	8 September 1991	Sydney Football Stadium	Eddie Ward	38,635
Preliminary Final
North Sydney Bears	14–30	Canberra Raiders	15 September 1991	Sydney Football Stadium	Bill Harrigan	39,665
Grand Final
Penrith Panthers	19–12	Canberra Raiders	21 September 1991	Sydney Football Stadium	Bill Harrigan	41,815

Grand Final

On the sunny afternoon of Sunday, the 21st of September the Sydney Football Stadium was packed to capacity for the re-play of the previous season's grand final, and Canberra's third in a row.^[4][5][6] The day also featured a tribute to the original 'Gladiators', Norm Provan and Arthur Summons on the Winfield Cup trophy's 10th anniversary as well as a rendition of the national anthem by Anthony Warlow. The game was broadcast live by Channel Ten with match commentary by Graeme Hughes, Bill Anderson and Wayne Pearce.

Penrith Panthers	Position	Canberra Raiders
1 Greg Barwick	FB	1 Gary Belcher
2 Graham Mackay	WG	2 Paul Martin
3 Brad Fittler	CE	3 Mal Meninga (c)
4 Col Bentley	CE	4 Mark Bell
5 Paul Smith	WG	5 Matthew Wood
6 Steve Carter	5/8th	6 Laurie Daley
7 Greg Alexander (c)	HB	7 Ricky Stuart
8 Paul Clarke	PR	8 Brent Todd
9 Royce Simmons	HK	9 Steve Walters
10 Paul Dunn	PR	10 Glenn Lazarus
11 Mark Geyer	SR	11 David Barnhill
12 Barry Walker	SR	12 Gary Coyne
13 Col van der Voort	LF	13 Bradley Clyde
15 Brad Izzard	Int.	16 Scott Gale
16 John Cartwright	Int.	40 Darren Fritz
	Int.	Michael Twigg
Phil Gould	Coach	Tim Sheens

The Panthers kicked off and around seven minutes later the first points of the match came. After Penrith had made their way into good field position their hooker Royce Simmons received the ball about ten metres from the try-line and ran it, stepping and spinning his way past several defenders to score a great individual try,^[7] his first of the season.^[8] Panthers captain Greg Alexander kicked the conversion for his side to lead 6-0. Shortly after that Canberra's half-back Ricky Stuart got the ball a few metres into Penrith's half and kicked over to the open left corner of the field where his winger, Matthew Wood was racing through to grab the bouncing ball and dive over in the corner to score. Meninga's conversion attempt missed so the Panthers held their lead at 6-4. The scores were levelled a few minutes later though when Alexander appeared to be trying to put his knees into Meninga as he tackled him, drawing a penalty, which the Raiders captain successfully kicked to make it 6-6. Meninga later opted to take the kick when awarded another penalty inside Penrith's half, but missed. Soon after that Canberra had the ball on the right wing around half way and swung it through the hands out to the left where their lock forward Bradley Clyde made a break and passed it on to Wood to again cross in the corner for his second try.^[9] Meninga's kick was wide again so the Raiders were leading 6-10. The contest continued to be played from end to end of the field. In the final minutes of the first half, during one of Canberra's attacking raids they got another penalty and Matthew Wood took the kick, getting another two points for his side to lead 6-12 going into the break. The half-time score replicated the position of the two teams at the same point in the previous year's decider.^[10]

Early in the second half Canberra were penalised for stripping in their own half of the field and Alexander took the kick at goal but missed. Then as the Raiders were trying to work the ball away from their goal-line, they knocked on, with Panthers' winger Paul Smith getting the ball and diving over in the corner. However referee Bill Harrigan called the play back after touch judge Martin Weekes reported that Canberra's Mark Bell had been taken out with a swinging arm. Penrith forward Mark Geyer's reaction to the ruling prompted Harrigan to send him to the sin bin for ten minutes.^[11] Later the Panthers appeared certain to score from close range through Brad Izzard but the Raiders' lone defender Laurie Daley stripped the ball in a one-on-one tackle.^[12] Penrith's unsuccessful scoring opportunities continued until finally, after working the ball up to the opposition's half, they kept it alive on the third tackle till Brad Izzard broke free from over twenty metres out and ran to the try-line to touch down behind the uprights. The scores were brought level at 12 all when Alexander kicked the extra two points. With just under seven minutes of the match remaining, and again having worked the ball into Canberra's half of the field, the Panthers on the fifth tackle passed it to Greg Alexander just past the forty-metre line to kick a field goal, getting his side a one-point lead at 13-12.^[13] Penrith continued to enjoy the majority of possession and field position,^[14] and when the Raiders attempted a short line drop-out Geyer got the bouncing ball in open space, passing it to 33-year-old Royce Simmons who scored in the corner, getting Penrith their first premiership in the last match of his career.^[15] Alexander kicked the conversion from the sideline so the final score was 19-12.^[16]

Although MMI's unofficial man-of-the-match award went to Royce Simmons, the Governor of New South Wales Peter Sinclair awarded the Clive Churchill Medal to the losing side's Bradley Clyde,^[17] the second successive year that he won the prestigious award.^[18] The Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke then presented Penrith captain Greg Alexander with the Winfield Cup trophy as well as the J. J. Giltinan Shield. It was the Penrith Panthers' first premiership^[19] and their young coach, Phil Gould has rated his team's second half in this game as an example of a perfect half of football.^[20] After failing to follow their first half game plan and squandering an early lead, in the second half the Panthers played to a formula of taking the ball up for full sets of six tackles, with Alexander then expertly kicking for the corners and the whole side pinning Canberra down at their own end with committed defence.

Penrith Panthers 19
Tries: Simmons 2, Izzard
Goals: Alexander 3/3
Field Goal: Alexander

Canberra Raiders 12
Tries: Wood 2
Goals: Meninga 1/2, Wood 1/1

Clive Churchill Medal winner: Bradley Clyde (Canberra)

World Club Challenge

Main article: 1991 World Club Challenge

Having won the premiership, the Panthers travelled to England to face the British Champions, Wigan Warriors in the 1991 World Club Challenge on the 9th of October at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool. Penrith were defeated 4 to 21 in front of 20,152 spectators.

References

1. ^ Healey, Deborah (2005). Sport and the law. UNSW Press. pp. 46. ISBN 0868406430, 9780868406435. http://books.google.com/books?id=TJQU1i33Fd8C&printsec=frontcover. 
2. ^ AAP (2010-04-22). "Melbourne Storm salary cap quotes". The Roar (Australia: The Roar Sports Opinion). http://www.theroar.com.au/2010/04/22/melbourne-storm-salary-cap-quotes/. Retrieved 2010-04-22. 
3. ^ John MacDonald, Roy Masters and Daniel Williams (1991-09-15). "How your team went in season '91". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Digital): pp. 2. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=smh&docID=news910915_0119_5471. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 
4. ^ 1991 Grand Final at rugbyleagueproject.org
5. ^ History at penrithpanthers.com.au
6. ^ Raiders Timeline 1 at raiders.com.au
7. ^ Stephens, Tony (22 September 1991). "Roycie, the good guy who finished first". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&docID=news910922_0069_5046. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
8. ^ Roy Masters (22 September 1991). "Panthers power to historic win". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=news910922_0100_2744. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
9. ^ MacDonald, John (22 September 1991). "How Royce rolled the Raiders". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=news910922_0121_4072. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
10. ^ Sutton, Christopher (29 September 2009). "My grand final: Greg Alexander relives Penrith v Canberra, 1991". Fox Sports. http://www.couriermail.com.au/my-grand-final-greg-alexander-relives-penrith-v-canberra-1991/story-fn2mcuj6-1225780873446. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
11. ^ Danny, Weidler (22 September 1991). "Harrigan also had a match - with Geyer". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=news910922_0108_7084. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
12. ^ Williams, Daniel (22 September 1991). "Why losing and being beaten are not the same". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=news910922_0103_7002. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
13. ^ Heads, Ian (22 September 1991). "Stuart could only watch Brandy's premier moment". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&docID=news910922_0101_5755. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
14. ^ Warren Ryan (22 September 1991). "A hunger that was fed". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&docID=news910922_0111_3728. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
15. ^ Tom Keneally (22 September 1991). "Panthers ask 'why not?' and erase chequered past". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=news910922_0102_0620. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
16. ^ 1991 Grand Final at stats.rleague.com
17. ^ "Vice Regal". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 September 1991. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=news910922_0064_1723. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
18. ^ Burgess, Michael (25 November 2008). "Long history of League controversies". tvnz.co.nz. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/2329760. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
19. ^ Penrith City Sporting Heritage - Rugby League at penrithcity.nsw.gov.au
20. ^ Chesterton Good As Gould p192

• Chesterton, Ray (1996) Good as Gould Ironbark Press, Sydney
• Rugby League Tables - Season 1991 The World of Rugby League
• 1991 J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup at rleague.com
• NSWRL season 1991 at rugbyleagueproject.com
• Results: 1991-2000 at rabbitohs.com.au