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1994-1996
1994:
STEELERS
POST BIG WIN OVER SAINTS WIN
Stadium, 1 May 1994: The
Illawarra Steelers have recorded a big win over the
St George Dragons by 24-0. A crowd of 13,303
was on hand to see their home team score four unanswered tries.
The
Steelers had a series of big wins in 1994. Besides The Dragons, Illawarra also
claimed the scalps of Easts (34-8), Brisbane (26-4), Parramatta (32-10), Gold
Coast (30-14), Wests (40-18) and Cronulla (42-18).
However, despite their efforts, Illawarra
finished just outside of semi final contention in 6th place.
MARK
COYNE SCORES MATCH WINNER FOR QUEENSLAND
Sydney
Football Stadium, 23 May 1994: St George centre and Qld winger, Mark Coyne
has scored the match winning try for Qld in the 1994 State of Origin against NSW.
With one minute to go and trailing 12-10, the Maroons began deep in their own
half. The ball went through 10 sets of hands before Coyne took the final pass
to score.
HEAD-BUTTER
TALLIS LET OFF TO PLAY ORIGIN:
Sydney, Tues
14 June 1994: Tearaway St George forward, Gorden Tallis was found guilty
of head butting but has been let off with a caution. Judiciary chairman, Vince
Bruce, QC took the young forward's previous clean record into account but
warned Tallis, "Don't come back again".
The decision enables Tallis to play in the State of Origin decider.
Tallis was sent off
by referee, Greg McCallum after the St George second rower was seen to
have made a 'deliberate lunging action' with his head against Newcastle centre,
Jamie Ainscough as the pair struggled on the ground. The defence claimed
that Ainscough deliberately struck the side of Tallis' head and that his actions
were 'defensive, not retaliatory'. Tallis was reported to be 'very happy with
the decision'.
poste
script: Series was won by NSW, 2-1.
StGEORGE
SUFFER RECORD LOSS 61-0
Brookvale Oval, 3 July
1994: Nothing could prepare Dragons supporters for what was to happen on a
Sunday afternoon in July. In front of 22,380 people, the Manly Sea Eagles scored
no less than 10 tries to nil to slaughter the St George Dragons 61-0.
This was the biggest
ever loss suffered by the proud club and has surpassed the previous record of
55 - 7 (11 tries to 1) against Newtown on 26 Aug., 1944.
This was the low
point in a miserable year for the Dragons. After starting with five wins from
six, Saints then lost seven of their next eight matches eventually finishing just
11th on the competition ladder.
RUMOURS OF A SAINTS - EASTS MERGER
With
the season over, rumours starting circulating that St George and Eastern Suburbs
administrators were entering into talks which would see the clubs merge into one.
Rumours suggested
that the St George name, colours and jersey would disappear.
Saints fans were outraged by this and lobby groups were formed. |
1994
(top 5 in semis)
| Canterbury | 36 |
| Norths | 35 |
| Canberra
p | 34 |
| Manly | 33 |
| Brisbane | 27 |
| Illawarra | 25 |
| Cronulla | 24 |
| Penrith | 22 |
| Souths | 19 |
| Newcastle | 18 |
| St George | 18 |
| Parramatta | 15 |
| Wests | 14 |
| Easts | 13 |
| Gold Coast | 11 |
| Balmain |
8 |
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'94 record
Win
Loss Draw
9W,
13L, 0D
Pts for/against
For 386 (12th) Against 497
(11th)
Steelers '94
record
Win
Loss Draw
11W,
8L, 3D
Pts for/against
For 484 (6th) Against 387 (6th)
HISTORY
SPOT
CATHY FREEMAN |
|
 | BRAD
MACKAY QUITS ST GEORGE
It
has been confirmed that local lad, Brad Mackay will be joining new
club, Perth's Western Reds in 1995 as their captain. The follows reports of a
rift between coach Brian Smith and the international utility player. Mackay
has for some time been touted as a possible captain for the Dragons but was overlooked
for the job in 1994. Brad joins the other former Dragon, Mick Potter who
is coming out of retirement to also join the Reds.
Brad Mackay could play lock, centre or five
eighth and it was this versatility which saw him gain representative selection.
Between
1987 - 1994, Brad played 108 games (9 repl) for the Dragons scoring 22 tries and
14 goals (114pts). A local junior, he represented NSW 10 times (1989-95) and played
11 Tests for Australia (1990 & 1992-93) making a memorable debut against France
in 1990 when he scored a hat trick of tries.
Click on the pic (left) for full and larger
image (313 Kb) |
1995:
NEW 20 TEAM COMP,
8 TEAM SEMIS
For the first time, the season opened with
10 matches of football. Surprisingly, the ARL, under the leadership of Ken
Arthurson, had issued invitations to Auckland (Warriors), Perth (Western Reds),
Sth Qld (Crushers) and Nth Qld (Cowboys) thus creating a competition with 20 teams.
The competition was now spread wide and the premiership no longer resembled the
once local Sydney-based competition.
With so many teams, it was decided to introduce an eight team semi
final system.
SOS
- 'SAVE OUR SAINTS' STAGE PROTESTS
1995 was marked by regular
appearances at games by the 'Save Our Saints' (SOS) group. The group was protesting
against the proposal to merge Saints and Easts. It became fact that certain officials,
including Saints' Geoff Carr, were holding talks that would see the demise
of the name, jersey and colours of St George.
The 'SOS' banners became commonplace at home games and it rallied
members together who ultimately put a stop to the proposal.
BRAD MACKAY'S 'REDS' DEFEAT SAINTS
Western Australian
Cricket Association (WACA) Ground, 12 March 1995: In their first match, the
Western Reds have downed St George 28-16 at the WACA ground in front of 24,932
people. The Perth team, with ex-Saints, Brad Mackay as captain and Mick
Potter (brought out of retirement) at fullback scored five tries to three
to secure victory. Another ex-Dragon, 'Lord Ted' Ted Goodwin, now living
in Perth, was a 'Reds' administrator and played a big part in getting a Perth
team into the competition.
APRIL FOOLS DAY 1995: THE 'SUPER LEAGUE' WAR BEGINS
Brisbane, 1st April 1995: The outbreak of hostilities
between the ARL and the News Ltd backed Super League began today when John
Ribot resigned from his post with the Brisbane Broncos to take up the new
appointment of Super League CEO.
Later known as the 'Super League War', the conflict would cause
crippling damage to the game's image as both sides fought over players, teams,
sponsorships and broadcast rights.
DRAGONS DEFEAT STEELERS AT HOME
Kogarah, 6 May 1995: St George
and Illawarra met only once in 1995, St George coming away with a 34-8 win. Saints
scored six tries to one in front of 4,525 people.
SAINTS
MAKE PLAYOFFS
SFS,
2nd September 1995: St George have gone down to eventual premiers Canterbury
in the elimination Quarter Final. Both teams scored one try each with Canterbury
kicking two extra penalty goals.
 | The
referee was Kelvin Jeffes. Fulltime score: 12-8. Crowd: 26,835.
(pic left) Dragon
Army 1995. Click on pic for larger image | The
Dragons finished the 1995 season in 7th position. |
Graeme Bradley, '95 semis | |
1995
(top 8 in semis)
| Manly | 40 |
| Canberra | 40 |
| Brisbane | 34 |
| Cronulla | 32 |
| Newcastle | 30 |
| Canterbury
p | 28 |
| St
George | 26 |
| Norths | 24 |
| Easts | 24 |
| Auckland | 24 |
| WesternReds | 22 |
| Illawarra | 21 |
| Wests | 20 |
| Penrith | 18 |
| Balmain | 14 |
| South
Qld | 13 |
| Gold Coast |
9 |
| Souths |
9 |
| Parramatta |
6 |
| North
Qld | 4
| (22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'95 record
Win
Loss Draw
13W, 9L,
0D
Pts for/against
For 583 (4th) Against 382 (7th)
Steelers
'95 record
Win
Loss Draw
10W,
11L, 1D
Pts for/against
For 519 (8th) Against 431 (10th)
| ILLAWARRA
END SEASON ON HIGH NOTE
WIN Stadium, 27 August 1995: Illawarra
have completed the year with a big win over Wests by 46-6. Other highlights included
victories over Brisbane by 34-18 (round 12), Parramatta by 52-12 (round 16) and
Newcastle by 28-6 (round 18).
Despite this, the Steelers had an inconsistent
year and they ended their season three points outside of the top eight in 12th
position.
1996:
THE
FUTURE IN DOUBT SAINTS
GO THROUGH ADMIN SHAKE UP
Following the abortive
merger talks between Saints and Easts, a change of administration became inevitable.
Geoff Carr moved on and Brian Johnston became the club's new CEO.
BRIAN
SMITH ENDS STINT AS COACH
Brian Smith
has announced that he will be taking up a coaching job in the UK and will
not be seeing out his contract with St George. Although it was an amicable decision,
it was clear that Smith was influenced by the uncertain Super League climate and
how it would effect Saints' future.
Ex-Saints player, Smith came to St George in 1991 after coaching
Hull (UK) and Illawarra. He guided the Dragons to two grand final appearances
in 1992 and 1993.
St George great, Rod Reddy has been named as Smith's replacement.
NEW
COACH REDDY QUITS BEFORE SEASON STARTS -
PLAYERS
LEAVE EN-MASSE
A mass exodus of personnel
has brought the very existence of the Dragons into question. First, new coach,
Rod Reddy has abandoned Saints with little notice after he was offered
a position with the proposed Super League franchise, the Adelaide Rams (Reddy
would later be sacked with the Rams' demise in 1998).
Matters became much
worse when most of the playing squad gave notice that they were now training with
other clubs.
To
top it off, St George's long term sponsor, Penfolds announced that they were withdrawing
their support.
DAVID
WAITE APPOINTED NEW COACH
Ex-Newcastle coach,
David Waite has been appointed coach of the Dragons. Aware that he was
walking into a club in turmoil, Waite proclaimed that he was 'only going to address
those things which he could control.' His first training session saw a dismal
player turn out. Captain Mark Coyne and Wayne Bartrim (pic right)
being amongst the handful who stood by the club in the off season.
 WAV
(473 Kb) David Waite talks about becoming new coach. |
| PLAYERS
RETURN - ISSUES RESOLVED
GORDEN
TALLIS REFUSES TO TRAIN AND LEAVES SYD FOR BRISBANE
In
a year of Rugby League court appearances, St George began proceedings against
a number of players who breached their contracts by training with other clubs.
In almost every case, matters were quickly resolved and players returned to the
Dragons. However, one player, Gorden Tallis refused to front up to training
and announced that he wanted to join Super League protagonists, Brisbane. Tallis
would ultimately be forced to sit out the year in Queensland as Saints refused
to grant him a release from his contract. |
WAV
(805 Kb) click here to hear Mark Coyne talk about 1996.
| |
1996
(top 8 in semis)
| Manly
p | 36 |
| Brisbane | 34 |
| Norths | 32 |
| Easts | 31 |
| Cronulla | 30 |
| Canberra | 27 |
| St
George | 27 |
| Wests | 25 |
| Newcastle | 23 |
| Canterbury | 22 |
| Auckland | 22 |
| Balmain | 22 |
| Parramatta | 21 |
| Illawarra | 16 |
| Penrith | 15 |
| WesternReds | 13 |
| North
Qld | 12 |
| Gold Coast | 11 |
| Souths | 11 |
| South
Qld | 8
| (22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'96 record
Win
Loss Draw
12W, 8L,
1D
Pts for/against
For 443 (6th) Against 360 (5th)
Steelers
'96 record
Win
Loss Draw
8W,
14L, 0D
Pts for/against
For 403 (9th) Against 444 (14th)
HISTORY
SPOT
PORT ARTHUR RAMPAGE | |
HISTORY
SPOT
KIERAN PERKINS WINS GOLD AT ATLANTA | ARL
WINS FIRST COURT BATTLE AGAINST SUPERLEAGUE
Sydney,
February 1996: The Australian Rugby League (ARL) and Super League (SL)
took each to court as both sides fought for control of the game. The magistrate
found in favour of the ARL who claimed a long association with the game.
The
News Ltd backed SL who were claiming restriction of trade, have lodged an appeal. |
Although
there were many emotion-charged issues, the main fight seemed to be over advertising
and broadcasting rights.
The court decision came too late for the first
round of the '96 premiership with six 'breakaway' SL clubs (Brisbane, Cronulla,
Canterbury, Canberra, Penrith and the Western Reds) all forfeiting their opening
games.
SUPERLEAGUE
WINS APPEAL
Following
the completion of the premiership season, both the ARL and SL were back in court
with the decision this time going the way Super League. This paved the way for
a separate 1997 competition and an escalation of what would become known as the
'Super League War.'
1996: A SEASON BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
ST GEORGE v MANLY GRAND FINAL
| REF
MANSON'S CRUCIAL DECISION | Sydney
Football Stadium, 29 September 1996: Competition front runners, Manly have
scored four tries to one and defeated St George in the 1996 Grand Final. The turning
point happened just minutes before halftime when Manly fullback, Mathew Ridge
grubbered a short kick off, regathered the ball and appeared to be tackled by
Nathan Brown. However, referee David Manson allowed play to continue
and a few moments later, Manly's Steven Menzies scored under the posts.
This gave Manly a half time lead of 14-2.
In the second half, Saints and Manly scored one converted try each
with winger Nick Zisti crossing the rarely breached Manly line.
Fulltime score
ST GEORGE DRAGONS 8 (N Zisti try, W Bartrim 2/2 goals)
MANLY-WARRINGAH
SEA EAGLES 20 (C Innes, S Menzies, D Moore tries, M Ridge 3/3, C Innes 1/1goals).
Crowd 40,985
Scrums St Geo 8-7 Penalties St Geo 7-6 Referee David Manson
WHEN THEY SCORED
5min Manly 6-0 (Innes try, Ridge goal) 17min Manly 8-0 (Ridge goal)
38min Manly 8-2 (Bartrim
goal) 40min Manly 14-2 (Menzies try, Ridge goal) 54min Manly 20-2 (Moore try,
Innes goal) 61min Manly 20-8 (Zisti try, Bartrim goal)
TEAMS
ST
GEORGE: Dean RAPER, Nick ZISTI, Mark COYNE (c), Adrian BRUNKER, Mark BELL,
Anthony MUNDINE, Noel GOLDTHORPE, Wayne BARTRIM, Scott GOURLEY, Kevin CAMPION,
Luke FELSCH, Jeff HARDY, Troy STONE, INTERCHANGE: David BARNHILL, Lance THOMPSON,
Colin WARD, Nathan BROWN, COACH: David WAITE.
MANLY: Matthew RIDGE, Danny MOORE, Craig INNES, Terry HILL,
John HOPOATE, Nik KOSEF, Geoff TOOVEY (c), Owen CUNNINGHAM, Daniel GARTNER, Steve
MENZIES, Mark CARROLL, Jim SEDARIS, David GILLESPIE, INTERCHANGE: Cliff LYONS,
Neil TIERNEY, Des HASLER, Craig HANCOCK, COACH: Bob FULTON.
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THE 90s:
FAXs, VCRs, INTERNET & ST GEORGE - ILLAWARRA
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