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1985
- 1989
1985:
ST
GEORGE MINOR PREMIERS & GRAND FINALISTS FOR 1985
Michael O'Connor |
Sydney
Cricket Ground, 29 September 1985: St George
have been narrowly beaten 7-6 by Canterbury
in the 1985 Grand Final in front of 44,569 people.
In 1985, Saints were seeing a
resurgence and were minor premiers in
all three grades with most players being local
juniors.
Earlier in the year, St George
& Canterbury played a 10-all draw in round
six at Belmore (21Apr) and in round 19, St George
had defeated Canterbury 16-6 at the SCG (14
July).
Saints
had defeated Canterbury again in the major semi
final (15Sep) 17-6.
On Grand Final day, Saints were
favourites to win their 16th premiership. With
both the U/23s & Reserve grade winning their
Grand Finals, it was up to the first graders
to pull off the treble.
Canterbury scored first with a
try to winger, Peter Mortimer.
Brother, Steve Mortimer was
instrumental in pinning St George down as the
halfback delivered a series of towering bombs
onto St George fullback, Glenn Burgess
who never faltered.
But this effectively forced Saints
into successive line drop outs. The following
year, the rule would be modified to allow a
20 metre tap re-start should the defender catch
the ball on the full. Canterbury took full advantage
of this flaw in the rules of the day.
Canterbury
increased their lead to 7-nil following a field
goal. Saints struck back with
a try to Steve Morris which
was converted but Saints were unable to score
again and Canterbury won 7-6.
|
STEELERS
WOODEN SPOONERS
WIN
Stadium, 1 September 1985: Needing to win
their last game of the year to avoid last place &
the wooden spoon, Illawarra have gone down
to 18-16 to Parramatta in front of a crowd of 8,243.
HISTORY
SPOT
JEFF FENECH WINS WORLD TITLE
|
STEVE
LINNANE 'DALLY M' ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Steve
Linnane has won the end of season 'Dally
M' Rookie of the year for 1985. The young halfback
was signed to Saints just this year and was
the season's top try scorer with 16 tries. |
SAINTS
SIGN RICKY WALFORD
In
1985, St George signed promising young winger, Ricky
Walford. Hailing from Walgett NSW, Ricky was an
Australian Schoolboy rep against NZ in 1981. He played
for Easts (1982-83) and Norths (1984) before finding
a home at St George. A speedy flankman, Walford is
also an accurate goal kicker.
|
1985
(top 5 in semis - playoff for 5th)
| St
George |
42 |
| Balmain |
40 |
| Canterbury
p |
38 |
| Parramatta |
36 |
| Penrith |
31 |
| Manly |
31 |
| Easts |
27 |
| Cronulla |
26 |
| Souths |
24 |
| Canberra |
22 |
| Norths |
17 |
| Wests |
16 |
| Illawarra |
14 |
(26
ROUNDS)
Saints
'85 record
Win
Loss Draw Bye
18W, 4L, 2D,
2B
Pts for/against
For 470 (2nd)
Against 264 (1st)
Steelers
'85
record Win Loss Draw Bye
5W, 19L, 2B
Pts for/against
For 303 (12th)
Against 388 (10th)
|
1986:
|
St
George lose Kogarah & miss out on semis
SCG,
31 August 1986: St George and Canberra have
played out an 18-all draw in front of just 8,387
people. the result means that Saints have finished
the season in 7th position only one point short
of a play off for fifth place.
Saints went to into an extraordinary
slump in 1986 when for the first time in 50 years,
all three grades missed out on the semi finals.
Many put this down to the club's decision
to refurbish Kogarah which saw the Dragons playing
their home games at the neutral SCG.
STEELERS
WOODEN SPOONERS AGAIN
Belmore
Oval, 1 September 1986: Illawarra have been defeated
by Canterbury 8-2 in front of 10,013 people to place
them firmly at the bottom of the table for 1986. This
the second year running that the Steelers have finished
last.
MICHAEL
O'CONNOR SIGNS WITH MANLY
Saints
lost one of their star players, Michael O'Connor
who will be playing with big spending Manly in 1987.
'Snoz' came to Saints in '83 from RU
(ex-Wallaby) and played four seasons before departing
at the end of 1986 & shortly before leaving on
a Kangaroo tour. The superb centre played 71 games
(+7repl) for the Dragons and scored 33 tries, 130
goals and 9 field goals for a total of 401 points.
He continued to thrill crowds in Australia & elsewhere
until his eventual retirement from Rugby League in
1992. O'Connor posted a number of records for NSW
and Australia.
STEVE
MORRIS SIGNS WITH EASTS
Halfback
and winger, 'Slippery' Steve Morris has finished
up with St George. Dally M' winger of the year in
1984 & 1987 will see out his final career years
with Easts in 1987 and Leeds in 1987-88.
The last player to represent Australia
from the country, centre sensation Morris
hailed
from Dapto before joining Saints in 1979 as halfback.
Coach Roy Masters moved Morris to the wing
in the mid-80s where he enjoyed enormous success.
'Slippery'
played for NSW in 1978, 80, 84 & 86 and
played one Test for Australia in 1978.
He
played 174 games for St George scoring 102 tries
(357pts). |
HISTORY
SPOT
1987: PAT CASH WINS WIMBLEDON
|
|
1986
(top 5 in semis - playoff for 5th)
| Parramatta
p |
37 |
| Souths |
36 |
| Canterbury |
35 |
| Manly |
33 |
| Balmain |
30 |
| Norths |
30 |
| St
George |
29 |
| Penrith |
27 |
| Easts |
24 |
| Cronulla |
23 |
| Canberra |
21 |
| Wests |
21 |
| Illawarra |
18 |
(26
ROUNDS)
Saints
'86 record
Win
Loss Draw Bye
12W, 1D, 11L,
2B Pts for/against
For 360 (7th)
Against 402 (9th)
Steelers
'86
record Win Loss Draw Bye
7W, 17L, 2B
Pts for/against
For 310 (equal
12th) Against 372 (5th)
|
1987:
EASTS
THRASH SAINTS, SAINTS THRASH WESTS
SCG,
20 March 1987: Saints have suffered a humiliating
defeat going down to Easts by 44-2 in front of 11,831
people. Easts whitewashed Saints eight tries to
nil.
Campbelltown Stadium, 10 May 1987:
Saints have locked out Wests with a 34-0 thrashing
in front of 6,490 people. Unfortunately, Saints
had an ordinary season, failing to make the semis
for the second year running and finishing in
9th position.
STEVE LINNANE OUTED FOR 20 WEEKS: Saints'
halfback Steve Linnane has been suspended
for 20 weeks by the judiciary for eye gouging.
ROY
MASTERS ENDS COACHING STINT
At
the end of 1987, Roy Masters finished as
coach of St George. Masters coached Saints from
1982-87 and in that time took the Dragons to the
semi finals in 1983, a preliminary final in 1984
and minor premiers & grand finalists in 1985.
Captain Craig Young was short listed as his
successor but an outsider is more likely considering
the current trend to have a non-playing coach.
SAINTS
SIGN BRAD MACKAY
St
George have secured the services if young local
junior, Brad Mackay. The talented utility
player equally at home at lock, centre or five eighth.
ILLAWARRA
OUTCLASS CRONULLA
WIN
Stadium, 30 August 1987: The Steelers have outclassed
Cronulla 24-4. Illawarra hammered their neighbours
4 tries to 1 in front of a small crowd of 5,726.
Illawarra ended their season in 11th
position, four points clear of last placed Wests.
BRIAN SMITH DEPARTS AS COACH: Brian
Smith has accepted an offer to coach Hull in
England and will not be coaching the Steelers in
1988. New coach will be ex-Parra player, Ron
Hilditch.
'POPPA'
CLAY DIES
Brian
'Poppa' Clay passed away in September
1987 after a long battle with heart disease. 'Poppa',
so named because of his bald pate, was widely regarded
as one of the best and toughest pivots to ever play
for St George. Clay was a popular clubman
who represented Australia in the World Cup in 1957
and played five Tests in 1959-60.
Best remembered for his role in eight
Grand Final wins, Clay's career stats include 200
grade games. Brian
Clay retired as a player in 1967. |
1987
(top 5 in semis)
| Manly
p |
41 |
| Easts |
35 |
| Canberra |
34 |
| Balmain |
33 |
| Souths |
31 |
| Canterbury |
30 |
| Parramatta |
28 |
| Cronulla |
27 |
| St
George |
26 |
| Norths |
26 |
| Illawarra |
20 |
| Penrith |
17 |
| Wests |
16 |
(26
ROUNDS)
Saints
'87 record
Win
Loss Draw Bye
10W, 12L,
2D, 2B Pts for/against
For 394 (5th)
Against 409 (9th)
Steelers
'87
record Win Loss Draw Bye
8W, 16L,
0D, 2B
Pts for/against
For 372 (8th)
Against 449
(12th)
|
1988:
3
NEW TEAMS FOR '88 COMP: 1988 saw the inclusion
of three new teams: Newcastle, Gold Coast
and Brisbane into what used to be referred
to as the Sydney premiership.
NEW ST GEORGE COACH: Ted
Glossop took over as coach of St George
in 1988 following the departure of Roy
Masters. |
HISTORY
SPOT
1988: SYDNEY CELEBRATES BICENTENARY
|
 SAINTS
STILL HOMELESS Saints
on-field woes continued into the latter part of
the 1980s whilst 'sharing' a home ground with Canterbury
at Belmore. Work on Kogarah Jubilee continues and
will not be finished before 1989. SAINTS
v EASTS AT ALL NEW SFS
Sydney
Football Stadium, 4 March 1988: Saints had an
historic victory over Easts at the first ever Rugby
League game to be played at the all new 40,000 capacity
Sydney Football Stadium. Saints won the night match
under lights, 24-14 in front of 19,295 spectators.
ST
GEORGE WIN THE 1988 PANASONIC MID WEEK CUP
Parramatta Stadium, 25 May 1988:
St George 16 beat Balmain 8 in Wednesday
night's Mid-week (Panasonic) Cup Final.
Pic left:
Craig Young & Paul Osborne hold up the Panasonic
Cup
Endeavour
Field, 14 August 1988: St George have lost narrowly
to minor premiers, Cronulla 16-14 in front of 18,111
people. This was Saints' last game of '88
and saw them finish 10th in a 16 team comp.
ILLAWARRA
THRASH EASTS
SFS, 14 August 1988:
A
crowd of 3459 saw Steelers hammer Easts 31-10
by scoring five tries to two. However, Illawarra
had an ordinary season and finished 13th.
CRAIG
YOUNG RETIRES
St
George captain, Craig 'Albert' Young has
retired from Rugby League. The big prop forward
first came to notice in 1972 in the undefeated Australian
Schoolboys tour of England. Craig was a first grade
soccer player in the Illawarra competition. He switched
to
Rugby League and played for Corrimal before
joining St George in 1977 and was a star in Saints
premiership victory that year. In 1978 he played
in all five Tests on the Kangaroo tour and was named
player of the tour. At just 22 years of age, he
captained St George to it's 15th premiership in
1979. Young was a Kangaroo again in 1982 &
'84. He retires in 1988 but is expected to take
up the coaching job in 1989.
For St George
(1977-88): 234 games (including replacements), 11
tries, 2 f-goals (42pts).
For NSW (1979-82&'84):
10 games (1 repl)
For Australia
(1978-82&84): 20 Tests, 1 try.
|
1988
(top 5 in semis
-playoff for 5th)
| Cronulla |
34 |
| Canterbury
p |
32 |
| Canberra |
30 |
| Manly |
30 |
| Penrith |
30 |
| Balmain |
30 |
| Brisbane |
28 |
| Souths |
24 |
| Norths |
20 |
| St
George |
18 |
| Parramatta |
16 |
| Easts |
15 |
| Illawarra |
13 |
| Newcastle |
11 |
| Gold
Coast |
10 |
| Wests |
9
|
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'88 record
Win
Loss Draw
9W, 13L, 0D
Pts for/against
For 352 (13th)
Against 493
(eq13th)
Steelers
'88
record Win Loss Draw
6W, 15L, 1D
Pts for/against
For 353 (12th)
Against 510 (16th)
|
1989:
CRAIG
YOUNG APPOINTED AS NEW COACH
In what was seen
as a smooth transition, recently retired captain,
Craig Young has taken over the 1989 coaching
reins from Ted Glossop who served just the
one season as coach in 1988.
ALL
IN THE FAMILY: SAINTS SIGN SCOTT GOURLEY, MARK COYNE
FOR 1989
St
George have signed Rugby Union convert, Scott
Gourley. Originally from Narribri, Scott
is the son of former St George prop, Robin
Gourley. He captained the 1986 Australian
Rugby Union Schoolboys to New Zealand before
touring the United Kingdom with the Wallabies
in '88. He decided in '89 to switch codes
and join his father's former club.
St George
first grade also gained the services of Queensland
junior and Brothers (Brisbane) centre, Mark
Coyne in 1989 after he was originally
graded in the St George reserves in 1988.
His brother, Peter Coyne was to follow
Mark to Saints three years later and partner
him in the centres but it was Mark Coyne who
would have a long lasting relationship with
the Dragons for more than a decade. |
HISTORY
SPOT
1989: THE NEWCASTLE EARTHQUAKE
|
SAINTS
RETURN TO KOGARAH FOR 1989
Saints
have finally returned to Kogarah Jubilee Oval for
the '89 season after three years of being without
a proper home ground. Unfortunately it didn't help
Saints' standings in the premiership as they finished
10th for the second year in a row.
ILLAWARRA
WOODEN SPOONERS 1989
For
the third time in their short history, the Illawarra
Steelers have been lumbered with the wooden spoon.
In '89, the Steelers have conceded more points than
any other team on their way to last position.
 RICKY
WALFORD: COMPETITION'S TOP SCORER FOR 1989
& COUNTRY REP
Ricky
Walford (pic right) became the
season's leading point-scorer for 1989 with
146 points consisting of 13 tries and 47 goals.
In the same year, Ricky gained rep duties
when selected for Country Origin.
 GEOFF
SELBY DIES IN CAR CRASH
Promising
young St George forward, Geoff Selby
(pictured left) was tragically killed
in a car accident in February 1989. A St George
junior, Selby was graded at Illawarra on the
recommendation of James Cook High teacher
and Illawarra coach, Brian Smith in
1984. He returned to St George in 1986 under
the guidance of Johnny Raper. Playing
at lock or 2nd row, Geoff Selby played a total
of 39 games for Illawarra scoring nine tries
plus a total of 44 games for St George (18
repl) scoring four tries.
|
|
1989
(top 5 in semis
-playoff for 5th)
| Souths |
37 |
| Penrith |
32 |
| Balmain |
29 |
| Canberra
p |
28 |
| Brisbane |
28 |
| Cronulla |
28 |
| Newcastle |
22 |
| Parramatta |
22 |
| Canterbury |
22 |
| St
George |
20 |
| Easts |
19 |
| Manly |
19 |
| Wests |
15 |
| Gold
Coast |
15 |
| Norths |
11 |
| Illawarra |
5
|
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'89 record
Win
Loss Draw
10W, 12L, 0D
Pts for/against
For 330 (8th)
Against 356 (11th)
Steelers
'89 record
Win Loss Draw
2W, 19L, 1D
Pts for/against
For 256 (13th)
Against 503 (16th)
|
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