|
|
 |
|
1990-1993
1990
(top 5 in semis
-playoff for 5th)
| Canberra
p |
33 |
| Brisbane |
33 |
| Penrith |
31 |
| Manly |
30 |
| Balmain |
28 |
| Newcastle |
28 |
| Canterbury |
25 |
| Parramatta |
25 |
| Illawarra |
23 |
| Cronulla |
22 |
| Norths |
20 |
| St
George |
16 |
| Wests |
13 |
| Easts |
13 |
| Gold
Coast |
8
|
| Souths |
4
|
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'90 record
Win
Loss Draw
8W, 14L,
0D
Pts for/against
For 371 (7th)
Against 399 (12th)
Steelers
'90 record
Win
Loss Draw
11W, 10L,
1D
Pts for/against
For 366 (9th)
Against 361 (11th)
|
1990:
SAINTS WORST YEAR EVER
STEELERS
BEAT DRAGONS IN FINAL ROUND
Kogarah
Oval, 26 August 1990: The Illawarra Steelers
have defeated St George 10-6 in front of a small
crowd of only 5,709 spectators. The match ended
a sad season for both teams with neither ever coming
into semi final contention.
Illawarra faired a little better winning
six of their last seven matches to finish in
9th position. However, St George produced their
worst ladder result ever when they finished in
12th position in the 16 team competition.
CRAIG YOUNG GONE: As a result
of the Dragon's poor effort in '90, ex-skipper Craig
Young departs as coach after just two seasons.
KOGARAH UPGRADED: 1990 saw
the opening a modern Grand Stand at the western
side of Kogarah Oval, increasing it's capacity.
BRAD
MACKAY SCORES 3 TRIES ON TEST DEBUT
Parkes
NSW, 1990: Brad Mackay, after being called into
the Australia Test side to play France (as replacement
for the injured Canberra player, Brad Clyde),
scores 3 tries on debut matching the feat of another
St George junior, Bob Bugden who also scored
three tries on Test debut, 30 years earlier.
MORE REP
HONOURS FOR RICKY WALFORD: Winger, Ricky
Walford has been selected for NSW in the 'State
of Origin 90'. Also, he was on the Aboriginal tour
of Tonga in 1990 for the Pacific Cup.
1991:
NEW COACH - BRIAN SMITH
Craig Young was replaced as
coach in '91 by ex- St George player and ex-Steeler
coach, Brian Smith who has accepted the position
after a successful coaching stint with Hull in the
UK.
SAINTS BEAT BALMAIN IN
HISTORIC MATCH
Adelaide Oval, 28 June 1991:
St George have defeated Balmain
| 16-2
at the first ever premiership Rugby League
match to be played in South Australia. A
crowd of 28,884 saw Saints shut out the
Tigers and score three tries. British flankman,
Martin 'On Fire' Offiah was
one of the try scorers for the |
HISTORY
SPOT
WALLABIES WIN RU WORLD CUP
|
Dragons.
On loan for one year from Wigan, Offiah's occupation
was listed as 'professional rugby league player'
which in '91 was considered a rarity. |
1991
(top 5 in semis
-playoff for 5th)
| Penrith
p |
35 |
| Manly |
29 |
| Norths |
29 |
| Canberra |
28 |
| Canterbury |
27 |
| Wests |
27 |
| Brisbane |
26 |
| Illawarra |
25 |
| St
George |
25 |
| Cronulla |
19 |
| Easts |
19 |
| Balmain |
17 |
| Newcastle |
15 |
| Souths |
14 |
| Parramatta |
12 |
| Gold
Coast |
5
|
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'91 record
Win
Loss Draw
11W, 8L,
3D
Pts for/against
For 388 (7th)
Against 320 (6th)
Steelers
'91 record
Win
Loss Draw
12W, 9L,
1D
Pts for/against
For 451 (4th)
Against 291 (2nd)
|
St
George had a better season in '91 finishing
in equal 8th position with 'kindred
spirits', Illawarra; both teams two points
shy of the semis.
SCOTT
GOURLEY BECOMES DUAL INTERNATIONAL LATE
IN 1991
Ex-Rugby
International and St George forward Scott
Gourley gained selection for the Test
series against Papua New Guinea, late in
1991. Son of former St George prop Robin
Gourley, Scott has achieved a rare feat
of being a dual international in both the
Rugby Union and Rugby League. |
Scott
Gourley
Click on image for larger
pic
|
|
1992:
ILLAWARRA DEFEATS ST
GEORGE IN DEBUT SEMI-FINAL APPEARANCE
(pic above) Paul McGregor, try scorer
1992
|
Sydney
Football Stadium, 6 Sept 1992: Illawarra
have defeated St George 18-16 in their debut
semi final appearance. A crowd of 28,521
saw the Steelers down the Dragons and therefore
qualify for the major semi final and two
bites at Grand Final qualification. Centre,
Paul McGregor starred in Illawarra's
victory.
Saints recovered to defeat
Newcastle 3-2 in front of 38,772 people
in a tryless minor semi-final (12/9/92).
Meanwhile, Illawarra went down to Brisbane
22-12 in front of 38,859 spectators in the
major semi (13/9/92) thus setting up a showdown
between the two neighbours in the preliminary
final. |
SAINTS
BEAT STEELERS 4-0 IN PRELIMINARY FINAL
|
Sydney
Football Stadium, 20 Sept 1992:
In another low scoring and tight semis match,
St George have come away as victors over
Illawarra by just one try, 4-0 in front
of 38,921 spectators. The match had it's
share of controversy with referee David
McCallum disallowing at least three
Illawarra tries following forward pass rulings.
Popular Dragon's winger, Ricky
Walford was the only try scorer of the
day.
 WAV
(247 Kb) click on speaker to hear Mark
Coyne talk about '92 preliminary final
in an interview in the late 1990s.
(pic left) Ricky Walford,
try scorer 1992 |
|
1992
(top 5 in semis)
| Brisbane
p |
36 |
| St
George |
30 |
| Illawarra |
27 |
| Newcastle |
26 |
| Wests |
25 |
| Easts |
24 |
| Canterbury |
22 |
| Manly |
22 |
| Penrith |
22 |
| Balmain |
21 |
| Norths |
21 |
| Canberra |
20 |
| Cronulla |
16 |
| Souths |
14 |
| Parramatta |
13 |
| Gold
Coast |
11 |
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'92 record
Win
Loss Draw
15W, 7L,
0D
Pts for/against
For 401 (6th)
Against 283 (3rd)
Steelers
'92 record
Win
Loss Draw
13W, 8L,
1D
Pts for/against
For 318 (12th)
Against 259 (1st)
|
UNDERDOGS
ST GEORGE AGAINST THE MIGHT OF BRISBANE
Sydney Football Stadium, 27 September
1992: Observers gave Saints little chance of
making the 1992 Grand Final but they did so in fine
fashion under the guidance of coach, Brian Smith.
Saints did well in the first half but the star studded
class of Brisbane showed in the second half and
they ran away winners to the tune of 28-8 in front
of 41,560 people. Scorers for Saints: Ricky Walford
try, Ian Herron 2 goals. |
1993:
HISTORY
SPOT
THE EDDIE
MABO DECISION
|
SAINTS
& CANTERBURY TOP OF TABLE
The Dragons and the Bulldogs shared
the top of the table after 22 rounds on 34 pts each.
Canterbury are awarded the minor premiership by
virtue of having a better for and against. |
SAINTS
SIGN ANTHONY MUNDINE, NATHAN BROWN
The Dragons boasted a magnificent
team in 1993 which included 1992 signings,
|
Gorden
Tallis, Jason Stevens &
Noel Goldthorpe and new 1993 signing
Nathan Brown from MacLean in NSW
(pic left) as well as experienced
Scott Gourley & Mark Coyne
- to name but a few. They were stung by
criticism at the beginning of the year that
they didn't have what it takes to go one
better in '93. They were posted at long
odds of even making the semis and even longer
odds of 20-1 of winning the premiership.
In 1993, Saints also debuted
promising centre/five eighth, Anthony
'Choc' Mundine. The son of champion
boxer, Tony Mundine, 'Choc' immediately
makes an impression. |
ILLAWARRA
SHUT OUT GOLD COAST
WIN
Stadium, 25 July 1993: The Steelers
have thrashed the Gold Coast 26-0 in the
round 17 match in front of 8,926 people.
This was a highlight in an otherwise dismal
year for the Steelers.
Illawarra finished on 7th
position and were unable to make the
semis. |
HISTORY
SPOT
ALLAN BORDER GREATEST RUN
GETTER
|
SAINTS,
BRONCOS IN G-FINAL AGAIN
Sydney Football
Stadium, 26 September 1993: Saints were determined
to go one better in 1993 and came into the semis
as the form team of the competition. Their opponents,
premiers Brisbane had a hard run into the semis
and were beaten by St George in the final round
of the competition, 16-10 at QEII stadium in front
of 58,593 people thereby forcing the Broncos into
the dreaded sudden death 5th spot position.
In their run
to the Grand Final, St George disposed of Canberra
31-10 (4Sep) and Canterbury 27-12 (12Sep). Brisbane
won their three matches also in convincing fashion
but appeared to be struggling against Canterbury
in the latter stages of the preliminary final which
suggested that they may have be succumbing to rigors
of elimination football.
The 1993 Grand
Final, played in front of 42,329 spectators will
go down in history the day when Saints saved their
worst game of the year 'til last. Brisbane put on
a huge defensive effort and slowed down the game.
Saints were unable to respond and
eventually
went down without scoring a try.
Score: Brisbane 14-6. Scorers
for Saints: Ian Herron 3 goals
BRAD MACKAY WINS CLIVE
CHURCHILL MEDAL
Brad Mackay has been
awarded the post grand final Clive Churchill
Medal. He is the club's first ever recipient
of this honour. (pic right: Brad Mackay
congratulated by Tina Turner, the US entertainer
who performed at the '93 G-Final) |
|
|
1993
(top 5 in semis)
| Canterbury |
34 |
| St
George |
34 |
| Canberra |
33 |
| Manly |
32 |
| Brisbane
p |
32 |
| Norths |
29 |
| Illawarra |
24 |
| Easts |
23 |
| Newcastle |
20 |
| Cronulla |
18 |
| Parramatta |
18 |
| Penrith |
14 |
| Wests |
14 |
| Souths |
12 |
| Balmain |
11 |
| Gold
Coast |
2
|
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'93 record
Win
Loss Draw
17W, 5L,
0D
Pts for/against
For 418 (6th)
Against 258 (4th)
Steelers
'93 record
Win
Loss Draw
12W, 10L,
0D
Pts for/against
For 373 (7th)
Against 253 (3rd)
|
Click on the pic for larger image (336 kb)
|
ST
GEORGE DRAGONS, GRAND FINALISTS - 1993 SQUAD PHOTO
(Top row
to bottom row, left - right) Noel Goldthorpe,
Damien Chapman, Wayne Collins, Rex Terp, Phil Blake,
Nathan Brown, Andrew Walker, Mark Coyne, Jeff Hardy,
Sean McVean, Jason Stevens, Brad Mackay, Ricky Walford,
Jason Donnelly, Tony Smith, Gorden Tallis, Neil
Tierney, Ian Herron, Scott Gourley, Michael Potter,
Tony Priddle, Graeme Bradley, Scott Park, David
Barnhill, Matt Elliott
WAV
(445 Kb) click
on speaker to hear Mark Coyne talk about
'93 Grand Final. |
MICK
POTTER RETIRES AT THE END OF 1993
St George fullback and skipper, Michael
Potter has announced his retirement from rugby
league. The former Canterbury fullback came to Saints
in 1989 and played 100 games, scoring 14 tries.
Mick was always safe up back and was noted for his
strong returns. Twice winner of the Dally M best
player award (1984 & 1991). He was NSW rep before
coming to Saints and missed out narrowly on National
selection in the 1992 World Cup.
poste script: Potter was to come
out of retirement for one final year in 1995 with
the Western Reds. |
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THE 90s: FAXs, VCRs, INTERNET
& ST GEORGE - ILLAWARRA
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