1994 NSWRL season

The 1994 NSWRL season (known as the 1994 Winfield Cup Premiership due to sponsorship from Winfield) was the eighty-seventh season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs, including 14 from within the borders of New South Wales plus two from Queensland, competed for the J J Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a grand final match for the Winfield Cup trophy between the Canberra Raiders and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.[1]

1994 New South Wales Rugby League
Teams16
Premiers Canberra (3rd title)
Minor premiers Canterbury-Bankstown (6th title)
Matches played182
Points scored7416
Average attendance15,013
Attendance2,732,389
Top points scorer(s) Daryl Halligan (270)
Player of the year David Fairleigh (Rothmans Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Steve Renouf (23)

Season summary

On the first of June, the previous season's premiers, the Broncos played in the 1994 World Club Challenge match in Brisbane against British champions Wigan. Wigan defeated the Broncos 20 to 14 at ANZ Stadium in front of 54,220 spectators. On 14 July the North Sydney Bears were fined $87,000 for breaching the salary cap.[2] In total, twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August, resulting in a top five of Canterbury-Bankstown, North Sydney, Canberra, Manly-Warringah and Brisbane who went on to battle it out in the finals. The 1994 season's Rothmans Medallist was North Sydney forward David Fairleigh. The Dally M Award went to Manly-Warringah's five-eighth, Cliff Lyons who was also named as Rugby League Week's player of the year. 1994 was the last premiership season to be administered by the New South Wales Rugby League. At the end of the season control of the Winfield Cup would be passed on to the Australian Rugby League and re-branded as such, as part of the move to become a more national competition. This season was also the last in the Premiership for future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee and coach, Mal Meninga. At the end of the 1994 season a squad of players from the NSWRL Premiership went on the 1994 Kangaroo tour.

The grand finals:

  • Canberra Raiders vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (Seniors Grade)
  • Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks vs Newcastle Knights (Reserve Grade)
  • Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks vs Eastern Suburbs Roosters (Under-21s Grade)

The winners in all grades were:

  • Canberra Raiders (Seniors Grade)
  • Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Reserve Grade)
  • Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Under-21s Grade)

The test match

  • Australia vs France

The State of Origin Series

  • Queensland vs New South Wales

Teams

The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous season, with sixteen clubs contesting the premiership, including five inner Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from greater Sydney, two from greater New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one from the Australian Capital Territory.

Balmain
Tigers

87th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Wayne Pearce
Captain: Ben Elias

Brisbane
Broncos

7th season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Allan Langer

Canberra
Raiders

13th season
Ground: Bruce Stadium
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Mal Meninga

Canterbury-Bankstown
Bulldogs

60th season
Ground: Belmore Oval
Coach: Chris Anderson
Captain: Terry Lamb

Cronulla-Sutherland
Sharks

28th season
Ground: Endeavour Park
Coach: John Lang
Captain: Dan Stains

Eastern Suburbs
Roosters

87th season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Mark MurrayArthur Beetson
Captain: Craig Salvatori

Gold Coast
Seagulls

7th season
Ground: Seagulls Stadium
Coach: John Harvey
Captain: Craig Coleman

Illawarra
Steelers

13th season
Ground: Wollongong Stadium
Coach: Graham Murray
Captain: John Cross

Manly-Warringah
Sea Eagles

48th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Bob Fulton
Captain: Geoff Toovey

Newcastle
Knights

7th season
Ground: Marathon Stadium
Coach: David Waite
Captain: Mark Sargent

North Sydney
Bears

87th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Peter Louis
Captain: Jason Taylor

Parramatta
Eels

48th season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Ron Hilditch
Captain: Paul Dunn

Penrith
Panthers

28th season
Ground: Penrith Stadium
Coach: Phil GouldRoyce Simmons
Captain: John Cartwright

South Sydney
Rabbitohs

87th season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Ken Shine
Captain: Dean Schifilliti

St. George
Dragons

74th season
Ground: Kogarah Oval
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Mark Coyne

Western Suburbs
Magpies

87th season
Ground: Campbelltown Stadium
Coach: Wayne Ellis
Captain: Paul LangmackJim Serdaris

Advertising

In 1994 the League and its advertising agency Hertz Walpole returned to the original 1989 recording of "The Best" by Tina Turner to underscore the season launch ad. Footage had been shot of Turner's performance at the 1993 grand final and a studio bluescreen shoot also took place during that visit ensuring a store of images that could be used in flexible adaptations for the final two years of Turner's association with the competition and the Winfield Cup.

The 1994 advertisement used the performance and superimposed studio footage of Turner into crowd and stadium scenes that replicated the Sydney Football Stadium. The closing scenes of the commercial made it appear that Turner was singing the song high up in the Sydney Football Stadium's stands in front of its identifiable stretched-sail roofing.

Ladder

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 221804537340+19736
2 North Sydney Bears 221714517291+22635
3 Canberra Raiders (P) 221705677298+37934
4 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 221615605311+29433
5 Brisbane Broncos 221318544316+22827
6 Illawarra Steelers 221138484387+9725
7 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2212010432401+3124
8 Penrith Panthers 2210210404448-4422
9 South Sydney Rabbitohs 229112401569-16819
10 Newcastle Knights 229013427458-3118
11 St. George Dragons 229013386497-11118
12 Parramatta Eels 227114350474-12415
13 Western Suburbs Magpies 226214439650-21114
14 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 226115344513-16913
15 Gold Coast Seagulls 225116363618-25511
16 Balmain Tigers 224018303642-3398

Ladder progression

  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 5.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
1 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 224681012141618202020222426283030323436
2 North Sydney Bears 2468101214141414151719212325272931333335
3 Canberra Raiders 02446810121214161618182022242628303234
4 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 013557791113151719212323252729313333
5 Brisbane Broncos 11135579911111313151517192123232527
6 Illawarra Steelers 0134444689111113151719192123232325
7 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 244688881012121414161818181820202224
8 Penrith Panthers 135557991112121414141416181818202222
9 South Sydney Rabbitohs 00013357911131517171719191919191919
10 Newcastle Knights 22222468810101214161818181818181818
11 St. George Dragons 224681010101010101012121414141416161818
12 Parramatta Eels 1113333333557777999111315
13 Western Suburbs Magpies 2444444555688101010121212141414
14 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 000024677777777991111111113
15 Gold Coast Seagulls 13333333557777777911111111
16 Balmain Tigers 0244444466666666666888

Finals

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Qualifying Finals
North Sydney Bears 12-26 Canberra Raiders 3 September 1994 Sydney Football Stadium Bill Harrigan 33,641
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 4-16 Brisbane Broncos 4 September 1994 Sydney Football Stadium Greg McCallum 34,891
Semi-finals
North Sydney Bears 15-14 Brisbane Broncos 10 September 1994 Sydney Football Stadium Bill Harrigan 36,011
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 19-18 Canberra Raiders 11 September 1994 Sydney Football Stadium Greg McCallum 41,865
Preliminary final
Canberra Raiders 22-9 North Sydney Bears 18 September 1994 Sydney Football Stadium Greg McCallum 41,941
Grand final
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 12-36 Canberra Raiders 25 September 1994 Sydney Football Stadium Greg McCallum 42,234

Chart

Qualifying finalMajor semi-finalPreliminary finalGrand final
1 Canterbury19 Canterbury12
Canberra18 Canberra36
2 North Sydney12 Canberra22
3 Canberra26Minor semi-final North Sydney9
North Sydney15
4 Manly4 Brisbane14
5 Brisbane16

Grand final

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Position Canberra Raiders
  1. Scott Wilson
FB
  1. Brett Mullins
2. Jason WilliamsWG2. Ken Nagas
3. Steven HughesCE3. Mal Meninga (c)
4. Jarrod McCrackenCE4. Ruben Wiki
5. Daryl HalliganWG5. Noa Nadruku
6. Terry Lamb (c)FE6. Laurie Daley
7. Craig Polla-MounterHB7. Ricky Stuart
8. Darren BrittPR8. Quentin Pongia
9. Jason HetheringtonHK9. Steve Walters
10. Martin BellaPR46. Paul Osborne
11. Dean PaySR11. Jason Croker
12. Jason SmithSR12. David Furner
13. Jim DymockLK13. Bradley Clyde
17. Matthew RyanReserve42. Brett Hetherington
21. Steve PriceReserve43. David Westley
40. Simon GilliesReserve
41. Mark BrokenshireReserve
Chris AndersonCoachTim Sheens

The Canberra Raiders were confident in the lead up, despite their one-point loss to the Bulldogs in the major semi-final, and everything played into their hands from the whistle. Canterbury veteran prop Martin Bella dropped the ball from the kick-off and before too long Canberra had posted two tries.

Canberra legend Mal Meninga was given a champion's farewell as his "Green Machine" swamped the Bulldogs.[3] Canberra's Paul Osborne also enjoyed a fairytale day. On the outer for most of the year, Osborne won a reprieve, playing at Prop after team-mate John Lomax was suspended for a high tackle in the preliminary final against North Sydney. Osborne, playing in his 135th and last career game before retirement, rose to the occasion by setting up the first two Raiders tries in the opening sixteen minutes.

Meninga's 166th and final match for the Raiders ended perfectly when he scored the last try of the day after intercepting a pass from Jason Smith. Meninga then outlasted the cover defence, running almost 40 metres and palming off his opposite Centre Jarrod McCracken to score the try beside the posts, sending the 42,234 strong crowd at the Sydney Football Stadium into raptures. Despite being a goal kicker for most of his career, Meninga declined to take what would have been an easy conversion of his own try, instead leaving the kick to regular team kicker, Clive Churchill Medallist David Furner.

The Canberra Raiders had claimed their third premiership, amassing the highest score in a grand final since Eastern Suburbs defeated St. George 38-0 in 1975. It was the highest-scoring grand final since 1951 when South Sydney defeated Manly 42-14 (though tries then were worth only three points).

Canberra Raiders 36
Tries: Nagas 2, Furner, Daley, Nadruku, Croker, Meninga
Goals: Furner 4/7

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 12
Tries: Williams, Hetherington
Goals: Halligan 2/2

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.

See also

References

  1. 1994 J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup Archived May 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at rleague.com
  2. AAP (22 April 2010). "Melbourne Storm salary cap quotes". The Roar. Australia: The Roar Sports Opinion. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  3. "NRL Finals in the 1990s". sportal.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  4. D'Souza, Miguel. "Grand Final History". wwos.ninemsn.com.au. AAP. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
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